It’s always lovely to get positive reviews of your books. But I wasn’t expecting this one from Mat Coward in the Morning Star. Not only did Mat offer some lovely feedback about my new book Attracting Garden Pollinators, but he actually chose it for his Gardening Book of the Year!

In his round up for great gardening books published in 2023 Mat features Phil Clayton’s fabulous A Plant For Every Day Of The Year (DK) and GROW5 by Lucy Bellamy (Mitchell Beazley) as well as No Dig (DK) by Charles Dowding. But in the end he chose my pollinator book as his gardening book of the year.

This is what Mat said:

“An impressively easy-to-use identification manual of the insects we’re likely to see in our gardens, as well as an admirably realistic guide to steps you can take to encourage them in every garden from smallest to largest, Attracting Garden Pollinators by Jean Vernon (White Owl, £25) is my gardening book of the year.

It’s concise, but full of information both functional and fascinating. Properly referenced and indexed, it includes lots of excellent photographs.

There are recommendations of suitable plants for all garden situations and for all seasons of the year, covering fruit and vegetables, trees, shrubs and herbs, as well as flowers.

An impressively easy-to-use identification manual of the insects we’re likely to see in our gardens, as well as an admirably realistic guide to steps you can take to encourage them in every garden from smallest to largest, Attracting Garden Pollinators by Jean Vernon (White Owl, £25) is my gardening book of the year.

It’s concise, but full of information both functional and fascinating. Properly referenced and indexed, it includes lots of excellent photographs.

There are recommendations of suitable plants for all garden situations and for all seasons of the year, covering fruit and vegetables, trees, shrubs and herbs, as well as flowers.

Invaluable for down-to-earth environmentalists, this book will also introduce gardeners to a rewarding aspect of their hobby which they may previously have overlooked.”

Thanks Mat!