‘Growing Food’ by Anna Pavord
You can probably count on one hand the number of times you pick up a gardening book and know instantly that it is going to contain a lot of sound, useful and practical advice and not just pretty pictures. ‘Growing Food’ by Anna Pavord is one such book and the minute it passed through my hands I knew that here was a pot of gold.
In this book, which is an updated edition of her book ‘The New Kitchen Garden’, the bestselling author of 'The Tulip' and ‘Bulb’ shows us how best to grow fruit, vegetables and herbs, combining them with flowers in a kitchen garden. This is how we used to garden and Anna’s book will certainly stimulate us to look again at re-creating the once traditional potager.
In her introduction, the author points out that: "If you are interested in good food, there is an overwhelming reason to grow your own fruit and vegetables.
”She then goes on to show you how to do just that in a conveniently sized A5 format, which contains plenty of excellent clear diagrams, planting plans and suggested cultivars.
Cultivation techniques are clear and practical and the author also tempts us further with a variety of recipes, so you can enjoy ‘plot to pot’ to the full. The chapters deal with all the topics you would expect to enable us to ‘grow our own’ including Garden Styles, Growing Vegetables, Herbs and Fruit and Planning and Cultivation Techniques.
One of the strengths of this book, apart from its wealth of advice, is that here we are stimulated by ideas on how vegetables and fruit can be grown with flowers to look decorative as well as being tasty. Whether you have an allotment or want to create a Herb Garden or Potager in your own garden, ‘Growing Food’ will serve you well.
There are 12 planting plans in the book, covering a variety of garden styles and sizes from a tiny roof garden through to a Mediterranean courtyard.
Anna Pavord is the Gardening Correspondent for the Independent, writes for magazines including Country Living and is an associate editor of Gardens Illustrated.
“Growing Food’ by Anna Pavord is £7.99, published by Frances Lincoln Limited.
