The Well-Tempered Garden - Softcover

Christopher Lloyd's love of and pride in gardening is evident in every word of this often-republished gardening classic. It's not an encyclopedic text, as much of it is specifically applicable to Lloyd's damp English climate, but as he says in his new introduction, "We should always keep an open mind." Gardeners in many climates will do well with the plants Lloyd loves, and everyone can follow his advice on the basics of growing and propagating healthy plants.

"The Well-Tempered Garden is for gardeners who have not been dragged into this pursuit but are here because they love it." So writes Christopher Lloyd in the Introduction to this superb book. Here the beginning gardener will learn the basic skills of planting, pruning, weeding, staking, and deadheading. More advanced gardening enthusiasts are guided through ways to propagate plants, to select and care for different kinds of plants - perennials, shrubs, climbers, bulbs - and are also offered ideas about the many different kinds of gardens one might keep. He offers advice on roses, vegetables, fruits, ornamental plants, wild gardening in grass, and more.A strong-minded instructor, Lloyd knows that errors are inevitable, and rather than scolding encourages learning through experience. He opens our eyes to the beauty of the unexpected surprises that happen in the garden, whether on the part of the "fallible plant" or the "fallible gardener." All this from the man Henry Mitchell called "possibly the best garden writer alive." (6 X 9, 480 pages, illustrations)