Giant perennials are show-stoppers in the garden. There is something magical about the fact that starting from nothing in spring they rise to towering heights by midsummer only to disappear again for the winter. These are plants that make a statement and can be used to provide a backdrop to a herbaceous border or as specimens to draw the eye and amaze the visitor. From the astounding gunnera, 2.4m (8ft) with its leaves as big as the biggest golf umbrella, to the spectacular verbascum (giant mullein) as tall as a tree at 1.8-2.7m (6-9ft), or the socking great Eupatorium purpureum, with 2.1m (7ft) tall stems and cinnamon pink flowers. Quite simply these plants make us feel like Lilliputians. Covering a wide range of herbaceous perennials, including some biennials and bulbs, Giant Perennials provides at-a-glance information for everything you need to know about these amazing plants. In addition to design ideas and planting suggestions, Giant Perennials has an extensive directory of these majestic plants with easy-to-use symbols that show you size, spread, planting situation, cultivation needs and hardiness. Whether you have a large country garden or a small town plot, you can give you

Thirty years after Beth Chatto first created her now famous gardens, The Green Tapestry was published, in which Beth took her readers on a conducted tour of her gardens while explaining her planting choices and experiences in making a garden with perennial plants. Now, a further thirty years on, although Beth is no longer with us, the gardens continue to demonstrate her ethos of sustainable planting, which, with climate change an ever more pressing issue, could not be more relevant today. In Beth Chatto's Green Tapestry Revisited, David Ward and Asa Gregers-Warg, who worked alongside Beth for many years and still work at the gardens today, have updated her guide to her gardens, adding new text where areas of the garden have been substantially remodelled and replanted since the first edition, in particular the Gravel Garden, the Woodland Garden and the Reservoir Garden, with an updated directory of Beth's favourite perennial plants. Beth's gardens at Elmstead Market were, in many ways, ahead of their time. Beth's knowledge as a plantswoman, derived in part from her husband Andrew's research into plants in their natural habitats, also came from her own extensive practical experience. She set out to garden using only those plants that thrived in the available conditions - damp or dry, sun or shade. It was her talent for observation, her enthusiasm for learning, and her never-ending interest in the foliage, form and texture of her preferred perennials, as much as in their flower colour, that made her a unique voice in British gardening. Illustrated with specially commissioned photography by Steven Wooster, who was Beth's preferred photographer of her gardens, this new edition is a timely tribute to Beth's work. Julia Boulton, Beth's granddaughter and the CEO of Beth Chatto's Plants and Gardens, hopes that it will inspire a new generation of gardeners to plant in tune with nature and create their own exquisite 'green tapestry' of perennial plants suited to their own conditions. -- que

The interest in organic fruit and vegetables has never been greater. As people grow ever more suspicious of the chemicals used in food production, more and more gardeners are keen to grow their own vegetables and fruit while steering away from synthetic insecticides and pesticides. In this book John Fedor draws on both his training as a biochemist and his extensive gardening experience to explain exactly why and how to garden organically. He includes ground plans for gardens of all sizes, all the information you need on organic techniques such as soil care and composting, and an extensive illustrated directory of fruit and vegetables, with cultural information and recommended varieties. This is a book for beginners and experienced gardeners alike and set to become the standard reference manual on organic gardening.

First published as Beth Chatto's Woodland Garden by Cassell in 2002, this Pimpernel Classic edition includes a new afterword by David Ward, Garden and Nursery Director at Beth Chatto's Garden and a new introduction by Beth Chatto. 'Most gardens have dark areas - a north-facing border, an area shaded by a hedge, fence or house wall, a bed in the shade cast by shrubs or trees with greedy roots - and for many gardeners these are a challenge, and often a trial. Fortunately there are plants adapted by Nature to a vast range of conditions and, by choosing suitable plants, we can transform almost any problem site into something beautiful.' In this book legendary plantswoman Beth Chatto shows how the problem of shade in a garden can be turned to advantage. She tells how she transformed a dark, derelict site into a woodland garden that is tranquil and serene yet full of life and interest in every season. She describes, too, a wealth of plants that will thrive in shady beds and borders and on walls.

Legendary gardener and plantswoman Beth Chatto describes how she transformed a piece of wasteland into a lush and blooming garden in this beautiful book, filled with helpful tips and practical advice. The story of how Beth Chatto created her gravel garden on 'possibly the driest, and the most windswept, piece of soil in England' has a message of hope for gardeners everywhere. At the outset she promised herself: 'This garden was not to be irrigated in times of drought. Once established the plants must fend for themselves or die.' The results, eloquently described by the author and beautifully portrayed in Steven Wooster's specially commissioned photographs taken through the seasons, testify to the triumphant outcome of the adventure. Showing how her principles can be applied on any scale, this book is an essential read for any gardener facing water shortages and poor soil. Rich with hard-won tips and expressed in Beth Chatto's matchless style, this is a gardening classic.

The book takes a comprehensive approach to the complex process of Planting Design. It shows how to choose and combine plants for specific effects: for year-round colour and interest; for drama and movement; and to overcome site difficulties. From initial vision to finished planting, the book clearly explains the practical steps, considerations, opportunities and decisions that need to be taken. This process can be applied to readers' own gardens, and it will also allow them to take their skills further into other people's gardens.