Zia Allaway - RHS How to Grow Practically Everything: Gardening Projects Anyone Can Do

HOW TO GROW PRACTICALLY EVERYTHING S OF GARDENING 1 0 0 PROJECTS ABSOLUTELY ANYONE CAN DO ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY HOW TO GROW PRACTICALLY EVERYTHING ZIA ALLAWAY LIA LEENDERTZ LONDON, NEW YORK, MUNICH, MELBOURNE, DELHI Senior Editor Zia Allaway Senior Designer Lucy Parissi Project Editor Caroline Reed Editors Chauney Dunford, Becky Shackleton Designer Francesca Gormley Picture Research Jenny Baskaya, Lucy Claxton Jacket Design Duncan Turner Production Editor Joanna Byrne Production Controller Imogen Boase Managing Editor Esther Ripley Managing Art Editor Alison Donovan Publisher Jonathan Metcalf Art Director Bryn Walls RHS Publisher Susannah Charlton RHS Editor Rae Spencer-Jones Photography Brian North, Peter Anderson Additional text Jenny Hendy First published in Great Britain in 2010 by Dorling Kindersley Limited, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL A Penguin Company 2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1 Copyright 2010 Dorling Kindersley Limited All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the previous prior permission of the copyright owner. A CIP catalogue record is available from the British Library ISBN: 978 1 4053 2729 9 Printed and bound by Star Standard, Singapore To find out more about RHS membership, contact: RHS Membership Department, PO Box 313, London, SW1P 2PE Telephone: 0845 062 1111; www.rhs.org.uk IMPORTANT NOTICE The author and the publishers can accept no liability for any harm, damage, or illness arising from the use or misuse of the plants described in this book. Discover more at www.dk.com Foreword Growing plants is easy when you know how. Most plants will flourish with just a little help, and you dont need any special skills to sow seeds to create beds brimming with flowers and vegetables, or to pot up containers to paint your patio with colour. Follow the step-by-step guides to grow almost anything your heart desires, from spring bulbs and easy-care shrubs in a border, to a tiny orchard or bed filled with tasty root crops.

To make life even easier weve included lots of hints and tips to ensure your plants thrive. And if you need inspiration when choosing a plant for a particular place or purpose, take a look at the Selections spreads which showcase a range of options. The book is split into eight chapters: the first is an Contents introduction to plants and soil a good starting point for beginners before planning or planting. The following chapters offer a feast of ideas for different areas of the garden, fruit and vegetable plot, and your home. There is also a chapter on water and wildlife gardening. Browse through to see what takes your fancy, and use the quick check lists to discover how much time each project will take, and the tools and plants you will need.

To conclude, theres advice on garden care and maintenance, as well as tips on keeping pests and diseases at bay, equipping you with everything you need to know to create a beautiful, bountiful garden. ZIA ALLAWAY LIA LEENDERTZ Gardening Basics Explore the world of plants and flowers to find out how they grow, and the best ways to care for them. Then, find out more about soil types and aspect to ensure you match your plants to the conditions in your garden. Equipped with this information, the fun can begin: put together a tool kit, decide on your style, design a planting plan, and start choosing plants and seeds. Finally, browse through the Seasonal Planner on pages 2425 to discover what to do when. 1 ANNUALS 2 BIENNIALS 3 PERENNIALS 4 GRASSES These plants germinate, grow, Much like annuals, biennials Perennials are the mainstays Some ornamental grasses are flower, set seed and die all in are short-lived, but spread their of flower gardens, producing evergreen and keep their leaves one year. 1 ANNUALS 2 BIENNIALS 3 PERENNIALS 4 GRASSES These plants germinate, grow, Much like annuals, biennials Perennials are the mainstays Some ornamental grasses are flower, set seed and die all in are short-lived, but spread their of flower gardens, producing evergreen and keep their leaves one year.

They are bold and time over two years, growing their flowers and foliage year all year, while others die back. colourful, and quickly gone, in the first, flowering in the after year. Most die down in They create movement and although hardy ones may self second. They too are used as winter, and produce a fresh light in the garden, and many seed and appear the next year. colourful bedding plants. have striking winter skeletons. 5 SHRUBS AND HEDGES 6 TREES 7 CLIMBERS 8 AQUATICS Deciduous or evergreen, these For privacy, enclosure and a Scrambling up walls and If you have a pond, there plants form the backbone of sense of permanence, plant across trellises, climbers is a wide range of plants to the garden. 5 SHRUBS AND HEDGES 6 TREES 7 CLIMBERS 8 AQUATICS Deciduous or evergreen, these For privacy, enclosure and a Scrambling up walls and If you have a pond, there plants form the backbone of sense of permanence, plant across trellises, climbers is a wide range of plants to the garden.

Shrubs have a a tree. Evergreens provide soften the sharp lines of hard consider, from marginals with woody framework and create colour all year, while deciduous landscaping. They can also be ornamental foliage or flowers a permanent structure. Many species bring young spring grown through trees and that thrive in shallow water, also produce attractive flowers leaves and blossom, autumn shrubs. Many have beautiful to spectacular deep-water and autumn berries. flowers, and some are scented. aquatics, such as water lilies. GARDENING BASICS >> How plants grow One of the pleasures of gardening is that it gives you the chance to watch nature at work.