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Wild Gardens
‘ Garden Book of the Year’ – Garden Media Guild Awards 2022 Discover Britain’ s most beautiful and inspiring wild gardens, and how you can make your own. Winner ‘ Best Garden Book of the Year’ Garden Media Guild Awards 2022 Despite our best efforts, and no matter how much we prune, tidy and shape our gardens, they are inherently wild. In fact, it is often the most unrestrained and untamed areas that add drama and romance. In this glorious celebration of exuberant, naturalistic planting, we take a walk on the wild side. Be transported to lush valleys and tropical jungles with exotic gardens shaped by Victorian plant hunters. Wander through beautiful bluebell woods, blossoming orchards and magical wildflower meadows, and explore prairie-style gardens inspired by North American grasslands. Discover special places influenced by natural landscapes, and sustainably managed spaces designed with wildlife in mind. You’ ll find out how wild play areas can help children to connect with nature and how immersing yourself in quiet woodland can immediately benefit your sense of well-being. A helpful guide also offers advice and tips on how to create and manage your own wildlife-friendly garden so that you can attract birds, bees, bats, bugs and many other wild and wonderful creatures.
176 pages, Hardcover
Published March 18, 2022
9 people want to read
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 30, 2025
So I got this book mainly for the pictures. I really wanted to admire the gardens of England. But I found myself reading it too, which tells you how well it was written as I never read non-fiction as I do not have the patience for it.
The last chapter was the make or break for me as it was all about what the reader can do with their own garden to help wildlife.
However, it was all instructions on changing what can only be described as large pre-war gardens. For millennials who are either renting or have financially broken themselves buying over priced houses, this chapter was a slap in the face. I originally planned to write a scathing review about how my generation cannot do what was instructed in the last chapter as we either rent the garden and cannot change it, or we've bought houses that are 6x their worth and have crippling mortgage repayments that leave no money to change a garden that some boomer paved over.
I am the latter.
My garden was filled with uneven, and ugly concrete slabs. Which meant I couldn't "let my grass grow long" or "have a pond" or anything else suggested.
But the more I thought about the chapter, the more angry I got, and the more angry I got the more I wanted to take my anger out on something.
So I removed all the concrete slabs out of pure pig-headed misplaced aggression, and planted grass.
I now have a lush green garden where before I had ugly, uneven, concrete slabs.
So my review of this book can no longer be, "We can't do it because we've been screwed over by the system". So now my review is, "screw them all, just use your anger to get things done".
I'm writing this review with bird song, buzzing bees, and beautiful green grass around me.
The last chapter was the make or break for me as it was all about what the reader can do with their own garden to help wildlife.
However, it was all instructions on changing what can only be described as large pre-war gardens. For millennials who are either renting or have financially broken themselves buying over priced houses, this chapter was a slap in the face. I originally planned to write a scathing review about how my generation cannot do what was instructed in the last chapter as we either rent the garden and cannot change it, or we've bought houses that are 6x their worth and have crippling mortgage repayments that leave no money to change a garden that some boomer paved over.
I am the latter.
My garden was filled with uneven, and ugly concrete slabs. Which meant I couldn't "let my grass grow long" or "have a pond" or anything else suggested.
But the more I thought about the chapter, the more angry I got, and the more angry I got the more I wanted to take my anger out on something.
So I removed all the concrete slabs out of pure pig-headed misplaced aggression, and planted grass.
I now have a lush green garden where before I had ugly, uneven, concrete slabs.
So my review of this book can no longer be, "We can't do it because we've been screwed over by the system". So now my review is, "screw them all, just use your anger to get things done".
I'm writing this review with bird song, buzzing bees, and beautiful green grass around me.
Displaying 1 of 1 review