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The Flower Yard: Growing Flamboyant Flowers in Containers
'The Flower Yard is simply gorgeous. Inspirational, sumptuous and packed with refreshingly down-to-earth advice. I love this book.' Nigel Slater
Arthur Parkinson's town garden is like a path of pots, a tiny, exposed stage on bricks. Despite its small size, a flower-filled jungle in Venetian tones is grown here each year, in defiance of urbanisation. The plants act like drapes, closing gently as their growth engulfs the front door, from either side of the path, to the buzz of precious bees.
This is gardening done entirely in pots, yet on a grand scale that will inspire anyone who wants their doorstep or patio to be a glamorous and lively canvas that nurtures them visually and mentally. From jewel scatterings of crocus, flocks of parrot tulips and scented sweet peas to galaxies of single dahlias, towering giraffes of amaryllises grown inside for winter and endless vases of cut blooms through the seasons.
With his bantam hens at his feet, Arthur shares his life, knowledge, flair and influences for planting creatively, all of which combine to create a space that's rich in ever-changing colour and life.
Arthur Parkinson's town garden is like a path of pots, a tiny, exposed stage on bricks. Despite its small size, a flower-filled jungle in Venetian tones is grown here each year, in defiance of urbanisation. The plants act like drapes, closing gently as their growth engulfs the front door, from either side of the path, to the buzz of precious bees.
This is gardening done entirely in pots, yet on a grand scale that will inspire anyone who wants their doorstep or patio to be a glamorous and lively canvas that nurtures them visually and mentally. From jewel scatterings of crocus, flocks of parrot tulips and scented sweet peas to galaxies of single dahlias, towering giraffes of amaryllises grown inside for winter and endless vases of cut blooms through the seasons.
With his bantam hens at his feet, Arthur shares his life, knowledge, flair and influences for planting creatively, all of which combine to create a space that's rich in ever-changing colour and life.
208 pages, Hardcover
Published April 27, 2021
86 people are currently reading
256 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
April 14, 2021
Another reviewer felt there was no need for this book. But, there is no definitive guide to container gardening. It is a matter of taste.
I really enjoyed this book as it made me think differently about flower and colour combinations. I will definitely be braver with my planting from now on.
I really enjoyed this book as it made me think differently about flower and colour combinations. I will definitely be braver with my planting from now on.
July 24, 2023
Absolutely hilarious. For the folks who bought this to learn how to garden, sorry. It's got some good info in it for sure. The reason for this book's popularity, however, is the author's flamboyant British wit. Example: P. 44 of my edition has the author posing, face half covered with a dahlia and some millet. He's captioned the picture thusly, "Instagram posing with the dahlia 'Emory Paul,' which is like a flamingo wonderland croquet mallet, gorgeous in some ways but its flowers do look almost painfully ridicuous with some reaching the size of useless footballs opon what are quite tall stems. This really is too much, or it would be if the red millet sprays weren't hiding my pout." I mean, that quote really says it all. If that's one of the funnier things you've ever read, this book is for you. If you're looking for solid advice on how to arrange and grow in pots and can deal with some catty writing, this book is also for you. If you're looking for something very no-nonsense, then there are many books for you out there. This one is reserved for those of us who want something more...colorful. Highly recommended.
February 8, 2022
The book is filled with gorgeous inspiration and images. The first half is light in useful technical information but in the latter section there is handy guidance especially about seed starting, dahlia storage, and plant staking. Arthur Parkinson’s voice is strong throughout and I appreciated his perspective as a gardener making the most of limited space. He maintains a principled perspective on growing organic which is especially relevant and easily attainable in the home garden and makes lovely camp references throughout the text.
June 2, 2021
Arthur Parkinson is not afraid to share what he thinks about gardens and flowers. This is why he is so much fun to read. Even though our growing conditions are very different I learn a lot about how to garden in my zone.
June 1, 2021
Great gardening tips, fantastic photos and his designs are amazing!
December 21, 2021
I'd recommend the print book so readers can fully appreciate the pictures of flowers, many in the jewel-toned colors that Mr. Parkinson prefers.
A lot of the flower references I understand, and parts of the Britishness, and bits and pieces of the cultures and customs Mr. Parkinson describes. An example of that mix of murkiness and understanding is Parkinson's anecdote about going to find curtains for the window in his room. He was thinking of "Ab Fab," so he put his hair into a beehive style. I suspect the meanings here are flying over my head somewhat higher than a bouffant. That was murky to me.
He finds a fabric that has a design of peonies, roses and tulips on a midnight-black background. That description I could understand. The cost quoted for the amount of the fabric for the size of curtains that Mr. Parkinson wanted was "a figure large enough to buy several dozen pot-grown David Austin roses with enough spare change for organic manure, or it could have paid for several years’ worth of tulip bulb orders." That I could immediately think of in the U.S. equivalent, and it's a very, very large amount of money.
So, weirdly enough, I fully understood the cost comparison. I'm attributing some of the non-flower-related references that I don't get to preciousness and/or camp. I appreciate the information about growing garden plants in pots. Honestly, it's highly unlikely that I would weave my own hazel withies for my Gallica roses, but there are other suggestions that I could actually follow. I was happy to learn that house sparrows eat aphids. They like to make nests in the hanging baskets of spider plants that go out to the porch in warm weather. A number of Mr. Parkinson's observations about small birds and pollinators like bees and butterflies, especially about the ways they use plants, explained a lot.
In many ways, this is a book that I'm a good audience for. I recently learned that there was a double sport of the 'Queen of Night' tulip named 'Black Hero.' This is the sort of information that's exciting to me. Mr. Parkinson uses 'Black Hero' along with an array of brightly-colored parrot tulips and 'Black Parrot' in one of his big pots of tulips. I am a total amateur in this, but this fall I planted 'Generaal de Wet,' 'Orange King,' 'Apricot Beauty' and other tulips in shades of orange and apricot between my 'Queen of Night' and 'Black Parrot' tulips. The 'Black Parrot' tulips are a few feet from the cultivar they sported from, 'Philippe de Comines,' which is beautiful in its own way. So depending what gets eaten, I will also have groups of very dark-colored tulips with flame-colored tulips in between them. Anyway...
I'm taking the information that's useful to me, enjoying the gorgeous pictures, and letting the cultural references I don't understand flutter gently past me.
Finished on Dec. 20, 2021. I'd highly recommend this book to those people who like growing flowers or looking at beautiful pictures of them.
A note for those who notice this kind of thing: I saw a few strange little typos, things that a spell check program would miss, because they're real words. It took me a while to figure out that "lava" should actually have been "larva," or "larvae" in that particular case. My guess would be that with at least some British English accents one wouldn't pronounce the "r"? The hyacinth cultivar 'Jan Bos' has the second part of the name rendered as "boss." I'm not sure how "Bos" is supposed to be pronounced, but I can see how a spell check program would recommend that correction. It recommends it to me. Aside from "lava," the small typos didn't disrupt my reading pace.
A lot of the flower references I understand, and parts of the Britishness, and bits and pieces of the cultures and customs Mr. Parkinson describes. An example of that mix of murkiness and understanding is Parkinson's anecdote about going to find curtains for the window in his room. He was thinking of "Ab Fab," so he put his hair into a beehive style. I suspect the meanings here are flying over my head somewhat higher than a bouffant. That was murky to me.
He finds a fabric that has a design of peonies, roses and tulips on a midnight-black background. That description I could understand. The cost quoted for the amount of the fabric for the size of curtains that Mr. Parkinson wanted was "a figure large enough to buy several dozen pot-grown David Austin roses with enough spare change for organic manure, or it could have paid for several years’ worth of tulip bulb orders." That I could immediately think of in the U.S. equivalent, and it's a very, very large amount of money.
So, weirdly enough, I fully understood the cost comparison. I'm attributing some of the non-flower-related references that I don't get to preciousness and/or camp. I appreciate the information about growing garden plants in pots. Honestly, it's highly unlikely that I would weave my own hazel withies for my Gallica roses, but there are other suggestions that I could actually follow. I was happy to learn that house sparrows eat aphids. They like to make nests in the hanging baskets of spider plants that go out to the porch in warm weather. A number of Mr. Parkinson's observations about small birds and pollinators like bees and butterflies, especially about the ways they use plants, explained a lot.
In many ways, this is a book that I'm a good audience for. I recently learned that there was a double sport of the 'Queen of Night' tulip named 'Black Hero.' This is the sort of information that's exciting to me. Mr. Parkinson uses 'Black Hero' along with an array of brightly-colored parrot tulips and 'Black Parrot' in one of his big pots of tulips. I am a total amateur in this, but this fall I planted 'Generaal de Wet,' 'Orange King,' 'Apricot Beauty' and other tulips in shades of orange and apricot between my 'Queen of Night' and 'Black Parrot' tulips. The 'Black Parrot' tulips are a few feet from the cultivar they sported from, 'Philippe de Comines,' which is beautiful in its own way. So depending what gets eaten, I will also have groups of very dark-colored tulips with flame-colored tulips in between them. Anyway...
I'm taking the information that's useful to me, enjoying the gorgeous pictures, and letting the cultural references I don't understand flutter gently past me.
Finished on Dec. 20, 2021. I'd highly recommend this book to those people who like growing flowers or looking at beautiful pictures of them.
A note for those who notice this kind of thing: I saw a few strange little typos, things that a spell check program would miss, because they're real words. It took me a while to figure out that "lava" should actually have been "larva," or "larvae" in that particular case. My guess would be that with at least some British English accents one wouldn't pronounce the "r"? The hyacinth cultivar 'Jan Bos' has the second part of the name rendered as "boss." I'm not sure how "Bos" is supposed to be pronounced, but I can see how a spell check program would recommend that correction. It recommends it to me. Aside from "lava," the small typos didn't disrupt my reading pace.
August 30, 2024
This book got me excited about container gardening. It was also helpful, though I don't think I am going to have a spring garden and a separate summer garden like Arthur. One garden a year is enough. I really liked the photos of his garden planning schematics. I took a photo of them so I could zoom in and read it in more detail. I design my container garden with a garden planning tool that arranges placement, and with PowerPoint slides; less romantic than his scribbled version, but more practical since I can copy and paste pictures of the flowers to aid my horticultural imagination.
I should note that Arthur is in part selling his own attractiveness--I laugh at the "Simply gorgeous" seal right next to his head on the front cover! The marketing team did well with that one. Arthur is also into a whole lifestyle, including chicken raising and twig gathering. I'm not that 'all in', but it's still interesting to read about. Finally, let me just say that I like that he helped an elderly neighbor who also loved plants. Gardening can be a solitary thing; that's what many of us love about it. But when we can share our love of plants with others, it adds another dimension of pleasure to the experience.
I should note that Arthur is in part selling his own attractiveness--I laugh at the "Simply gorgeous" seal right next to his head on the front cover! The marketing team did well with that one. Arthur is also into a whole lifestyle, including chicken raising and twig gathering. I'm not that 'all in', but it's still interesting to read about. Finally, let me just say that I like that he helped an elderly neighbor who also loved plants. Gardening can be a solitary thing; that's what many of us love about it. But when we can share our love of plants with others, it adds another dimension of pleasure to the experience.
June 13, 2023
the book that brought me over winter.
i bought this book after a dark time in my life that involved my garden, chickens and a fox. i was quite heartbroken and searching for something to brighten my mood. i bought this book coincidental as an ebook (and later as hardcover) and was struck by the wonderful pictures and the lovely notes and photos on chickens. it gave me joy and an hopeful outlook for the coming year and most important: gave me some motivation to take my gardening (kind of) more serious. Since the two years i read it i bought every book from arthur and they always gave me joy, a warm feeling and a vision on what i could do with my garden and plants. his writing style is wonderfully picturesque, his tips very useful and practical and what i especially love: he understands his responsibility as a gardener to tell his readers that gardening is not an act of controlling nature but supporting it. and that implements all the creatures, birds and insects that should feel welcome in the green landscape that you can create. <3
i bought this book after a dark time in my life that involved my garden, chickens and a fox. i was quite heartbroken and searching for something to brighten my mood. i bought this book coincidental as an ebook (and later as hardcover) and was struck by the wonderful pictures and the lovely notes and photos on chickens. it gave me joy and an hopeful outlook for the coming year and most important: gave me some motivation to take my gardening (kind of) more serious. Since the two years i read it i bought every book from arthur and they always gave me joy, a warm feeling and a vision on what i could do with my garden and plants. his writing style is wonderfully picturesque, his tips very useful and practical and what i especially love: he understands his responsibility as a gardener to tell his readers that gardening is not an act of controlling nature but supporting it. and that implements all the creatures, birds and insects that should feel welcome in the green landscape that you can create. <3
March 2, 2023
I was given this book for Christmas last year. It has taken a while for me to pick it up and go through it. A delightful book by a young author. I am sure as he matures and has lots of life experience in the garden his books will only get better.
Although much of what he grows and describes is not for the Australian climate, (regionally at least) we can pick and choose from the book what we know to work in our climate. His concentration is on small gardens with lot of pots, tubs, troughs, bins, and the like. Balcony gardens, pocket handkerchief size gardens is his concentration here.
"The chapters follow a year of growing to create specific displays of plants - one each for spring and for summer - for a flamboyant and defiant show in pots; it is about the plants themselves and how these alone hve the power to transform daily life into the beautiful". His introduction.
The book cover is lovely and the colourful pages a visual delight.
Although much of what he grows and describes is not for the Australian climate, (regionally at least) we can pick and choose from the book what we know to work in our climate. His concentration is on small gardens with lot of pots, tubs, troughs, bins, and the like. Balcony gardens, pocket handkerchief size gardens is his concentration here.
"The chapters follow a year of growing to create specific displays of plants - one each for spring and for summer - for a flamboyant and defiant show in pots; it is about the plants themselves and how these alone hve the power to transform daily life into the beautiful". His introduction.
The book cover is lovely and the colourful pages a visual delight.
September 10, 2023
Wonderful book chock full of gorgeous photos (I especially love the parrot tulips and dahlias). My only quibble is that you remember this is a garden in the UK with their milder climate (unlike my New England). You can plant bulbs in containers and just leave outside in my Northeastern USA climate and expect them to make it through the winter as the freeze/thaw cycle will damage the bulbs, if not kill them.
Except for that one quibble aside, I highly recommend this book and it will have a nice place in my gardening library.
Except for that one quibble aside, I highly recommend this book and it will have a nice place in my gardening library.
April 6, 2021
No real depth or need for this book. It just left me cold and uninspired. I had been looking forward to it but it was just pontificating posing.
This just came across as a pontificating teenager deciding taste and was too dogmatic. Sadly not what I was hoping for
This just came across as a pontificating teenager deciding taste and was too dogmatic. Sadly not what I was hoping for
May 22, 2021
Jpb
A good read and visually exciting. Warm and colourful. Glad I bought this book. Have enjoyed and will use for ideas choosing plants for the garden I have just acquires - grass and one wind blown hebe in situ so way to go.
A good read and visually exciting. Warm and colourful. Glad I bought this book. Have enjoyed and will use for ideas choosing plants for the garden I have just acquires - grass and one wind blown hebe in situ so way to go.
August 27, 2021
Great guide and instructions
This book The Flower Yard is beyond helpful. I haven't seen anything that comes close to the guidance and information that is covered here. Also the author is really entertaining and funny! I will be referring to this book for a long time to come.
This book The Flower Yard is beyond helpful. I haven't seen anything that comes close to the guidance and information that is covered here. Also the author is really entertaining and funny! I will be referring to this book for a long time to come.
November 14, 2022
Plants in pots
Really interesting methods to grow a container garden. I have problems with snails and slugs and have never been able to grow sweet peas. Reading this,I've realised what tricky beasts they are! Lots of ideas that I certainly want to try!
Really interesting methods to grow a container garden. I have problems with snails and slugs and have never been able to grow sweet peas. Reading this,I've realised what tricky beasts they are! Lots of ideas that I certainly want to try!
March 16, 2025
I enjoy hearing Arthur chat on Sarah Raven's podcast. He's judgy and witty in an entertaining way. This book is as much about style, colour and flamboyance as it is about the nitty gritty of gardening with pots. The photography is gorgeous!
March 1, 2022
Loved Arthur Parkinson's personality through this book, and I definitely will be taking some of his advice on aesthetics when I'm designing the new house's garden.
April 1, 2022
A gorgeous book (basically floral porn!) that shows even the smallest gardens can be glorious!
September 21, 2022
Love this book. Lovely colourful photos. Informative but written in a slightly humorous way.
A good read even for those not really into heavy gardening.
A good read even for those not really into heavy gardening.
October 27, 2022
This book is full of beautiful photographs of flowers and is a tonic for the soul. I didn't know I would also end up reading it with such interest.
January 21, 2023
I was drawn to this book by the palette of the garden, which I love. Beautiful pictures and an interesting read. Now just have to source some of those varieties in my part of the world.
February 14, 2023
Savoured this over months.
November 21, 2023
Great insight and lots of information
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews