Gardening Books

What a great book this is. The lavish photos by Mr. Lord are stunning, but the real deal is all his detailed inside information about Sissinghurst Garden. I assume most gardeners have heard of the place, but for those who haven't, this is widely considered to be the most beautiful garden of its kind in the world. Sissinghurst was created among the ruins of an English Tudor castle by Vita Sackville-West, her husband Harold Nicolson, their kids and gardening staff from the 1930's through the 1960's.

The book is organized with one chapter for each garden area or outdoor room. A history of the area is given, with much failure and success along the way. Happily, the story doesn't stop with the passing of the Harold and Vita.

The book continues the amazing efforts of Nigel Nicolson and the gardening staff once the property became a public trust in the 1970's. Not only has the original vision been preserved, but in many cases, it's been improved. A private garden originally made for a small family and their circle of friends had to learn to accomodate hundreds of thousands of visitors a year. Stunning when you consider that a garden is among the most ephemeral things on earth.

Any passionate gardener will identify with the stories. Inspiration abounds for any garden. It is tremendously fun and informative to see the plan drawings and plant lists for each garden area. Not every plant is detailed. That would take many volumes. But a good representative sample is given for each garden area so you feel you really get the full story. The book was published in 1996, so the chronicle ends there. If Mr. Lord's other Sissinghurst book carries the story further, I'll need to pick that one up too.

For anyone who wonders how such a miraculous place of beauty can be created, preserved, and carried to even greater heights, this is the book for you.

Could a British garden be taken seriously if it had no pleached limes, no white garden, no boxwood hedges? I should think not. Nor should any good book about important British gardens skimp on coverage of these features. This is not an issue for Tony Lord's Gardening at Sissinghurst.

Lord has photographed the garden in all seasons and in all kinds of flattering light. Where structure, foliage, and texture were important the light is diffuse. Where color makes the scene interesting, the light is warm, clear, and direct.

There's neither shortage of things to photograph nor of good photographs. Ten chapters are organized around specific garden regions: the rose garden, the lime walk, the cottage garden, the white garden, and so on. In each region the style of planting varies to match the theme. It's formal in the courtyards, less so in the cottage areas, and nearly wild in the orchard.

American gardeners in the northwest will be able to replicate the gardens thanks to watercolored plans by Frances Lincoln. Those in other parts of the country will have to reconsider plant selections. Limes, verbenas, boxes and lupines will have limited applicability outside the northwest. And in many of the drier parts of the US the lushness would not make sense. In all cases, though, the use of structure to create 'rooms' is relevant.

The text strikes a nice balance between talking about design aspects and discussing horticultural details. We get drawn into the scene, feeling at times like landscape architects and at others like master gardeners.

Who should buy this book? People interested in transforming outside spaces into interesting and vital living spaces, people who love good gardening photography, and people who plan to or wish they could visit the monumental English gardens of the early twentieth century.

I live in a climate where the classic english garden of borders and meadows is unattainable. However, this book satisfies in many ways: as a souvenir of a visit, as a delicious geardening feast for the eyes, and as the story of one garden.

I was lucky enough to visit Sissinghurst in early summer and see one of her moods. This book introduces the other seasons and readily transports me when I am in the mood to think of faraway places, and need a bit of restful beauty in my reading life!

This book was great and very useful for a science lesson with the kids on indoor gardening. The information is simple and easy to understand. The gardening projects are perfect for a child and adult. The layout was easy to read and colorful. Great for any classroom or home use. So go ahead and start gardening today.

Subtitled "Make your Own Garden with 50 Green Activities," this slender volume is packed with clever, creative projects for the budding horticulturist.

With the book's instructions, a child might plant a mini-earthscape in which plastic dinosaurs roam or tiny toy trucks labor. He or she might create "grass people," apparently cousins of Mr. Potato Head-but with grass coiffures needing frequent trimmings. The young reader may decide to raise cherry tomatoes in a hand-painted pot. Or to grow fragrant herbs and make a catnip sock toy for kitty.

The beauty of this volume is its clarity and focus; projects are described with photos and a minimum of words. The projects chosen are basic (not many materials required; can be done indoors or out) yet fun and imaginative, and the instructions are thorough enough that school-age children can carry out the projects with a minimum of adult help.

Green thumbs up for "The Gardening Book" and the hours of fun it promises.

Jane Bull's The Gardening Book is lively and engaging gardening book for kids which is filled from cover to cover with full-color photographs, easy-to-follow instructions for indoor and outdoor gardening, suggestions for growing flowers and herbs ideal for gift-giving, and much, much more. A welcome and popular addition to any family, school, or community library gardening guide collection for children, The Gardening Book is highly recommended activity guide for science-fair projects, rainy-day fun amusements, or budding backyard gardeners.

Iris Bannochie was one of the most influential horticulturalists in the Caribbean. This book contains vast amounts of information on plantings in general, specific plants, soil maintainence, pests and recommended plants for various settings and purposes.

This book was written toward the end of Mrs. Bannochie's lifetime of gardening in the Caribbean and contains many, many seemingly insignificant details that are gold to the tropical gardener. Upon her death, she bequeathed her home to the Nation of Barbados, and the site is now the famous Andromeda Gardens.

This book deserves five stars because it is the only gardening book extant that covers issues and concerns important and specific to Caribbean gardening. Had Mrs. Bannochie lived to see her book published, it is quite probable that it would have been far more comprehensive.

Chapter Two is invaluable for providing information on how to propagate specific climate appropriate plants. Chapter Four continues in the same vein, providing a comprehensive listing of tried and true favorites and pointers on how to grow them. My only criticisms are that the photographs (plates) in the center of the book are not of better quality and larger, that the tables at the end of the book fail to evaluate soil type on all the islands, and that there are so few diagrams or illustrations generally. Of course these paltry concerns may be remedied in a future revision. It is apparent that the co-author, Marilyn Light, faced a significant challenge in completing the book, and she is to be complimented for remaining true to Bannochie's vision.

Bannochie's writing style can be compared to having a conversation with an experienced, hands-on gardener while she strolls with you through her garden pointing out her favorite plants. Thus, I believe that one can actually sense which parts of the book were written by Marilyn Light after Bannochie's untimely death.

My copy of this book was lost or water damaged when my home was destroyed by hurricane on two different occasions. That I searched for and purchased it three times, is an indication of how important a reference it is for obtaining a general knowledge of not just Caribbean gardening, but gardening in any similar tropical climate.

This book deserves five stars because it is the only gardening book extant that covers issues and concerns important and specific to Caribbean gardening. Had Mrs. Bannochie lived to see her book published, it is quite probable that it would have been far more comprehensive.

Chapter Two is invaluable for providing information on how to propagate specific climate appropriate plants. Chapter Four continues in the same vein, providing a comprehensive listing of tried and true favorites and pointers on how to grow them. My only criticisms are that the photographs (plates) in the center of the book are not of better quality and larger, that the tables at the end of the book fail to evaluate soil type on all the islands, and that there are so few diagrams or illustrations generally. Of course these paltry concerns may be remedied in a future revision. It is apparent that the co-author, Marilyn Light, faced a significant challenge in completing the book, and she is to be complimented for remaining true to Bannochie's vision.

Bannochie's writing style can be compared to having a conversation with an experienced, hands-on gardener while she strolls with you through her garden pointing out her favorite plants. Thus, I believe that one can actually sense which parts of the book were written by Marilyn Light after Bannochie's untimely death.

My copy of this book was lost or water damaged when my home was destroyed by hurricane on two different occasions. That I searched for and purchased it three times, is an indication of how important a reference it is for obtaining a general knowledge of not just Caribbean gardening, but gardening in any similar tropical climate.

At last, a beautiful flower garden without mortgaging the house! I am anxiously awaiting the warm weather to start sow seeds and assemblying containers. There are alot of boring front yards in town for lack of color.

Rob Proctor is perhaps the most down to Earth gardener you will experience. His gardening advise does not intimidate the novice, nor does it bore the experienced. His sense of humor always makes his books shine. This latest of his books is an inspiration for those who thought having and tending a magnificent garden was beyond their abilities.

Master gardening Rob Proctor offers up a regional gardening guide with a difference: a fun focus on the art of gardening which includes surprising, lively language and observations to fit in any budget: "Some control freaks can't stand the idea of plants deciding for themselves where they want to grow." Add color photos throughout, examples of seasonal management and garden 'artistry', and more and you have a guide which will attract any gardener on a budget.

Gardening The Mediterranean Way: How To Create A Waterwise Drought-Tolerant Garden by Heidi Gildemeister (a founding member and former president of the Mediterranean Gardening Society) is a highly meticulous guide drawing on the author's years of experience to create beautiful, healthy gardens that can thrive in areas subject to drought. Featuring environmentally sound techniques that take the effects of the seasons into full account, gorgeous color photography, extensive recommendations of plants that are hardy, versatile, and labor-saving, exhaustively detailed instructions for gardeners of all experience levels from novice to expert, and much more, Gardening The Mediterranean Way is a solid instructional, as beautiful to page through as it is user-friendly. Highly recommended.

Heidi Gildemeister's garden manual was written for disciplined gardeners who want to live the Mediterranean way and work in harmony with their surroundings. The book describes the process of creating a water-wise, drought-tolerant landscape using native plants. Two introductory chapters cover plant selection, avoiding invasive species, drought survival, layout. color, scale, proportion, and atmosphere. The bulk of the text consists of examples of your personal Eden - dream gardens from which the reader can draw inspiration. Features gardens include an abandoned farm, an urban garden, terracing, a coastal garden, and fruit and vegetable gardens. Includes plant list, glossary, vendor list, bibliography, and full index.

Gildermeister goes into detail on several subjects when doing gardening in Mediterranean climates. This book is a great complementary book to her book "Mediterranean Gardening" because it expands on some of the ideas she fist presents in that book but, "Gardening the Mediterranean Way" stands well alone because it looks at specific gardening situation in such a way that the reader will not find it lacking. This is a delightful book that gives both novice and expereinced gardener a better understanting of med. gardening. The book has wonderful illustrations, photos and great ideas that, in her own words, makes one's garden a 'personal Eden'.

Gardening with Children is a must have for families with children that would like to garden. It has a large number of ideas that can make gardening fun for the children (and the parents too). I bought the book after a favorable review in AHS's The American Gardener. I wish I would of had it when my children were small but they are grown. I plan to buy several more copies for Christmas for my children's families and gardening friends that have small children. I would also recommend it to pre-school and school-age programs that would like to introduce children to hands-on nature and science.

This book is really well done, lots of fun to use and has great activities.

The gorgeous illustrations on every page of this book make learning about nature simple and fun. While children do fun indoor and outdoor plant and garden activities, they will glean important lessons about natural cycles and processes. Bravo to Brooklyn Botanic Garden for publishing this great guide!

This book gives general principles of gardens with prairie plants, examples of actual gardens, a few plans and lots of information on specific plants. The information on the plants is the highlight of the book. The plans that they show are excellent.

Searching Amazon for horticultural books on native and prairie plants? Look no further, this is the best of all the offerings.

Part how-to, part field guide, and part history lesson; the Wasowski's have quite effectively authored a book about a large topic that can be enjoyed by experienced professionals and newcomers alike. Just by reading a few pages one can tell Sally Wasowskis' passion for the prairie, this is obviously a person who loves what they are doing. There is a lot to learn from her experience.

Refreshing and unlike other books, is the mix of science into common place language. Plants are listed by scientific family--not the color of their flower. Then by common name with the scientific name following. As a departure from every other prairie book, the scientific names are given their pronunciation in parenthesis (YEA!). Then a description of habitat range, unique features, and often reference the medicinal uses by Native Americans or a little science of leaf structure, for example.

Gardening With Prairie Plants is not written from the perspective of let's say Illinois, where the prairie goes full throttle. It includes native plants that extend into the South, the West, and notably Canada. So if you don't live in the Midwest the reader certainly won't feel left out. The Wasowski's have traveled to all these areas and the plants are discussed on the basis of prairie plants being part of a hemisphere.

Much of the success of this book, and this may go unnoticed by other reviews, is the wonderful photography. All photos are in color. Andy Wasowski has done a superb job whether its the detail of a complex flower or a wide sweeping vista of the American West. The pictures are well placed and compliment the the text well. This book also makes for an interesting coffee table book too.

The best of the prairie gardening books, this is a well spent $30, you won't be disappointed!

[Gardening with Prairie Plants by Sally Wasowski], Native Plant Society of Texas News, 20 (March April 2002): 5.

Convincing people that native flora are ideal for their home landscape should be easy. Colorful native plants flower as early as late February and continue to bloom until late June. After a respite during the intense heat and withering drought of summer, a riot of blossoms emerge again from September until the first frost of late autumn. Few gardens comprised of commercially popular non-native plants can compete with the duration of such a showy display. And few can match the low maintenance, the reduced water requirements, and the environmental benefits of native-flora horticulture.

Sally Wasowski's latest book, Gardening with Prairie Plants, is aimed at converting skeptics who doubt that native-plant landscapes can make any difference in the world. These are people who argue the futility of trying to reverse the course of things in any given region. In reply, Wasowski points to native-plant landscaping as one way to preserve biodiversity. Biodiversity is like the human auto-immune system; it provides an eco-system with the means for successfully adjusting to disruptive new conditions.
Wasowski has a good chance of succeeding against the skeptics because her volume-reasonably-priced and readily available in Texas bookstores-is excellently produced. Not only is her well-informed commentary accessible to the average reader, but Andy Wasowski's accompanying color photographs are spectacular. The publisher wisely opted to print large illustrations, and the 241 that appear in Gardening with Prairie Plants prove the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words. Since Texas is a prairie state, there are attractive photos of Brown County, Quitaque, Gruene, Fort Worth and Lubbock, among other Lone Star State locales.

Gardening with Prairie Plants commences with several instructive definitions, such as the difference between short-grass prairies, which tend to be found in dry regions subject to very hot weather, and long-grass prairies, which tend to be found in wet regions subject to very cold weather. But such distinctions can become somewhat more complex, and Wasowski negotiates various qualifications in an easy-to-understand way. Her book then proceeds to consider the design, installation and maintenance of prairie gardens. This section is highlighted by photographs of homes, schools and museums exemplifying successful transitions to native landscaping. The impressive experiment at Selah Ranch in Johnson City is also featured.

Most of Wasowski's book is devoted to plant profiles, which comprise a richly illustrated section of the volume and are accompanied by helpful horticultural data and numerous floral distribution maps. The flowers populating this portion of the book are so appealingly presented that it will be hard for some readers to resist wanting to adopt all of them. Consider, for example, the allure of the beautiful photograph of needle-and-thread (Hesperostipa comata), accompanied by this description: "Needle-and-thread sways in the slightest wind with a motion like water, and the awns have a silvery cast. ... Wind blows the `needle' onto the soil. The threadlike 5-to-8-inch awn is twisted behind the needle, and as it unwinds, the seed is literally drilled into the soil."

Gardening with Prairie Plants is an admirable work. It will be cherished by anyone devoted to native flora, but it will appeal equally to those who have as yet made only a modest foray into native-plant landscaping. Gardening with Prairie Plants is not only extraordinarily useful, it is also exceptionally beautiful-a lavishly designed book for enthusiast and dreamer alike.

William J. Scheick, a former NPSOT vice-president, is also a member of the Central Texas Horticulture Council and a frequent contributor to Texas Gardener.

Much cheaper than the cost of living there and much easier than the stress of visiting there, Gardens in the City: New York in Bloom, fulfills all your NYC fantasies with no litter or traffic in sight.

If you have a private roof deck, you have to check this book out. I started designing a garden on my roof and the photographs in this book were inspiring. If you don't have a roof deck, well, this is great for all those New Yorkers who wonder just what is on top of some of New York's buildings (from high-rises to brownstone walkups).

Happy Gardening!

Remarks by Gregory Long, Presdent of The New York Botanical Garden, spoken at Rockefeller University in May, 1999. "This book is truly a relevation. Who knew until Mary Jane Pool and Betsy Pinover Schiff revealed it to us, that there were so many varied and significant gardens in New York City? Who would have figured that New York City is probably the gardening capital of the world? Who among us know that we possess such a vast network of important designed places out-of-doors? Of course our park system is loved, but our garden system is a new idea... Gardens in the City: New York in Bloom is a celebration of our garden heritage and tradition in New York City. There's never been such a compilation in our history, and now that we can see our tradition so clearly, we are proud of it indeed."

I had a glance at this book some fithteen years ago in o book-store and... I didn't buy it! My interest in garden design was fairly recent I thought "I can't buy every book on the topic". But the name and the images keept haunting me as other writers referred to Mr Page and pictures of some of his gardens flickered by. By then the book was out of print and unavailable alas. So one snowy day I went to a second-hand book-seller and there it was in the window! I got it instantly and spent the next weeks travelling to England, Italy, USA and his other places of work over and over again, slowly turning the pages of this book. If you have an interest in classical gardens of the Renaissance and Baroque - here is the modern version of their ideals to make you gasp. But it doesn't stop there; wood-lands, ponds and pools, Arab-style and more are to be found in excellent photos. The Italian projects (La Landriana, Villa Silvio Pellico, La Mortella e.g.) are perhaps the most famous ones. They are showed of course, along with the best kept of the many places he designed (far from all his gardens have survived to the present). This is actually the only book on a single designer that I've felt I've had to own. But then I am a lover of classical art and design...

No words to describe this genius!.How as a landscape gardener,could I have taken ten years to discover his works!!.He is obviously and sadly unknown for his contribution to timeless gardening.This is the "Bible" of landscape gardening,and he is the Van Gogh of gardeners.How can such a valuble and essential book be unavailable!?

I hadn't even heard of Russell page until I perchanced upon this book in my local bookstore some 5 years ago. I was moved to tears by some of the photographs, and that doesn't happen easily to me. The man was a genius, clear and simple, and his designs reached out and spoke to me in a way very few designers ever have. In my own landscapes, I have been immensely influenced by Russell Page, both through this wonderful book, and his own 'Education of a gardener'. This book is superbly illustrated with colour photographs throughout. The photography is excellent, and the written descriptions are well penned, informative, decriptive but not too long-winded. My copy of this book would be on my list of my top ten material possessions.

If you want a book to help you through tough times cheaply, this is it! An emergency situation may cause books such as this one to be a life saver. You can find it on Bibliofind & other online used book shops.

Covers:

1. Maintaining & Repairing House Items

2. Home Comfort: Buying a Wood Stove; Getting the most heat from fireplaces; Running Water. The Hydrolic Ram.

3. Making and Making Do

4. Food Prep: Milk from the cow to the fridge; Homemade Butter, Butchering a chicken, Hog Butchering, Practical Wild Foods.

5. Yard & Garden: Things To Build & Maintain

A Practical Privy, Septic Tank principals, cistern, dry stone walls & fences, building Icehouse Coolers, A Wood heated fruit dryer (dehydrator) Garden Skills: Hoemanship, Low Cost Hothouse frame, Homemade bug fighters.

6. Around The Barn: Basic Construction & Livestock Tips.

7. On The Land: In The Fields: A Farm is a large garden OR a garden is a small farm. Tools for small Time gardens.

(NOTE: I just hit the "basics of this book.) I have used several of his ideas: One was how to keep a mile long gravel road from "washing" out using a gravel trench type drain with 2 railroad ties filled with loose rock.

I weigh 100 lbs. soaking wet, am a female, & can honestly say this book is high on my list for learning practical skills! CJ

I found a copy at a garage sale, took it home to my husband.
In the process of moving, changing jobs, we had to once give up all our stuff, including this book.

Now that we want the self reliant country lifestyle on a 5-40 acre farm, we can't find another book like it in the world. And my husband won't settle for anything less. He's read other self reliant books, but ..."Nothing is like that Gene Logsdon
book you bought me"....he says.

A wealth of information. Good information on building fences, gates in unique and interesting ways. Much foregotten information, you will hardly find elsewhere.

Rhonda Thomas,
hopeful homsteader

Gene Logsdon's book is my all-time favorite useful title, with plenty of pictures and simple descriptions of the skills. When we moved "back to the farm" (actually, we'd been raised in Los Angeles, and were just starting out in a self-sufficient life-style), this book was literally a lifesaver. We're building a privy now, using some Logsdon ideas -- I can't thank this guy enough!