Customer Reviews
Best gardening book you can buy! - By: Julie Nixon, 21 Apr 2008 
This is the best gardening book I have ever seen. I bought it as a gift for my parents but borrowed it so much I had to buy my own! And, who cares about the spelling!! (see Lord Manley review!)
Very thorough garden planning book - By: Janice Archer, 06 Feb 2008 
A good book for those planning a garden. It has special sections on commonly cultivated plants & sections on how to troubleshoot. I planned my garden using this & it was a great help.
Just a note that it's not reallly for:
- looking up a plant you've seen in a garden centre
- identifying a mysterious thing you've got in your inherited garden
If you want to do either of those, you need to use a different kind of book.
Encylopedia? - By: Lord Manley, 21 Dec 2007 
Whilst an excellent read, I am utterly befuddled as to how a bastion of Britishness such as the RHS could produce such a tome, filled, as it is, to the very gunnels with useful advice for any gardener, without managing the relatively simple accompanying feat of spelling the word encyclopaedia correctly.
Perhaps there is a new American royalty which has somehow escaped my attention?
Got a garden?, then buy this book - By: J. Brand, 11 Dec 2007 Got a garden? Then buy this book. Don't argue, just buy it! Every once in a while you encounter a book which is just head an shoulders above the others in its subject & this is one of those books.
Having this book is a little like having an experienced gardener over one fence who can give a kindly word when he sees you about to make an expensive mistake with the wrong plant or wrong treatment while at the same time over the opposite fence is an expert DIY fan who can tell you which tool to use & how to level your ground before constructing a patio. As others have said this is a book which will rapidly pay for itself simply because it can stop you making those mistakes.
Is there anything it won't do. Well obviously it can not be absolutely comprehensive. If you want to construct a zen garden it won't tell you the finer points of feng shui to know how to align the garden. Indeed any highly specific subjects it won't cover but for a single point of reference this is excellent. This is a book in the spirit of gardening before TV makeover programmes tried to tell people that ripping out alll your top soil & putting down decking was gardening so while it won't bother with the fripperies of design it will deal with the practicalities & as others have said that will save you more than the cost of this book in avoiding expensive mistakes.
This is an absolute must buy for anyone who is into or who wants to be into gardening. I have used my previous copy for years & I would expect this new edition to last just as long. Look at it in that light & this is not an expensive book but it is an invaluable one.
One of the best encyclopedias and a gardening bestseller - By: Gang Chen, 22 Nov 2007 Since its release, "RHS Encyclopedia of Gardening" has been flying off the shelves. It has been selling so well for good reasons: it is one of the most comprehensive & best encyclopedia. It covers almost everything that you need to know about gardening: garden design, basic botany, gardening techniques, organic gardening, container gardening, grafting & propagation, pests & diseases & weeds, tips on growing plants, fruits or vegetables, the latest trends & development on horticulture, effects of global warming, etc.
"RHS Encyclopedia of Gardening" has over 750 pages & many colour interior photographs. It is an indispensable reference book for both ordinary garden lovers & design professionals.
Copyright 2007 Gang Chen, author of "Planting Design Illustrated"
