Table of Contents
Introduction 6
Chapter 1 The Basics
Botany Basics 14
Plant Names Demystified 25
Gardening Terms Explained 31
Why Garden? 37
Top Ten Plants for Wildlife 42
Chapter 2 Understanding Your Space
Where to Start 50
Get to Know Your Soil 57
Top Ten Shade-Friendly Plants 62
How Do You Want to Use Your Space? 66
How Much Time Do You Have for Gardening? 70
How to Grow a Lawn 84
Small Space Gardening 88
Top Ten Plants for Balconies 98
Chapter 3 Sourcing Plants
How to Decode a Plant Label 106
Where to Get Your New Plants 111
What to Look Out For When Buying Plants 115
What Tools Do You Need and What Are They Used For? 118
How to Grow a Tree 122
Chapter 4 Planting into Soil
Planting in Pots and Hanging Baskets 130
Top Ten Low-Maintenance Plants 142
How to Make a New Garden Bed 146
Sowing and Growing 152
Top Ten Vegetable Plants 160
How to Grow Herbs 164
What, How and When to Plant 168
Chapter 5 Keeping Plants Alive
Watering Your Plants 180
Feeding Your Plants 186
Top Ten Edible Flowers 188
How to Deal with Weeds 192
Common Pests and How to Deal With Them in an Environmentally Friendly Way 196
Top Ten Slug-Resistant Plants 202
Common Plant Diseases and Their Remedies 206
Dead Heading and Pruning 211
How to Make Compost 218
The Gardening Year at a Glance 222
Glossary 230
End Notes 231
Further Reading 232
Index 234
Acknowledgements 239
