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How to Be a Gardener: Back to Basics (Book One) [Hardcover]

Alan Titchmarsh (Author)

4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)

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Book Description

Publication Date: 21 Feb 2002

How to be a Gardener Book One, available at long last in paperback, is the fastest-selling gardening book of all time with sales in excess of 600,000 copies.

In How to be a Gardener Book One, Alan Titchmarsh draws on his knowledge and passion for gardening, and his many years of experience, to give you a comprehensive guide that explores every aspect of your garden and how it works.

In this, the first of two volumes, Alan starts with the basics that every gardener needs to know. He includes information on how plants work and what they need to survive, as well as advice on where to begin if youre a first-time gardener.

Released to coincide with How to be a Gardener Revisited, a reversioned series of HTBAG 1 & 2 featuring new footage with Alan Titchmarsh in January 2005.

In setting out the basic gardening principles and explaining the hows and whys, Alan gives the novice confidence and increases the skills and understanding of more experienced gardeners, too.

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How to be a Gardener Book One, available at long last in paperback, is the fastest-selling gardening book of all time with sales in excess of 600,000 copies.

Released to coincide with How to be a Gardener Revisited, a reversioned series of HTBAG 1 & 2 featuring new footage with Alan Titchmarsh in January 2005.

In setting out the basic gardening principles and explaining the hows and whys, Alan gives the novice confidence and increases the skills and understanding of more experienced gardeners, too.

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Product details

Hardcover: 264 pages
Publisher: BBC Books; 1st edition (21 Feb 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 056353740X
ISBN-13: 978-0563537403
Product Dimensions: 22.4 x 2.2 x 28.3 cm

Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)

Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 31,211 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Amazon Review

No safer pair of hands than those of Alan Titchmarsh could be imagined to coax the nervous would-be gardener into picking up a spade. The BBC evidently think so, as they have commissioned the two series and accompanying volumes of How To Be A Gardener, their most ambitious gardening project to date. The elevation of gardening in recent years from a genteel pastime to national mania, fuelled largely by television, seems to have engendered a large audience of virtual gardeners, keen to get their hands dirty but unsure of how to begin.

No doubt the outstanding success (even by her own standards) of Delia Smith's comparable How to Cook trilogy formed an encouraging precedent. Just as Delia set out to give her readers and viewers the basic skills from which to build a confident technique, so Alan Titchmarsh in this first volume takes his pupils back to the basics ("Back to Basics" is the book's sub-title) of soil types and management, plant growth, seasonality, maintenance and pest control. It's a thorough, utterly professional, novice-friendly job; not all that different from a number of other manuals of garden basics, but self-recommending by the confidence its author inspires--the product on the one hand of a lifetime's expertise and on the other of his inimitable personality. --Robin Davidson

Review

'I want you to get a feel for gardening...to use all your senses - touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing - to make you a good gardener.' Alan Titchmarsh

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

143 of 143 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Welcome to the Jungle! 1 May 2002

By Mark Ashworth

Format:Hardcover

My wife and I required help. We had just bought a house with gardens that required much attention - Lawns that had had many football tournaments played on them, flowerbeds that resembled war zones and barren areas of land that made the Sahara desert look positively fertile.

We had studied many gardening books, many of which were good, but none aimed at the 'absolutely useless'. After watching Mr. Titchmarsh's series on back to basics gardening we decided to check out the accompanying book.

Were we impressed? Absolutely. There's everything here that the beginner could wish for. What tools you require and their uses. Garden pests and ways to remove them. Correct ways, positions, and times of year of planting, to name but a few topics. My only gardening 'skill' was mowing the lawn. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that I'd been doing it wrong (Cutting too short, not removing dead grass, etc).

If the only time you get green fingers is after picking your nose (sorry) then this is a perfect book and cannot be recommended enough.

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78 of 80 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars At last! A gardening book for the true novice 6 May 2002

By Fengirl

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

How good it was to read a gardening book written for a true novice. Alan does not assume that you know anything except that the garden is usually outdoors. All is explained clearly but not in a patronising way, the pictures would surely inspire anyone to get out there and have a go at creating their own little paradise.
What a refreshing change this book is to all the fashionable 'no plants' type of gardening, I was quite sad when I finished reading it. I have had a garden for quite a while,mine has grown randomly without any design whatsoever, but Alan's book has inspired me to have a go at designing my own triangles.

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150 of 155 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Does what the title says 20 Feb 2002

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

A very well written book in simple language, yet full of valuable information from start to finish. Mr Titchmarsh takes you through a brief explanation of what gardening is or should be and onto the basic fundamentals explaining about soil and how plants live, breath and grow. Easy to read and excellent photographs. i particularly enjoyed the sections on pests which will hopefully get rid of the army of never ending slugs in my garden! Written with his usual sense of humour I found it more like a one to one chat than reading a book. Very informative for the whole spectrum of gardening, can't wait for the tv series.

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66 of 68 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars If you only buy one gardening book, make it this one! 18 April 2002

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

The secret of Alan Titchmarsh's success lies in his ability to communicate with novices and old hands alike, at the same time and with neither feeling patronised or talked down to. He is at the same time a teacher, friend and fount of all wisdom. I particularly liked the section on design which made it quite impossible to fail to produce results. I have been a gardener for a few years, and found that this book plugged some of the gaps that inevitably occur when one is self-taught. For the beginner, it could quite possibly be the only book you will need (for a few years at least!)

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75 of 78 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for the new gardener 23 Mar 2002

By paula

Format:Hardcover

Alan really has the nack of putting something that is often shrouded in mystery in a clear and simple way. This book does just that. It takes you through the stages of assessing your plot, how to plan your next move and how to maintain the beautiful garden you have created.

It is particularly helpful to the first time or less experienced gardner often faced with a myriad of other books and magazines.

Choose this one and you'll be off to a flying start!

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70 of 73 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Stuffed with information for the beginner and intermediate 7 Feb 2003

By Bookworm1973

Format:Hardcover

If you've seen the series, this book is pretty much what you'd hope it would be. (I write this having seen only the first programme.) Equally, it would work very well as a stand-alone book - it isn't derivative at all. It has all the main points of the series, and it also fills in the detail and substance.

There are sections on developing your own design; vertical gardening (hedges, climbers etc); patio gardening; beds & borders; water features; edible gardens; and gardening under cover. (There's also a tiny bit about wildlife gardening.) Although there are lots of glossy pictures, they're all useful and relevant. The text is friendly and very helpful.

Don't buy it, even if you fancy it, if you already know a lot about planning a garden, because you'd find it patronising.

I find the tone really encouraging, and it is less chatty than the programmes. Definitely worth getting if you enjoy the series and want to put it into practice, or if you weren't able to see the programmes.

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59 of 62 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars How to be a gardener 18 Feb 2003

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

I bought this book having moved into my first home with garden. The book gave me many ideas and tips on how to turn my garden from a plot of grass, into a beautiful flower and shrub garden. It explains the terminology used in the book, ie thinning out, dead-heading etc. Being new to gardening this book really helped me achieve good results in my garden without killing everything. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Well worth buying!

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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Real Gardening at last! 3 Jan 2004

By Cantox

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this book for my father who is an avid gardener but ended up reading it myself! It is very thorough and doesn't assume previous knowledge of the subject. Great for beginners and for those wishing to brush up on fundamentals which can sometimes get forgotten. It is heartening to see Dr Titchmarsh do something to encourage REAL gardening. Unfortunately, after all, he and his erstwhile Ground Force colleagues are largely responsible for the deplorable trend which has led to half the gardens in the country - certainly half those in my town - being buried under decking,chippings and paving slabs! Maybe Dr Titchmarsh should produce a wildlife gardening book/programme to make up for his role in helping to create all those sterile, plantless concrete wastelands.

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› See all 21 customer reviews (newest first) on Amazon.co.uk

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Good book

Well written book, full of pictures which helps if you do not know much about gardening. I enojed reading it.

Published 6 days ago by DS

5.0 out of 5 stars How to be a Gardener

Good old Alan Titchmarsh - a great book and he can do no wrong in my opinion. Sensible and easy to follow advice

Published 5 months ago by Sheila Turner

5.0 out of 5 stars How to be a Gardener: Back to Basics, by Alan Titchmarsh

Excellent book - very clear and informative. A must for anyone starting out in gardening, or a good reference book for current gardeners. Recommended.

Published 9 months ago by Judith Tomes

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book

I'm a total novice at gardening and recently bought a house with a fantastic garden without any knowledge on how to look after it. Read more

Published 19 months ago by Jonathan Bradshaw

4.0 out of 5 stars Basic gardening book

The book arrived in good time and in good condition. It is a present so I cannot make any further comment.

Published 21 months ago by Mrs. V. Little

5.0 out of 5 stars An Inspiring Book

If you are very much a novice gardener like me, this is the book for you. Alan Titchmarch is the best. He is down to earth (excuse the pun! Read more

Published on 6 May 2011 by M. L. Brown

5.0 out of 5 stars how to be a gardener secrets of success book two alan titchmarsh

this book is better than expected.i ordered a brand new one from amazon at the same time and this is in better condition than the brand new one(which was damaged in the post) . Read more

Published on 26 April 2011 by Mrs. H. J. Harris

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic

An early christmas present for my brother who has just bought a new house with an established garden, he needed to know how to get rid of the roses in his garden as they were... Read more

Published on 3 Oct 2010 by Mrs J

4.0 out of 5 stars Alan Titchmarsh gardening book

Published on 20 Jan 2010 by A. S. Pomfret

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent advice but for novices only

I was really tempted to give this book a five star rating but for one point - this is a very short book and, while it does what it says on the cover, if you follow Alan's advice... Read more

Published on 27 Jan 2005 by J. Brand

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