Want a gardening book for Christmas? Dont hurry as there is only one left!

hi drc,i noticed this on Sunday.. only ATs book on sale i thought it was a free catalogue as it was in the D.I.Y. stand for free pages on tips & hints then i noticed it was (i think ) £6.99. i agree with you i will buy where i have a choice.. thanks for bringing this up..:o)

As a matter of principle I always try to buy from independant over chains any day of the week. It's not always possible, nor practical, and frequently costs a couple of quid more. But it's precisely because of these underhand tactics that I've made this choice.
This applies to supermarkets too. A local shopkeeper has been forced into a position where he trawls the supermarket specials - he reckons that 25% of the time he can't "buy that cheap" from the wholesaler.

Yes I love these books - I have a few of them. I think they're probably my favourite ones

I noticed the change too at my B@Q. The Hessayon books were reduced for clearance so that Alan Titchmarsh could take over the gardening world.

That is so unfair , I have always loved the Dr. Hessayon books ... I'm having problems seeing where all this hyped up stuff is coming from for Alan Titchmarsh ... he's on practically everything you see today !

I understand the irritation with Titchmarsh, he's certainly ubiquitous these days, but let's not forget, he is, first and foremost, a horticulturalist and gardener, and a very good one at that. I'd heard about his Hessayon style publications, haven't seen them, but if you still want Hessayon, Amazon has them, often much cheaper than anywhere else too. Mind you, Titchmarsh's coffers must be overflowing by now...

I agree with Bamboo, AT is an RHS or is it Kew qualified, time served, with his local council, gardener. If his books appeal to the TV viewers then lets be greatful that his book sales will encourage others to garden. His are no different to the books by percy thrower that my parents swore by.

However I agree we should have freedom of choice when we wish to buy anything.

Kew qualified, Seaburngirl - the hard way, lol!

exactly, a proper gardener, with true info to share.

I hope we dont come down to one expert knows all! I wont buy them until I am given choices.

I agree Drc after all look at the help/advice given here it is wide and varied and not always in agreement. But we know what happens in our experiences.

We do SBG and I love the interaction on here of different experiences having their say. I have certainly learnt things on here that have come from tried and trusted methods.

You do have choices, though Drc - just not at B & Q, by the sound of it, lol! And one must bear in mind that, despite the Hessayon books being pretty useful (I'm always recommending them) they were originally only published to make money for PBI Industries (original makers of Baby Bio), by whom D. G. Hessayon was employed. Which is why he recommends their products throughout the series...

I really think its a matter of what appeals, I like AT's easy going dry humour and he makes me feel enthusiastic, Carol Klein's earth covered fingers and down to earth simplistic approach appeals also. I cant relate to Chris Beardshaw or Joe Smith (nice bloke tho he seems) and Monty Don (another nice bloke) seems to look for too many inner meanings for me. And many would disagree with me. But what I think we all agree on, is CHOOSING who to watch and read and where we buy it from. I might go for the cheapest book available, but its the book I want to buy, not what I am forced to buy. So I scatter my hard earned largesse among a variety of places and while we can do this we will have choices. So I agree that big companies like supermarkets and superstores are not the be-all and end-all much as they try. Not while we are alive and kicking anyway!!