Well-Tempered Garden

By Christopher Lloyd - Foreword by Charles Elliott

It is THE gardening classic, as essential to every gardener as a sharp pair of secateurs or a good spade
The most inspiring gardening book of the later twentieth century
Christo never played it safe when it came to plant combinations - sometimes disastrously; often joyously. A generous host, a stimulating friend, young in outlook, he was the most interesting plantsman I have ever known
Packed with ideas you would never have thought of: observations you wish you had discovered yourself
Christopher Lloyd's great classic, THE WELL-TEMPERED GARDEN, never disappoints me when I'm looking for inspiration ... Lloyd has a wonderful way of describing plants - I can't look at a rhododendron without calling to mind his description of the foliage as "lugubrious"
Packed with the sort of information gardeners crave - from planting and propagation to the pleasures of wild gardening in grass, and fruit and vegetable specialities. He writes with gusto, giving his opinions, his likes and dislikes firmly without worrying whether we agree or disagree with him
One of the definitive gardening books of the 20th century has been updated. When Christopher Lloyd, one of the UK's most respected plantsmen, wrote the book, he established himself as one of those rare breeds of garden writers who not only writes about plants, but writes what he feels and thinks about them too ... The book is far from "sanitised" - how refreshing!
If you want a chatty, opinionated and highly readable book, you can do no better than turn to Christopher Lloyd's classic, which is still in print after many years
The Well-Tempered Garden was an eye-opener when I first found it more than 30 years ago. Most of the other books around were technical, but here was a good read about the sort of gardening that I wanted to aspire to. Somehow, one knew it was the right way ... and there's nothing to match it for sound advice based on experience
The Well-Tempered Garden is as useful and as enjoyable today as the day it was written