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A Garden for All Seasons
Tells how to plan a garden that is attractive all year round, recommends hundreds of useful plants, and includes lists of seasonal garden tasks, including planting, feeding, propagating, pruning, and mulching
- GenresGardeningNonfiction
432 pages, Hardcover
Published April 1, 1991
About the author
Reader's Digest Association
4,660 books497 followersThe Reader's Digest Association, Inc. is a global media and direct marketing company based in Chappaqua, New York, best known for its flagship publication founded in 1922, Reader's Digest. The company's headquarters are in New York City, where it moved from Pleasantville, New York.
The company was founded by DeWitt and Lila Wallace in 1922 with the first publication of Reader's Digest magazine, but has grown to include a diverse range of magazines, books, music, DVDs and online content.
The company was founded by DeWitt and Lila Wallace in 1922 with the first publication of Reader's Digest magazine, but has grown to include a diverse range of magazines, books, music, DVDs and online content.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 16, 2016
"It is a standard excuse among gardeners to tell visitors that they should have seen the garden last week. Or next. Or in summer, autumn, or at any time other than now".
So begins A Garden For All Seasons, and after we have chuckled at this wry home truth, we realise two facts about the book. One, it is cleverly slanted to encourage gardeners to keep the whole year in mind, and plant accordingly. And two, it is a book for dedicated gardeners; those who have visitors to come to look specifically at their garden. It is not a book for beginners, nor for those with a handkerchief-sized plot.
Additionally the book focuses on the British Isles, with maps at the beginning to indicate normal weather patterns, and useful information such as when one may expect winter to start in different parts of the country. In Great Britain the difference is not extreme, but can be critical for some specialist plants. After short sections on "Creating A Garden for All Seasons" and "A Year in Your Garden", the book is divided into five sections: "Plants for All Seasons", followed by "Plants for Spring", "Plants for Summer","Plants for Autumn" and "Plants for Winter".
And specialist plants is what we get. It is a book which may be a source of joy for gardening enthusiasts, when they are too worn out by digging to do any more, and prefer to sit and enjoy this book. Some sentences are incomprehensible to the layperson, using the Latin names of the plants, and jargon such as specific techniques, or referring to known facts, only familiar to a keen horticulturalist. All the plants are suitable for an English garden, and the overall effect is of gracious living in a country home. So the book is also a firm contender to be a coffee table book. It is a heavy, firmly bound book in a largish format; about twice the width of an average hardback novel, but not much taller, and lavishly illustrated throughout, interspersed with the text, on semi-matt paper. The photographs are sometime a shot of part of a garden, and sometimes close-ups to show a particular shrub or bush. Occasionally a garden is photographed from the same spot, at different times of year, to indicate the variety and interest which is possible. Also some small watercolour pictures are included, when it is important to indicate certain features about the plant.
If you are a keen gardener, or just someone knowledgeable about plants who likes to browse through gardening books, this may be just your cup of tea. It could also suit someone who has a large garden and plenty of time, but is unable to do the work themselves. I do tend to think though, that there is an irony for the average reader, with little spare time, with these beautiful informative books. One always has to choose between achieving the effects shown, which are possible by sheer hard work in the garden - or enjoying a restful read of the book.
So begins A Garden For All Seasons, and after we have chuckled at this wry home truth, we realise two facts about the book. One, it is cleverly slanted to encourage gardeners to keep the whole year in mind, and plant accordingly. And two, it is a book for dedicated gardeners; those who have visitors to come to look specifically at their garden. It is not a book for beginners, nor for those with a handkerchief-sized plot.
Additionally the book focuses on the British Isles, with maps at the beginning to indicate normal weather patterns, and useful information such as when one may expect winter to start in different parts of the country. In Great Britain the difference is not extreme, but can be critical for some specialist plants. After short sections on "Creating A Garden for All Seasons" and "A Year in Your Garden", the book is divided into five sections: "Plants for All Seasons", followed by "Plants for Spring", "Plants for Summer","Plants for Autumn" and "Plants for Winter".
And specialist plants is what we get. It is a book which may be a source of joy for gardening enthusiasts, when they are too worn out by digging to do any more, and prefer to sit and enjoy this book. Some sentences are incomprehensible to the layperson, using the Latin names of the plants, and jargon such as specific techniques, or referring to known facts, only familiar to a keen horticulturalist. All the plants are suitable for an English garden, and the overall effect is of gracious living in a country home. So the book is also a firm contender to be a coffee table book. It is a heavy, firmly bound book in a largish format; about twice the width of an average hardback novel, but not much taller, and lavishly illustrated throughout, interspersed with the text, on semi-matt paper. The photographs are sometime a shot of part of a garden, and sometimes close-ups to show a particular shrub or bush. Occasionally a garden is photographed from the same spot, at different times of year, to indicate the variety and interest which is possible. Also some small watercolour pictures are included, when it is important to indicate certain features about the plant.
If you are a keen gardener, or just someone knowledgeable about plants who likes to browse through gardening books, this may be just your cup of tea. It could also suit someone who has a large garden and plenty of time, but is unable to do the work themselves. I do tend to think though, that there is an irony for the average reader, with little spare time, with these beautiful informative books. One always has to choose between achieving the effects shown, which are possible by sheer hard work in the garden - or enjoying a restful read of the book.
November 29, 2025
There is a lot of information in here, but many plants are missing common names and hardness zones. Being in Buffalo, NY, there isn't much gardening going on mid-winter!
February 3, 2008
Inspired by English gardens -- but aimed squarely at an American audience -- this book is the ultimate "idea bank" - with the focus on designing a garden that has appeal not just in spring and summer but in fall and winter as well. The hundreds of photos do an excellent job of showing how one particular garden might look throughout the year. There are five sections to the book: All Seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, and for each there are suggested shrubs, trees, perennials, bulbs, and so on. It does a good job of showing intriguing plants that you might not have considered.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews