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had been ripped out and the area filled with
pink, red and orange bedding plants. It
looked just like chicken pox against the green
grass and -flowing river beyond."
It is also nice to see a gardener planting and
obviously valuing the contribution native trees
can make to a landscape. Beth Chatto mentions
oaks, hollies, maples and willows being planted
around a farm reservoir belonging to an
adjacent property.
Another positive point in the book is the
almost total lack of chemicals used in the
garden. I remember only references to an
algicide occasionally used to clear blanket
weed from the ponds and an obvious reluctance
to use slug pellets.
My criticisms of the book are few. I would
like to have seen a map locating the garden and
nursery (I believe they are at Elmstead Market)
with the times the nursery (and garden?) is
open. I believe some 2,000 different species
of plant are for sale here.
A short section only is included about small
gardens. Beth Chatto's gardens are on a
rather grander scale and I wondered if many of
the effects created in her gardens would
translate well to a significantly smaller plot
of land.
Throughout, and probably of necessity,
scientific names are used. I would imagine
many Field Club members would not find this too
much of a problem, but it does make it a book
difficult to dip into for anyone other than a