
An Ear to the Ground
Understanding Your Garden
Ken Thompson(Author)
Eden Project Books (Publisher)
Published on 4. October 2011
Book
Paperback/Softback
256 pages
978-1-905811-84-7 (ISBN)
Description
How did plants get to be the way they are? Why do they have pretty flowers? How different would things have been if the wrong kind of pollinators had got the upper hand? Why are Latin names so complicated, and why Latin anyway? Why is a weed-free lawn an ecological impossibility?
This entertaining book gives the answers to these questions and many more. It shows how a little botanical knowledge can bring not just better results but peace of mind, and that losing sleep over such traditional gardening bogeys as weeds, pests and pruning is not necessarily the best course.
In this new edition Ken Thompson grabs the opportunity to explain why any old plant will do for companion planting - but also that it can do as much harm as good - and why planting by the moon is complete and utter nonsense.
This entertaining book gives the answers to these questions and many more. It shows how a little botanical knowledge can bring not just better results but peace of mind, and that losing sleep over such traditional gardening bogeys as weeds, pests and pruning is not necessarily the best course.
In this new edition Ken Thompson grabs the opportunity to explain why any old plant will do for companion planting - but also that it can do as much harm as good - and why planting by the moon is complete and utter nonsense.
Reviews / Votes
An excellent read for the beginner gardener who wants to understand the science of gardening without getting bogged down in formulae and graphs. * The Times * This neat little book will bring peace of mind from worries about weeds, pests and pruning for all those anxious gardeners who'd rather be up at the allotment than down on the beach. * Daily Mail * Good popular science books for gardeners do not come along every day. Those that are also easy to read, witty and do not insult the intelligence of readers are rarer still. So I can't recommend too highly An Ear to the Ground by Ken Thompson, which gives up-to-the-minute answers to all those questions that nag at you when you are bottom-up in a flower border or floating off to sleep at night. Its style - forthright, breezy and authoritative - is most appealing. Thompson politely, but firmly, puts the boot in. It is about time someone told it how it really is. * Telegraph * This is the book we've been waiting for. * Sunday Telegraph * An entertaining guide to the biology behind green tomatoes and red cabbage, brambles' peculiar sex lives and why not to be afraid of Latin, it is learned and authoritative without blinding with science. * Independent * This amusing and very useful book is a must for any gardener, whether highly knowledgeable or rank amateur. * Good Book Guide * Refreshingly down-to-earth guide * Red * It is the perfect book for the armchair gardener! This joyful little book will help debunk some gardening myths, and reveal your garden as it really is. A gem of a book * Todmorden News *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Transworld Publishers Ltd
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Illustrations
10 line illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 127 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
304 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-905811-84-7 (9781905811847)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
06/2011
1st Edition
Transworld Digital
€6.99
Available for download
Person
Ken Thompson is a plant ecologist. He is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences at the University of Sheffield where he was a key member of the first of two 'Biodiversity of Urban Gardens' (BUGS) projects investigating the significance of urban gardens as habitats for 'natural' biodiversity. He has written over one hundred articles for scientific journals and writes regularly for several gardening magazines, including The Garden and Gardens Monthly. He is also the author of the equally charming and critically acclaimed NO NETTLES REQUIRED: The Truth about Wildlife Gardening.