Synopsis:
This essential practical guide aims to take the mystery out of pruning - a gardening task which many gardeners mistakenly believe to be difficult and complicated. It simplifies the job, showing that the correct pruning and training of ornamental and fruiting plants is both easy and also has many rewards, including improved flower and fruit production, healthier plants, improved plant shape, and a tidier garden. Opening with a helpful introduction, which covers basic principles and techniques, useful tools and equipment, and safety considerations, the chapters that follow are arranged by plant type, covering trees, shrubs, climbers and wall shrubs, and roses. Each chapter includes practical advice, illustrated with step-by-step photographic sequences and artworks, on the initial training of the plant type in question; how to prune the plant once it is established; and how to undertake renovation pruning. There is also information on specialized pruning and training techniques, such as pruning for ornamental stems, pleaching, pollarding and coppicing. An invaluable A-Z Directory of Ornamental Plants looks at the pruning requirements of a wide range of species on a plant-by-plant basis, explaining when and how to prune. A Fruit section contains chapters on pruning and training tree fruits, including hardy apples and pears, and tender tree fruits, such as olive trees and citrus fruits. There is also a chapter on soft fruit, which covers cane fruit, such as blackberries and raspberries, and bush fruit, including blackcurrants and gooseberries. The books is lavishly illustrated with over 700 inspirational and practical photographs as well as more than 270 specially-commissioned artworks and illustrations. All techniques and projects are shown in close-up step-by-step photography and diagrams to ensure that the tasks are absolutely clear and easy to follow, and making this the only book on the subject that any gardener will ever need. A definitive practical guide to pruning and training ornamental and fruiting plants Lavishly illustrated with over 700 inspirational and practical photographs as well as more than 270 specially-commissioned artworks and illustrations All techniques and projects are shown in close-up step-by-step photography and diagrams making the tasks absolutely clear and easy to follow Contains an easy-to-use A-Z Pruning Directory, describing the timing, frequency and method of pruning for a range of ornamental plants Provides clear, practical advice on formative and established pruning and training methods for ornamental plants An at-a-glance Seasonal Pruning Guide indicates what to prune when throughout the year Includes a helpful section on fruiting plants, packed with annotated illustrations, explaining how to train and prune hardy and tender fruit trees, soft fruits and nuts
About the Author:
Peter Anderson is a highly respected photographer, specialising in gardens, landscapes and people. His work has appeared in a number of books including Timpson's Timepaths and The Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Gardening, and in several gardening and home interest magazines, among them Gardeners' World and Homes and Gardens. Richard Bird has been gardening since childhood and currently maintains a large garden where his abiding passion for plants is very evident. He has contributed to numerous publications and has been magazine editor for Focus on Plants, The Hardy Plant, Alpine Gardening and the Alpine Garden Society's magazine Bulletin. He is also a full-time author on gardens and plants and has written nearly 30 books on subjects as diverse as alpines and rock gardens, lilies, perennials, kitchen gardening, organic gardening and window boxes. He is the author of Sensational Shrubs, Glorious Climbers and Annuals and Perennials.
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