The Garden Through the Year

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Summary: A great gardener, sharing his wisdom
Review: It's not often you find a book that lives up to its cover blurb, but this one does. In it the author, who has restored and maintained some of England's most important gardens, shares his own garden and plant wisdom with the reader. The cover reads " The Garden Through the Year is an Invitation to stroll around the garden, season by season, month by month....The reader receives the benefit of Thomas's tremendous experience, delivered in the form of a conversation with an intimate friend." That, together with beautiful and relevant illustrations, are what you get in this book.

The author sets out to tell us which plants he treasures in his garden each month of the year and how they contribute, whether by flower, foliage or bark, to the beauty of the garden at that time of year. He throws in some suggestions to help us grow the plant more successfully.

Mr Thomas was about 90 years old when he wrote this book so we can honestly say he is sharing a lifetime of experience with us. His knowledge of plants and how they grow is profound and he has received almost all the chief honours of the horticultural world. The pleasure of this book is that his knowledge and experience are shared in such a conversational way, as if the reader was strolling around his garden with him and he was chatting about his plants. It's not often I feel enriched by a book, but this one both enriched me and made me feel more confident about my garden.

Rating:
Summary: The Last Book from the Best
Review: The Garden Through the Year is a beautiful and wonderful book. It would make an excellent addition to any serious gardener's own personal library. It would also make a terrific present for anyone you know who loves gardening.
I am writing this today, April 21, 03, on the day that I just heard that the author Graham Stuart Thomas just died. Thomas was easily one of the greatest of all the English garden writers. He wrote many marvelous books and in every one of them, his personality and vast experience shines brightly through.
This latest book is no exception to that rule of excellence in garden writing. I am a garden writer myself (Safe Sex in the Garden, Ten Speed Press)and I always appreciate extra good, extra informed garden writing. No one does it better than Graham Stuart Thomas. First, Thomas was an extraordinary gardener, in the finest tradition of English gardeners. In this book he brings in many new and exciting plants and always his writing is full of the best possible gardening advice. This is a very useful book for someone who is interested in how his/her garden might look (or could look!) in different seasons.
In my own back yard I have a large and beautiful yellow rose bush, a David Austin creation, called, 'Graham Thomas.' This rose smells wonderful, grows strongly, and has that old fashioned petal form that is a joy to see. Like the writer it was named for, the rose is a winner. If you have never had the pleasure of reading any Graham Thomas, buy this book and you'll be pleased. If you are already familar with his work, buy it also, and savor the high quality of an excellent book, probably the last one from the garden master, Graham Stuart Thomas.