On the growing side of things, the London Gardener by Elspeth Thompson is a seriously helpful little tome, not only providing helpful tips for those with limited spaces/nasty bugs/too little light, but also beautifully illustrated and outlining the capital's public green spaces as a source of inspiration.
James Wong's Grow Your Own Drugs, meanwhile, is so much more than the coffee table book that it might at first appear to be. With only a few common herbs growing in your allotment or garden TV pundit Wong outlines the age-old and effective rememdies that you can not only enjoy concocting but enjoy saving money with into the bargain.
The BBC's Carole Klein doesn't disappoint either with her satisfyingly thorough and easy to follow Grow Your Own Veg...which you might just want to consider buying along with Sarah Raven's Garden Cookbook to really ensure that you neither eat pot noodles nor grow weeds ever, ever again.
Finally, a really beautiful book to completely quash rumours that growing your own is strictly for hippies and Homebase-botherers, Freshly Picked, Kitchen Garden Cooking in the City by Jojo Tulloh is a delight: beautifully bound and presented, neatly and so thoughfully set out that you will not want to give it away, even if you buy it as a present.
You'll find all books in either our gardening or cookery bays—so success on a plate might only be one small bookshopping trip away. Happy digging, dibbing and dunking.
