GARDENING books are being prominently displayed in the shops in the run-up to Christmas - and they can make a good gift. One of the most impressive of all is Making Gardens, a weighty 336-page volume, published to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the National Gardens Scheme.

This book is full of practical advice for hands-on gardeners, it also has the glamour of a "coffee table book" for those who prefer to admire beautiful gardens, without getting their hands dirty!

The National Gardens Scheme is a charity whose members raise over £1m per year by opening their gardens to the public, usually on specific days, with a modest admission charge.

More than 3,600 gardens throughout England and Wales are open to the public through this scheme, including many stunning gardens in our own area.

They range from small town gardens, to cottage gardens and vast country estates.

The money raised by the NGS goes to various charities, including Marie Curie, the Macmillan Nurses and Help the Hospices.

Royalties from this book will also go to the NGS charities. Many people will be familiar with the annual NGS guidebook, Gardens of England and Wales Open for Charity, which is affectionately known as "the yellow book".

This same theme is reflected in the cover of Making Gardens, which also has a yellow colour scheme.

Top garden photographers and famous writers have contributed to the book, with such famous names as Alan Titchmarsh, Beth Chatto, Christopher Lloyd, Dan Pearson and Lord Lichfield appearing among the credits.

All the pictures have been taken in NGS gardens, which are used as examples to illustrate various themes. For example, one chapter is entitled Wrestling with Clay, a subject which will ring a bell with many Hampshire gardeners.

There are lots of tips about how to tackle a type of soil which can be solid as a rock in summer and a soaking-wet quagmire in winter.

The introduction says: "Clay soil causes severe heartache and backache for gardeners." To underline the point, there is even an expert insight from a doctor (Beric Wright) which advises how to be kind to your back!

Each chapter ends with a list of NGS gardens which illustrate the theme. Hampshire gardens on clay include Appletrees at Burridge, which usually opens for one day in May and one in June, and Flintstones at Durley (usually one day in April and two in June).

These are just two of the dozens of Hampshire gardens mentioned in the book.

Chapters about living with chalk and limestone, about woodland shade and about seaside gardens will also have a special relevance for many local readers.

A gorgeous picture of the herbaceous borders at Bramdean House in Hampshire is used to show what can be achieved on chalky soils.

Town gardens also merit a section of their own and I found this one of the most interesting chapters in the book, perhaps because my own garden is in an urban environment. It is inspiring to see such superb gardens in tiny spaces.

Sandy soils, slopes, stony conditions, wild gardens, drought, high rainfall and gardens with water each have their own chapters and there is even a section on the skills of clipping and cutting - a cue for pictures of turf mazes and precision topiary.

IDEAS FOR YOUR CHRISTMAS GIFT LIST:

Making Gardens is published by Cassell and Co and is obtainable through bookshops priced at £30. ISBN 0-304-35597-6. It is available through the NGS website for £25 including UK postage and packing. Go to www.ngs.org.uk

Cheap, cheerful and reliable paperbacks in the "Expert" series make great gifts. Titles include The Rose Expert, The Lawn Expert, The Vegetable Expert, The Flower Expert and The House Plant Expert.

Keen gardeners may appreciate one of the Royal Horticultural Society's large reference books, which retail at around £35 each.

They include The Encyclopedia of Gardening, The Encyclopedia of Garden Plants and the New Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers.