Understanding Your Garden : A Practical Approach to Gardening with Science

Cambridge: Cambridge Uniiversity Press. Very Good/Very Good. 1990. First Edition. Hard Cover. Sm 4to 0521334683 Dust jacket complete, unclipped. Yellow cloth with bright titling on spine. No ownership inscription. Numerous Colour & b/w Illustrations. 180 pages clean and tight. In Understanding Your Garden, Stefan Buczacki demonstrates in lively and accessible style how every practical gardener can benefit from a basic understanding of the scientific ideas that underlie everyday gardening. Science is inseparable from modern gardening and we make use of its findings every time we plant vegetables, spray our roses, or even mow the lawn. Starting from this principle, Dr Buczacki looks at the basic botany of garden plants and at the way they respond to such local environmental conditions as soil, climate and topography. With the help of step-by-step diagrams and numerous ready reference tables, he explains the best ways to tackle routine cultivation, manuring, watering and feeding. Planting and propagation, pruning, training, cropping and plant rotation are considered in detail, as are the all too familiar problems posed by pests, weeds and diseases. The book ends with a chapter on such fundamental garden hardware as greenhouses, watering systems, mowers, and handtools, offering helpful advice on selection and purchase. Attractively and informatively illustrated and of permanent reference value, Understanding Your Garden reveals natural science not as the dry school subject of popular memory but as the key to horticultural enjoyment and success. .