5.0 out of 5 based on 3 reviews. – Customer review on 05/10/2009

I remember when I was a child, Dad had a 'Yates Garden Guide' and would consult it regularly for information and guidance. He always had a huge veggie patch along with dozens of fruit trees and flower gardens for mum. As I got older and learnt to read, he would pose a garden problem for me and I would run inside and grab 'Yatesy' and save the garden yet again!
'Yatesy' wasn't kept on the bookshelf with all the other books, but on top of the fridge with the cook books. I remember asking why this was so and Dad's logical answer.

"Son", he said, "all the books on the bookshelf are very interesting and are full of wonderful information that you may or may not find useful throughout your life". "Yatesy' on the other hand is a recipe book for a successful garden". "Just like Mum's sponge cake, scones and preserves that come out perfect every time with the help of Mrs Fulton's cookbook", "I know that my garden will produce good food for our family because 'Yatesy' contains everything I need to know to grow a successful garden".

"Just after we had you son", "I had to declare bankruptcy after being ripped off by a business partner" (Dad was a builder). "We moved to the country to start a new life and I met a man who rented us a cheap farmhouse and gave me some odd jobs. He also gave me 'Yatesy' and told me I could use the paddock beside the house to grow food for my family".

So my siblings and I grew up with the best fruit and vegies money couldn't buy, and there were always enough preserves in that house to feed an army (thanks to Yatesy and Dad's garden (oh, and Margaret Fulton)).

Dad's long gone now and I have grown and married and had a family who all benefited from a much later version of 'Yatesy'(which I lost somehow in a later settlement). My children have all grown up now and are living their own lives and I have a new partner. She manages a huge plant nursery in mid-western Victoria and was always complaining about the lack of information available in the plant books she had in the nursery library, so I decided to help!

I jumped on-line and googled 'Yates Garden Guide' and came up with fishpond.com from whom I ordered a copy which arrived promptly. "My God"! It was twice the size it used to be! I handed it to my wife on her way to work and said "this might help". She rang me at lunch time with overwhelming thanks as her 'Yatesy' had solved most of her problems in the nursery within four hours.

Needless to say I have now been 'alotted' a large portion of our very large yard to transform into a veggie patch, along with plots for fruit trees and various other garden plants, and "maybe there's room in the back corner for a hothouse honey, what do you think? and if you were to move that shed..................."! My days are now quite full, but we eat well! lol

Now when she leaves in the morning, she has her keys, her phone, her lunch and 'Yatesy'! She calls it 'my plant bible', I still call it 'Yatesy'!

5.0 out of 5 based on 3 reviews. – Customer review on 27/02/2009

The Yates Garden Guide is a necessity in any gardeners library. Great for a quick reference for when, what, where to plant through out Australia. Fantastic for diagnosing plant problems and information on how to rectify. Great for the beginner right through to the expert gardener.

5.0 out of 5 based on 3 reviews. – Customer review on 13/10/2009

A gardening classic! Jam packed with info, well organised and easy to read.