The Urban Gardener

by Matt James

In The Urban Gardener , garden designer and lecturer Matt James provides an approachable, practical guide to making the most of an urban garden,

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2014

Reviews

[Abdel Madjid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took me long time to read because I tried to follow the advises. Was totally worth it! Thx to the author. My little garden shines now.

[Amberwench · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full of color photos and alternate idea suggestions for each example, this book works for the new gardener starting with a blank slate and the experienced gardener who wants to change up their design. Also pleasing for the apartment-dwelling armchair gardener who's working on that 'someday' yard they dream of. Equal parts small, walled back yards (some of the photos you can see all three walls of the traditional tiny, row house backyard) and larger areas are presented for each type of garden, this book also includes container and rooftop ideas, and plenty of ideas on packing a lot into whatever space you have.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good general advice on how to set up your "urban" garden, but would have been better perhaps to have some examples of what you can do by plot size (e.g. Terraced garden etc).
Most infuriatingly it just listed plants and flowers in Latin much of the time and if they did accompany an image it wouldn't be annotated/labelled to help the beginner identify which was which.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book, which offers practical DIY suggestions and great advice. My only dislike of the book was the repeated suggestion to use glycophosphates for weed control. Really lovely and relaxing photos, too.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

okay - inspiring photos for small, urban garden spaces

[Deirdre · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's good for some ideas for our garden, full of information and tips and well worth a browse.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is basically gardening for small spaces. It's from the Royal Horticultural Society in Britain and it does seem very British architecturally. That said, many of the pictures are transcendent and make it possible to almost feel like you're immersed in the natural space rather than in a more urban setting. You can almost smell the loam and greenery surrounding you. The more instructive parts of the book are just okay and a little too wordy.

[Stefany GG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es una buena introducción al diseño o mantenimiento de nuestro jardín urbano, ya sea si lo planeas de cero o lo remodelas. Me gustó que cuenta con datos importantes sobre el impacto de los jardines en el mundo y los beneficios ante el calentamiento global.

[Jesus Cruz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gran libro, muy directo, muy sencillo de entender, muchas fotos y ejemplos. Una persona como yo que tiene cero acercamiento a los jardines y quiere poner uno al menos queda atrapado por las ideas y proceso que explica el autor. Lo recomiendo y además puse ya mi propio roof garden gracias al autor.

[Holland · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is written for a British audience and climate, so there wasn't a great deal of useful information for a Texan.

[ccoelophysis]

Wide variety of topics to get a beginner like me thinking about what to do with my tiny backyard.