#pavilionbooks

Daffodils by Naomi Slade

/ karen / 23 Comments

Book Review and giveaway.

Published by Pavilion/ Harper Collins

Photographs by Georgianna Lane

Hardback 240 pages. RRP £25

Published 13 March 2024

Can there ever be anything more cheerful than the first sign of daffodils in spring. I sigh with relief as soon as they emerge from the recently frozen, muddy ground. The worst of the winter is behind us. Spring is well and truly on the way. We have come through the cold, dark days and survived the winter once more.

Naomi Slade’s latest book is a joyful celebration of daffodils. Colour springs from every page with the wonderful photography of Georgianna Lane combined with the glorious descriptions by the award-winning author. It really is the kind of book you’d want to leave open on a different page every day. Just to gaze at the photographs and read Naomi’s words is like a balm.

Contents page

Naomi splits the daffodils into categories: charming and cheerful, ruffled and fluttering, demure and delicate, glorious and glowing. There are sections on the history of narcissus, as well as growing advice, and information on pests and diseases.

Excerpts from the book
Naomi describes 60 varieties with suggestions for planting, growing and cutting. The book would make a lovely gift for any fan of spring flowers, for gardeners, florists and collectors alike.
Actaea. One of my favourites.
Selected varieties are each given a page of description.
Delnashaugh – a large double cream and apricot variety. Ruffled and layered, makes a lovely flower for a vase or a bridesmaid’s posy.
Royal China. Introduced in 1997 by British grower Clive Postles. ‘The rounded petals present themselves in two overlapping layers, in a gentle shade of pearly white that sparkles subtly in the sunshine. The central corona, meanwhile, is exquisitely formed; ivory white along its length with a greenish yellow splash at the base and a crisp pink frill to the rim.”
Lilac Charm
Pink Paradise
Trigonometry
The ever-popular tete-a-tete
Katie Heath

Katie Heath is a muted palette of pink and cream. Lovely with willow twigs and catkins. “Named in honour of the mother of Brent Heath, who has himself found fame as one half of the well-known American bulb nursery duo that is Brent and Becky’s Bulbs.”

About the author and photographer

I can wholeheartedly recommend ‘Daffodils’ by Naomi Slade. It’s written in a cheerful, enthusiastic style with just the right amount of detail to answer all your questions.

Daffodils is the latest in a series written by a Naomi and photographed by Georgianna. Previously, I’ve reviewed Lilies, Dahlias, Ranunculus, and Chrysanthemums. There’s also Hydrangeas and Lilacs. This latest book is just as brilliant and inspiring as the others. A triumph again for this super talented duo!

Thank you for reading my blog. The publishers have kindly offered one copy to give away to readers. To be included in the prize draw, please leave a comment and your name below. Sorry, uk only. There’s no cash alternative and the publisher’s decision is final. The draw will be on Saturday 15th March 6pm. Please look back on Saturday to check if you have won. The prize will be redrawn on Sunday if there’s no reply from the winner.

I wrote about Lilies here:

https://bramblegarden.com/2021/05/25/lilies-book-review-and-giveaway/#:~:text=Stunning%20to%20look%20at%2C%20and,flowers%20reaching%20almost%20the%20roofline.

I wrote about Dahlias here:

https://bramblegarden.com/2018/06/24/dahlias-beautiful-varieties-for-home-and-garden/

Please remember to add your name at the end of comments as otherwise it comes out as ‘someone.’

Hydrangeas – book review and 1 copy to give away

/ karen / 33 Comments

HYDRANGEAS

By Naomi Slade

Published by Pavilion Books 9th July

RRP £25.00 hardback 239 pages

Photography: Georgianna Lane

ISBN 978-1-911641-23-0

Photo: my i-phone photo of Hydrangea Bluebird from Naomi Slade’s new book.

Having a beautiful book to read has helped me cope with the Covid Lockdown. Learning about favourite plants, and how to grow them, has given me something positive to focus on. And there is nothing more colourful and wonderfully inspiring than ‘Hydrangeas’ by Naomi Slade.

Photo: Hydrangea Polestar.

Naomi brings the subject of hydrangeas right up to date by focussing on the very latest plant breeding successes. Polestar, for example, only grows to a height of 50cm and is compact enough for a container. It’s one of the earliest to flower, and in my garden it’s in bloom from early June and continues right through to October. Even in winter, the papery, dried flower heads hold interest, as snow and frost settle on them. Truly, if you can have only one hydrangea, this would be the one. It would even fit in a window box or balcony garden.

Photo: Runaway Bride Snow White.

Runaway Bride Snow White, the Royal Horticultural Society’s Plant of the Year in 2018, produces flowers at the tips of the stems, like most other hydrangeas, and also from every leaf node along the stem. Naomi describes it as “airy and graceful, the modest green shrub adorned with pearls and strewn with confetti; a vision of purity that starts off a fresh, green-tinted white, and blushes to pink as maturity takes hold.”

I’ve always wanted to know the background to all these lovely varieties. Naomi selects the best hydrangeas and reveals how they were developed. Runaway Bride is the work of Japanese breeder Ushio Sakazaki who created many bedding plants, including the popular Surfinia petunias. He turned his attention to hydrangeas when he found a remote Asian species in the wild and, seeing its potential, crossed it with common Hydrangea macrophylla. The resulting plant produces wispy ‘lacecap’ flowers from late spring until Autumn. It makes a striking container plant, or would happily cascade over the top of a low wall.

As well as showcasing the latest hydrangeas, Naomi highlights heritage varieties such as the beautiful pale blue Otaksa. This cultivar dates back to the 1820s and was, rather romantically, named by Philipp Franz von Siebold after his Japanese wife. It is suggested the variety might have been naturally occurring and was discovered while Philipp worked as a physician and scientist for the Dutch East India Company in Japan. The couple had a daughter, Kusumoto Ine, who also became a practicing doctor – thought to be the first Japanese woman to have received medical training at this level.

It’s fascinating to learn then, that one of my favourite sky blue hydrangeas, Generale Vicomtesse de Vibraye, is a hybrid of H.m. ‘Otaksa’ crossed with H.m. ‘Rosea.’ Bred by Emile Mouillere in 1909.

The back story of how hydrangeas were discovered, hybridised, and sent to Britain as early as in the 1700s, adds interest to a plant that I’ve always loved, but rather taken for-granted. Naomi’s easy-to-read writing style carries you along and takes you on an international journey from North America, Japan, Korea, China and through Europe. And along the way you’ll learn that in Victorian times, a bunch of hydrangeas left on your doorstep implied the sender thought you a braggart! A rejected suitor might similarly send hydrangeas as a floral slap in the face and accusations of frigidity. Nothing surely would rescue the breakdown in that relationship!

Naomi captures the very essence of hydrangeas and what makes them special. I shall look at my own plants and appreciate them all the more, knowing where they have come from and what work has gone into growing them for today’s gardeners to enjoy.

NOTES: The publishers have one copy to give away. Please leave a comment below to be included in the prize draw. Names will be randomly selected by Pavilion Books.

Naomi Slade is a writer, broadcaster, author, consultant, speaker and photographer. A biologist by training, a naturalist by inclination, and with a lifelong love of plants, she writes regularly for national newspapers, magazines and other gardening media.

Georgianna Lane is a leading floral, garden and travel photographer whose work has been widely published internationally in books, magazines, calendars and greetings cards.

Hydrangeas features 50 of the most beautiful varieties from the elegant and airy to the bold and brilliant. There’s tips on growing in pots, hydrangeas as houseplants, feeding, propagating, pruning, and dealing with pests and diseases.

These are i-phone photos of pages of the book for the purposes of the review and, as such, do not do justice to the quality of the photography. Copyright of original photos: Georgianna Lane.

https://www.pavilionbooks.com/book/hydrangeas/

Naomi has a web book shop where there’s signed copies of all her books. There’s a 20 percent off offer on Hydrangeas at the moment, and books are available ahead of the 9th July publication date : http://www.naomislade.com/shop

Winner of Dahlias book by Naomi Slade

/ karen / 23 Comments

Congratulations to June at The Cynical Gardener who has won my prize draw for a copy of Naomi Slade’s new book, Dahlias.

I wrote a review of the book Here.

I absolutely love the book, and find I’m dipping into it whenever I sit down and rest a moment in my potting shed armchair.

The book features mouth-watering photographs by Georgianna Lane. It’s easy to read and there are lots of hints and tips on getting the best out of your dahlias.

Who could resist these lovely, brightly-coloured single varieties.

Here’s some photos of my own dahlias in my cut flower patch. I’m looking forward to trying out some of the newer varieties highlighted in the book. I’m particularly keen to try the dark red and chocolate types, as well as the cheerful sounding “happy” series.

Some of mine have been grown from seed. They produce good size plants in one year.

Dahlias will be published by Pavilion Books on 2nd August, RRP price £25. Here’s the Amazon link for more information.

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