My Review for The Joy of Exploring Gardens from Lonely Planet

Immerse yourself in the most gorgeous gardens in the world. 

This is such a gorgeous book, full of beautiful pictures from amazing gardens, all over the world. I'd love to visit even just a fraction of these. We love a road trip, so maybe now I will need to persuade my husband that a garden needs to be incorporated into each vacation! The book also includes lots of ideas for you to travel and enjoy outdoor spaces. A great coffee table book that will definitely give your guests something to talk about!

Thank you to Sabrina Dax and Lonely Plant for the gifted copy of The Joy of Exploring Gardens.

About the Book

Discover 60 of the world's most spectacular gardens plus 120 travel ideas to ignite a love of outdoor spaces. Featuring the history of every botanical gem, beautiful photography and trip planning tips, this uplifting book explores the restorative effects of flora and fauna, and the joy to be experienced from each of the inspiring gardens inside it.

Walk spellbinding nature trails at the Desert Botanical Garden in Arizona, US; wander the stone paths of Japan's infamous Kenroku-en Garden; or steal away to a subtropical retreat just off the coast from Glengarriff, Ireland. In-depth garden profiles, Q&As with experts, and personal accounts from writers who have experienced the magic of each destination accompany the mesmerising gardens inside this book, so that you can learn just why each idyllic sanctuary is so joyful.

Inside The Joy of Exploring Gardens

🪴 60 in-depth profiles of gardens illustrated with beautiful photography; a Q&A section where you can read the insights and thoughts from an expert closely linked to the garden; and first-hand accounts from writers who have visited each outdoor space

🪴 120 extra must-visit garden destinations from all over the world

🪴 At-a-glance reasons to go that offer a glimpse into what you can expect to find in each garden from water features to rainforest walks; city views to upcycled sculptures

🪴 Accessibility awareness including an overview of the path and ground conditions and the availability of accessible toilets and other amenities for visitors with disabilities and mobility issues

🪴 In the know tips to help you get there including local transport, when to go, what to take with you, must-do activities, and experiences not to be missed

🪴 Covers global garden destinations including Africa & the Middle East, Americas, Asia, Europe, Oceania

🪴 Foreword by Lyanda Lynn Haupt, author, naturalist, ecophilosopher, and speaker. Her latest book is Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit.

Do more of what you love with our uplifting Joy of series and nurture your biggest passions. The Joy of Exploring Gardens is the ultimate gift book for the horticulturist in your life or a wonderful treat to inspire your next joyful garden adventure to a paradisiacal wonder or secret botanical gem.

About Lonely Planet

Lonely Planet, a Red Ventures Company, is the world's number one travel guidebook brand. Providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveller since 1973, Lonely Planet reaches hundreds of millions of travellers each year online and in print and helps them unlock amazing experiences. 

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My Review for From Shetland, With Love by Erin Green

⭐⭐⭐⭐  Dottie, Jemima and Melissa. Three different women, from differing backgrounds, but all come together for their love (or growing love) of gardening.

Friendship, rivalry, subterfuge, and perhaps a blossoming of romance can be found amongst the allotment plots and amongst the pages of this delightful book. 

I laughed, I cringed, and I shouted at many of the characters’ antics as they went about their business on their allotments, many trying to grow the biggest and the best.

I found the book fairly laid-back and slow-paced, but the characters were all loveable, even if many of them were downright rogues!

This was my first foray into Erin Green’s world, but I’ll definitely be searching for more of her books.

From Shetland, With Love would be a brilliant book to while away a few winter days, curled up in front of the fire and alternating between the chapters of this and the many seed catalogues that are coming through the post at the moment!

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of From Shetland, With Love by Erin Green.

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My Review for The Kew Gardener's Guide to Growing Roses

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐  Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group- White Lion for the opportunity to review 'The Kew Gardener's Guide to Growing Roses' before the publication date. 

Being an avid, albeit fairly new gardener I am interested in widening my knowledge to learn as much as I can about flora and fauna and how I can grow and nurture plants in my own garden. I do particularly love roses but know next to nothing about them and reading this lovely book was an ideal opportunity to understand a little bit more. 

 The book is set out beautifully, with a long introduction that covers everything you need to know about roses, different rose types, and how to grow them successfully. Following this, there are many sections on which roses are best for which part of your garden including growing roses in a container or training a rose against a wall. 

The photographs are stunning and each one draws you into the page as you eagerly read how to get a rose to 'perform' for you. I am on a mission to identify the roses I currently have in my garden and this delightful book will start me on my quest. 

The only thing I wasn't too keen on was the background of each page. It has a somewhat mottled effect, especially as I was reading it on an iPad I was constantly thinking there were marks on my screen. However, I am sure this wouldn't be the case with a physical copy of the book and indeed a physical copy would definitely be my recommended format. Ideal as a coffee table book and lovely to browse through whilst having a cuppa and learning just that little bit more about your roses.

Please note that I read this as an ebook on an iPad so I am unsure what the physical copy is like.

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