An Ear to the Ground

Overview

New material addresses such issue as why biodynamic gardening is nonsense and the truth about companion planting in this popular science book for gardeners.

How did plants get to be the way they are? Why do they have pretty flowers? How different would things have been if the wrong kind of pollinators had got the upper hand? Why are Latin names so complicated, and why Latin anyway? Why is a weed-free lawn an ecological impossibility? This entertaining book gives the answers to these questions and many more. It shows how a little botanical knowledge can bring not just better results but peace of mind, and that losing sleep over such traditional gardening bogeys as weeds, pests, and pruning is not necessarily the best course. This new edition explains why any old plant will do for companion planting—but also that it can do as much harm as good—and why planting by the moon is complete and utter nonsense.

Reviews

"An excellent read for the beginner gardener who wants to understand the science of gardening without getting bogged down in formulae and graphs." —The Times

"Good popular science books for gardeners do not come along every day. Those that are also easy to read, witty, and do not insult the intelligence of readers are rarer still. So I can't recommend too highly An Ear to the Ground by Ken Thompson, which gives up-to-the-minute answers to all those questions that nag at you when you are bottom-up in a flower border or floating off to sleep at night. Its style—forthright, breezy and authoritative—is most appealing." —Telegraph

"This is the book we've been waiting for." —Sunday Telegraph

"The perfect book for the armchair gardener!" —Period House

"This joyful little book will help debunk some gardening myths, and reveal your garden as it really is." —Gardening Which?

"Refreshingly down-to-earth guide." —Red

"This neat little book will bring peace of mind from worries about weeds, pests and pruning for all those anxious gardeners who'd rather be up at the allotment than down on the beach." —Daily Mail

"This amusing and very useful book is a must for any gardener, whether highly knowledgeable or rank amateur." —Good Book Guide

Author Biography

Ken Thompson is a plant ecologist who has written more than 100 articles for scientific journals and writes a regular column on the science of gardening for Organic Gardening magazine. He is also the author of Compost and coauthor of The Ecology of Seeds.