If you're looking for inspiration as the warmer weather beckons, there are some excellent new books packed with advice on everything from growing fruit and veg to garden design and practical tips, says Hannah Stephenson

THERE'S a plethora of books out this spring on every conceivable way to grow every conceivable fruit and veg, pushed further by the Jamie Oliver effect and with all the big guns jumping on the grow-your-own bandwagon.

These include Alan Titchmarsh, with The Kitchen Gardener (BBC Books, £20), and the RHS, with two yummy titles including a revised edition of its Vegetable & Fruit Gardening (Dorling Kindersley, £20), featuring advice from experts on growing more than 150 different foods, and Grow It, Eat It, (Dorling Kindersley, £9.99), aimed at junior chefs and gardeners.

If you want something a little quirkier, wait until the May publication of Forgotten Fruits by Christopher Stocks, a guide to Britain's traditional fruit and vegetables (Random House, £16.99). As well as being a guide, it's also a fascinating work of natural and social history. Did you know, for example, that gooseberry-growing contests were a prominent feature of 19th century rural life? Or that the first radishes to arrive in England (in around 1548 were the size of small turnips? ) TV tie-ins are also abundant now, so if you have been enjoying Monty Don's Around The World In 80 Gardens, you can find out more about them in the accompanying book (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, £20).

If you're after something different, in May you can pick up some entertaining titles including One Man And His Dig (Pocket, £6.99), written by journalist and allotment holder Valentine Low, who decided to forego his world of dinner parties with the chattering classes to take on a down-to-earth pastime.

He recounts tales of the characters and crops he has encountered on his allotment and offers tips for greenfingered urbanites.

And as long as we don't have a similar summer to last year's washout, you might find Ian Cooke's new book, also out in May, useful. Waterwise Gardening (New Holland, £12.99) offers all manner of water-saving advice for gardeners - what to do if you have a hosepipe ban, ways to recycle and store water and water-wise plants.

Take a leaf out of Chelsea gold medal winner Andy Sturgeon's book by following his design ideas in his new book, Minimum Space, Maximum Living Outdoors (Mitchell Beazley £16.99). It looks at a range of different spaces from balconies to basements, rooftops to entrances, and highlights particular considerations of each as well as illustrating inspiring design ideas.

And for those planning some visits to gardens for inspiration, grab a companion such as Gardens Of Britain And Ireland by Patrick Taylor (Dorling Kindersley, £14.99), which features 300 of the greatest public and private gardens, with quick and easy references arranged by region.

Alternatively, pick up a copy of the 19th edition of The Good Gardens Guide (Frances Lincoln, £15.99), which selects only gardens of real merit, vividly describing their main characteristics and qualities, with detailed information and coloured maps.

4:06pm Thursday 10th April 2008

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