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This is a not only a comprehensive guide to grasses (and sedges, rushes, restios and cattails) but it is also a manifesto on how to garden sensibly, practically, sustainably and meaningfully. The truth of Darke’s message, like many other environmental truths, is so obvious, and so eminently sensible, that one can only wonder why it has taken us so long to get here. This weighty book – it’s just shy of 500 pages – is one of those very rare gardening books that has the potential to change your whole outlook on the outdoors.  Darke’s obsessive interest and knowledge of his subject is evident on every page and one of the highlights is the photographs of unplanted landscapes (at least by humans): urban railway sidings, Kansas prairies and Alpine valleys. If every gardener were to spend even an hour with this book, there wouldn’t be a garden or landscape around without at least one species of grass or grass-like plant in it. Timber Press, Hardcover, 484pp

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Managing the Wet Garden dares gardeners to consider excess water an opportunity to cultivate an unexpectedly large and unique range of plants. Natural wetlands — water meadows, marshlands, and riverbanks — provide inspiration for practical water management, plant selection, and aesthetic considerations. Part One provides readers with practical tips on how to recognize and manage a wet site. Part Two includes a detailed directory of water tolerant plants, including ferns, conifers, trees, shrubs, climbers, herbaceous plants, and bulbs.

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Coastlines offer a vast diversity of environments, and the similarities they share – wind, salt and so on – can pale compared to the differences in climate, rainfall and soil type. For this reason, no book can quite get to grips with any specific area of coast. This book is written about gardens in North America, with its Pacific, Atlantic and Gulf coasts and vast span of minimum and maximum temperatures. The area which has most relevance to the Irish reader is the Pacific Northwest and California.

This book attempts to go beyond a mere listing of what plants grow best where. There is an interesting commentary on the privatisation of the coastline through development of golf courses, retirement villages and so on, and informative sections on wind and windbreaks, planting in sand and invasive plants. These are followed by themed chapters, the first of which is a well-illustrated tour of ‘Gardens at the Shore’. The next chapter is entitled ‘Advice from seashore gardeners’, and falls somewhere between a listing of favourite plants and useful gardening advice, such as: plant small (aids quick establishment) and plant in autumn or early winter to allow plants to get established before the dry spring and summer. The final section is a concise and well-illustrated listing of plants. With such a diversity of climates to cover, it does not have any massive surprises for the experienced gardener, but for someone wanting to put their toe in the water of planting by the shore, it makes a good introduction to the possibilities. Timber Press, Hard cover, 160pp

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Woodland plants add magic to any garden, with lush carpets of color, foliage at the middle level, and majestic height. Contrary to myth, large spaces and special soil are not required. Drawing on her own experience running a thriving woodland nursery, the author provides seasoned advice on the unique challenges of woodland gardening, including managing light levels, choosing the right plant for the right place, and achieving the well-balanced soil structure that is often key to growing a variety of woodland plants. Extensive planting suggestions will endow gardeners at all levels of experience with the confidence to experiment, and the extensive plant directory will inspire all gardeners to bring woodland plants into the garden for year-round pleasure. Timber Press.

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This is a powerful and very personal book which charts the development of the utterly idiosyncratic garden of Derek Jarman. Set in the shadow of a nuclear power station and surrounding his tiny black and yellow cottage, his garden is an iconic 'gravel' garden which has given rise to many imitations. More of an artist than a gardener, he used found objects and arranged them wonderfully, making this a garden alive with his own personality. Wonderful photographs, poetry and thoughts on gardening have made this a very influential book which shows, in a gentle way, that gardens are more about the process of making them than static enjoyment of a finished product. Thames and Hudson. Hardback.144pp.

'… still the best thing on gardening ever published' – The Observer Magazine,
May 2004

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Charles Jones is likely to remain for ever a mysterious figure. We know he was born in England in 1866, the son of a master butcher. We know he must have trained as a gardener and was employed on a number of private estates before retiring to Lincolnshire. We shall probably never know why he came so obsessively and so brilliantly to photograph the plants he encountered in everyday life at the turn of the last century. Yet here was an 'outsider' genius, who was saved from obscurity only by the chance discovery of his surviving prints in a London market.

His techniques – close-up viewpoint, long exposure and spare composition – anticipate by decades the later achievements of modernist masters. The photographs themselves are Jones' only statement: he left no notes, diaries or writings to explain his reasons for the creation of such a prodigious and concentrated body of work, but beautifully reproduced here, their simple, unvarnished beauty is the perfect antidote to appetites jaded by processed food and 21st-century life. Thames and Hudson. Hardback. 128pp.

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This gorgeously illustrated book, published by Thames and Hudson, presents a selection of about 100 plants that grow wild in Ireland or are cultivated in Irish gardens. This is a new edition incorporating all the watercolors from An Irish florilegium and An Irish florilegium II. This superb collection of exquisite drawings is by renowned botanical artist Wendy Walsh. Working only from nature, she has painted a selection of the native and cultivated flora of Ireland, chosen not only for their botanical interest or beauty but also because they have an interesting history.  Ireland has produced a surprising number of devoted and intrepid plant-hunters who have played a significant part in the introduction into Europe of plants from remote places. Thames and Hudson. Hardback. 99 colour illustrations. 280pp.

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This can legitimately be described as the essential reference book for anyone interested in gardening. Choose the plants you want for your garden and learn to position and care for them properly with the new edition of this perennial favourite. This new edition is the most comprehensive and visually exciting A-Z plant encyclopedia ever. Endorsed by RHS experts and written by over 100 contributors, it lists over 15,000 plants and is illustrated with colour photographs throughout. Ideal for both the gardening expert or the budding amateur, telling you everything you need to know about garden plants. Includes a special section on how to use colour and in-depth features on the most popular plants such as lilies and hostas. Dorling Kindersley. Hardback 1136pp.

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The Essential Garden Design Workbook guides the reader through every stage of planning a garden — how to survey a site, how to choose landscaping materials, and how to develop planting schemes. This fully revised and updated second edition features new case studies and new photographs. Valuable tips on green gardening are new to this edition, and include how to harvest rainwater, how to design a green roof, tips on sustainable planting, and a guide to composting. Tailor-made for hands-on gardeners and students of garden design, the workbook approach is accessible, practical, and can be used to create a garden from scratch and to redesign an existing garden. Gardeners will find easy ways to measure large spaces, estimate the height of a tree, and find the right proportions for a deck. They'll also find tips on space, light, and color. Includes hundreds of easy-to-follow line drawings and diagrams. Timber Press. Flexibind. 304pp

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Written by two of the most influential and well-known exponents of the 'new-wave' of perennial gardeners. Gardeners with a keen interest in design, as well as professional landscape designers, will find invaluable advice in this new approach. The book focuses on the general principles behind creating successful and beautiful plant combinations in both time and space — working with perennials in the context of trees, shrubs, and the surrounding landscape. The authors suggest looking across, into, and through the landscape. They ask the reader to consider the rhythms and connections in their designs, through such elements as echoes, linkages, and repetitions. More than just theory, Planting Design includes practical discussion of topics such as soil preparation, plant selection, and garden maintenance. Exceptional photographs show growth of a designed landscape over time, opening the gardener to new ways of seeing and thinking about their landscapes. Timber Press. Hardback. 176pp.

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