Graham Rose

I expected a wealth of information from this book, so I ended up disappointed. First, it turned out to be pretty slim for such an ancient plant, as lavender in the English Victorian era alone could be a book in itself. I also expected recipes for home remedies or cooking but the most involved it gets is telling the reader to add lavender oil to their shampoo or bath water, which leads to another reason I gave this book two stars: the author repeatedly tells the reader to put undiluted lavender oil directly to the skin, and even to put it on the tongue and lips. Essential oil needs to be diluted by water, oil or lotion as it's powerful and can cause skin irritations.
The different varieties of the plant are listed and there are many more than I knew, but without any photos at all in the book, it's another missing piece. The cover is pretty though. I feel bad about leaving such a review for a book about a happy subject, but maybe the author will make some changes.… (more)

Split into 4 main sections: creating a low maintenance garden, minimum care plants, labour saving devices and low maintenance technqiues.

First section covers principles and planning and includes a few low maintenanc plans.

Second section covers easy care trees, shrubs, climbers, perennials, annuals, bulbs, water plants, plus veg, herbs and fruit.

Third section presents 11 garden plans (colour illustrations) and planting plans with some photos.

Fourth section covers hard lanscaping and maintenance.… (more)