This is definately a book to use for reference rather than sitting down and reading from cover to cover. It is laid out in sections covering roses,shrubs,climbing and wall plants, vines, fruit trees, soft fruit and trees. The introduction and glossary at the front cover all of the basis so that a gardening novice should be able to follow the pruning instructions. There are plenty of clear black, and green illustrations showing where to prune which look easy to follow except for the climbing and rambling roses illustrations which look quite messy - perhaps like the plants! The instructions are written in plain english with specific gardening terms only used where necessary. As each chapter is laid out in a similar way it is easy to skim through and find the area thet you want. Most common shrubs and trees are included in the appendix, which then points you to the relevant pages for pruning the specific plant. As the book is quite small and reletively inexpensive it is a book that you could take around the garden and use outside while pruning. As it is so compehensive it is likely to be the only book that you ever need on pruning.
