The Thrifty Gardener

Ever since she cycled on to our screens as Head Gardener of the BBC's Gardener's World Berryfields garden, Alys Fowler has been a bit of a fave in this household.

Brief glimpses of her own garden proved that the recycling, making-do and ‘something-for-as-little-as-possible' genes were well and truly in evidence in Alys. Her book bears this out wonderfully. Packed full of sensible and easy to follow advice plus great projects, it's the perfect addition to any gardener's library. But be warned: it has already resulted in the expansion of the Jim'll and Tanya To-Do List.

The garden basics are all covered: soil types and structure; design principles; seed saving, propagation and germination; composting; pruning and weeding. They are all here but the great thing for those of us with a recycling bent is that these hints and tips are peppered with ‘how to make from scratch' ideas. Cold frames, worm composters and compost bins are just a few of the featured pallet projects - her beehive compost bin is just one of many ‘makes' that have joined our list.

She rounds off the advice with skip diving tips - definitely a case of do as she says not do as she does if the photos of her rummaging through a very full skip in summer dress and sandals are anything to go by! There are also some of her favourite fruit, veg and flower varieties.

All in all a great addition to my collection and one I hope you'll like too.

Tanya

Have you read a book that has inspired you on your green journey and want to tell others about it? Then we would love to hear from you. Email us on .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

 Our affiliate merchant AMAZON has lots of books for sale around this subject. The Big Green Idea is paid a commission if you choose to buy via our links. These are not recommendations by the author and are chosen purely to give a representation.