Gardening by the Book

Teaming with Microbes - Revised Edition

gardengeek57@gmail.com (Kylee from Our Little Acre) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 04:24:00 +0000

Teaming with Microbes: The Organic Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web, Revised Edition
by Jeff Lowenfels & Wayne Lewis

220 pages
Timber Press, Revised Edition, 2010
List price: $24.95

When I began my Master Gardener classes last week, and we were learning about soil, I thought to myself, "Everyone here should read Teaming with Microbes." The OSU Extension Educator spoke about the Dutch farmers who had recently constructed mega-dairies in our area and how they noticed our soil wasn't "alive." Because I'd read this book, I knew what they meant.

Lowenfels & Lewis once again share valuable information on how gardeners can improve the quality of their soil by being mindful of just what makes it great. The natural balance of living things in our soil and how our gardening practices affect it, is outlined in easy-to-understand terms.

As I read through the book, time and time again I found myself nodding in agreement and recognizing things from my own garden experiences. These were things that I had observed, but hadn't given much thought, until now. Like slime mold. (It's a good thing!)

There's no denying that the things we do in our gardens affects our success or failure. The information presented in Teaming with Microbes is relevant whether you garden organically or not. Armed with the facts from the fascinating world of such a major player in the gardening game - soil - you can't help but be a better, more responsible gardener.

Teaming with Microbes was a bestseller when it was first published in 2006. The revised edition includes two new chapters, giving a more complete picture of healthy soil and how you can have it. No doubt it will continue to be a valuable aid to the gardening world.

Jeff Lowenfels is a member of the Garden Writers of America Hall of Fame and has been writing a weekly column for the Anchorage Daily News since 1977. A native New Yorker, he is now an attorney and businessman in Alaska and a leading proponent of gardening using the concepts of the soil food web.

Wayne Lewis is a lifelong Alaskan gardener. He has worked with Jeff on many projects over the past 25 years, including the now national Plant a Row for the Hungry program (started in Anchorage by Jeff), which encourages gardeners to donate a portion of their harvest to charitable organizations in their community

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The publication being reviewed in this blog post was the sole compensation for reviewing the product. All opinions expressed here are mine. If I like it, I'll say so. If I don't, I'll say that, too.

Garden Lover's Puzzle & Quiz Book

gardengeek57@gmail.com (Kylee from Our Little Acre) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 03:55:00 +0000

Garden Lover's Puzzle & Quiz Book
by The Puzzle Society™

202 pages
Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2009
List Price: $9.99

Puzzles are fun. Gardening is fun. Puzzles about gardening are really fun! I've only had this book for two days, have done a handful of puzzles and quizzes and already I've learned several new things about plants and gardening. That's ingenious, you know - disguising facts with gaming fun.

There are over 180 puzzles in this perfectly-sized paperback and are of enough variety to keep the fun coming, right on through to the last page. Most books of this type are such a size and bound so that you feel like you have to take a steam iron to press it open to even do the puzzle. This is a little wider than usual at about five inches (by almost seven inches high), which does away with that little annoyance, yet it' still small enough to tuck into a purse or carry-on.

While I love to do crossword puzzles, most of them have a fair amount of obscure words they're wanting for those little square boxes and I end up being frustrated that I can't quite complete the puzzle without cheating and looking at the answer. This one, however, is a garden/puzzle lover's dream. I actually know most of this stuff.

What I didn't know before doing a certain puzzle in this book is that the Fuchsia group of plants was named for a Dr. Fuchs. And now that I know this, I will never again have to waffle over where to put that darn 's' when spelling "Fuchsia."

BONUS: With the purchase of this book, you get a free 90-day trial subscription to the Puzzle Society™, their online puzzle club, where you will have access to over 70 daily updated puzzles and over 8,000 archived puzzles.

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The publication being reviewed in this blog post was the sole compensation for reviewing the product. All opinions expressed here are mine. If I like it, I'll say so. If I don't, I'll say that, too.

Grocery Gardening

gardengeek57@gmail.com (Kylee from Our Little Acre) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 23:53:00 +0000

Grocery Gardening: Planting, Preparing and Preserving

Fresh Food

by Jean Ann Van Krevelen
with Amanda Thomsen, Robin Ripley, and Teresa O'Connor

255 pages
Cool Springs Press, 2009
List price: $19.95

This book is the complete package. Starting with the basic how-tos that even new gardeners can easily understand, and taking it all the way through harvest, preparing the food in
delicious ways, and preserving the fruits and vegetables for future use - what more could you ask?

Edible gardening is the new American pastime, though millions have been doing it for decades - centuries, for that matter. Perhaps never since the days of Victory Gardens in the 1940s though, has "growing your own" been so popular. But many of today's new gardeners did not grow up learning what it takes to put your own food on the table.

Jean Ann and her co-authors have done a superb job of providing a manual that gives essential information without getting bogged down in details that might make all of this seem daunting. The material is presented in a logical, graphically beautiful way that invites novices to give it a go and infuses new energy into the more seasoned gardener's experience.

There's a sense of anticipation brewing as you soak up the general planting, growing, and harvesting sections, and for good reason. In the next and largest section of the book, the real fun begins. Each fruit or vegetable is given its own "file," with tips on selecting varieties and their specific growing needs.

Several easy-to-prepare recipes are provided for each, such as Herbed Cucumber Salad, Thai Basil Fried Rice and Shepherd's Pie with Carrot and Sweet Potato Topping. Personally, I can't wait to make the Cantaloupe Blackberry Smoothie. There are over 135 recipes in all.

The fascinating thing about this book is how it came to be. Its four authors have never met in real life. They encountered each other online through Twitter. As they discussed various aspects of gardening and cooking, the idea for collaboration on a book was born, and Grocery Gardening was the result. Even more amazing is that it was written in 60 days.

If that isn't enough, this book has done yet one more thing. It has inspired this gardener and garden book reviewer that hates to cook, to actually try some of the recipes, and that is no small feat.

Jean Ann Van Krevelen is one of the most influential gardening communicators in the country. Follow her on Twitter @JeanAnnVK or on her blog, Gardener to Farmer.

Amanda Thomsen is a garden designer and contributing editor and writer for Horticulture magazine's website and blogs. She can be found on Twitter @kissmyaster and on her blog, Kiss My Aster.

Robin Ripley is a writer, prolific cook, and a garden speaker in great demand. Find her on Twitter @robinripley or on her blog, Bumblebee Blog.

Teresa O'Conner is a Master Gardener and garden writer who reaches thousands of readers through her articles she writes for for national publications. Teresa can be reached on Twitter @seasonalwisdom and on her blog Seasonal Wisdom.

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The publication being reviewed in this blog post was the sole compensation for reviewing the product. All opinions expressed here are mine. If I like it, I'll say so. If I don't, I'll say that, too.

Toad Cottages & Shooting Stars

gardengeek57@gmail.com (Kylee from Our Little Acre) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:02:00 +0000

Toad Cottages & Shooting Stars: Grandma's Bag of Tricks
by Sharon Lovejoy

205 pages
Workman Publishing, February 4, 2010
List price: $14.95

Sharon Lovejoy has done it again. The award-winning and bestselling author of Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots, Trowel & Error, and Sunflower Houses: Inspiration from the Garden, has given us yet another idea-filled scrapbook of projects that grandparents, parents, caregivers, and siblings can use to make learning an adventure and an experience your favorite young person will remember forever.

Just a few examples:

Make a time capsule to bury in the garden
Find the "bunny" inside a peanut
Make a caterpillar of cucumbers and carrots - then eat it!
Make a pinecone feeder for the birds
Play with the faeries

This is a delightfully illustrated (by Lovejoy) treasure trove of memory makers, with 130 ideas for doing just that. Some are clearly better experienced with a child, but I found more than few that can be done without help from anyone.

The next time I buy a fresh pineapple from the grocery, the top of it is going to sit atop a jar of water for rooting, instead of going into the trash or compost pile. And what about the toad cottages mentioned in the title? I've always wanted one of those.

Thanks, Grandma Lovejoy, for showing us the way.

Sharon Lovejoy is an author, illustrator, lecturer, and teacher, and the children's garden adviser to the American Horticultural Society. She has been a guest on Today at NBC, PBS's Victory Garden, and the Discovery Channel, and speaks at educational conferences and gardening organizations around the country. She has four grandchildren and divides her time between California and Maine. Her website is www.sharonlovejoy.com and she writes a blog at sharonlovejoy.blogspot.com.

Succulent Container Gardens

gardengeek57@gmail.com (Kylee from Our Little Acre) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 23:00:00 +0000

Succulent Container Gardens: Design Eye-Catching Displays with 350 Easy-Care Plants
by Debra Lee Baldwin

248 pages
Timber Press, January 20, 2010
List price: $29.95

I've anticipated the arrival of this book for a couple of months now and when it finally arrived, I was nearly giddy with glee. Having recently developed an appetite for succulents, this really hit the spot. Baldwin shares her vast knowledge of succulents of all types with the rest of us in a very organized and easy-to-understand way.

This is a how-to manual of the best kind, with chapters on the various types of succulents and how to care for them. Site-specific details help readers choose those plants that will bring them the most success in their particular climate or indoor location. More than 300 color photographs give ideas for container plantings. I particularly like the section showing vertical displays.

Watch the trailer:

It's evident that Baldwin has a heart for her subject and she uses her artistic talents to present them in wonderful ways that aid us in displaying our own burgeoning collections. What? You don't have a succulent collection? I dare you to read this book and resist buying a plant or two. Or three or four or five.

Debra Lee Baldwin is an award-winning writer and editor based in Southern California. Throughout her 18-year career, she has authored an inspirational biography, and has written hundreds of feature articles and columns about architecture, homes, gardens, landscaping and interior design, and people who have made significant contributions to our culture. Debra has won awards from the Garden Writers Association of America, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the San Diego Press Club, and has appeared on national television.

Debra is also the author of Designing With Succulents. You may also be interested in the author's own Web sites, www.DebraLeeBaldwin.com and www.succulentchic.net.

Waking Up in Eden

gardengeek57@gmail.com (Kylee from Our Little Acre) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 18:46:00 +0000

Waking Up in Eden
by Lucinda Fleeson

310 pages
Algonquin Books, 2009
List price: $13.95

Give Ms. Fleeson credit. She took a chance on life, leaving her job as a newspaper journalist in Philadelphia, for a position in Hawaii, helping to transform botanic gardens on the "garden island" of Kauai into the gems they were meant to be. Offered the job by her friend and colleague Bill Klein, her venture into the world of fast-disappearing native flora changed her life.

I found her account of her work there to be fascinating in a botanical sort of way and I was left with greater knowledge of the fragility of native ecosystems. Fleeson is a good writer, as one might expect, but it wasn't the most engaging read I've had in recent months. As my three-star rating says, it's worth a look, but not likely one you'd require for your permanent library.

Lucinda Fleeson is director of the Hubert Humphrey Fellowship Program at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland. A reporter at the Philadelphia Inquirer for many years, she has received an Arthur Rouse Award for Press Criticism, a McGee Journalism Fellowship in Southern Africa, a Knight International Press Fellowship, and a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard. Before settling in Washington, D.C., she lived in Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Budapest, Botswana, and most notably, Kauai.

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The publication being reviewed in this blog post was the sole compensation for reviewing the product. All opinions expressed here are mine. If I like it, I'll say so. If I don't, I'll say that, too.

Daffodils / Tulips For North American Garden

gardengeek57@gmail.com (Kylee from Our Little Acre) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 03:24:00 +0000

Daffodils for North American Gardens
Tulips for North American Gardens
by Brent and Becky Heath

144 pages / 144 pages
bright sky press, 2001
List price: $24.95 / $24.95

The next best thing to seeing tulips and daffodils come up in your garden is leafing through the pages of companion volumes Daffodils For North American Gardens and Tulips For North American Gardens by bulb gurus, Brent and Becky Heath.

Each book is written using the same menu, which delivers a multi-course gourmet meal of the delicious world of daffodils and tulips. Starting off with botanical information and moving on to growing tips and cultivation, these whet the appetite for the main course.

Suggestions for which bulbs grow best in particular regions of North America and what to plant with them are provided. Forcing and hybridizing are given their due as well as information about arranging and showing them.

And then comes dessert! Page after page of each type of each bulb - with pictures - sent me running for paper and pencil to make my list of wants. It probably doesn't help that it's the middle of winter and I'm longing to see daffodils and tulips in my own gardens, but the list gets unrealistically long and I head over to their online store to see if they have what I'm drooling over.

Yes, that's right, the authors of these books know whereof they speak when it comes to daffodils and tulips. They're the owners of Brent and Becky's Bulbs, the internationally known bulb farm in Gloucester, Virginia, where they have provided individuals and businesses with the best in bulbs for over 30 years.

Buy one or buy both - they're worthy reference books in any gardener's library.

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*Books reviewed were purchased by the reviewer.

The Gardener's Color Palette

gardengeek57@gmail.com (Kylee from Our Little Acre) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:17:00 +0000

The Gardener's Color Palette: Paint Your Garden with 100 Extraordinary Flower Choices
by Tom Fischer

236 pages
Timber Press, February 15, 2010
List price: $12.95

The title is intriguing, and while the cover idea is clever, there is something about it that doesn't actually draw me in. If I were to see it in a bookstore, I'm not entirely sure I'd pick it up and have a look, and that would be a shame, because what is contained within its covers made me want to sit right down with it and read the whole thing in one sitting.

So I did.

The Gardener's Color Palette comes on the heels of Black Plants and is done in much the same format. In this one, 100 plants are featured and are presented in color groups, ten to a group. The photography is visually stunning, and if nothing else, inspires me to do some serious shutterbugging of my own flowers.

Each flower has its own two pages, one for its photo and the other to tell all about its character. Basics listed are:

Latin name
Common name
Pronunciation of the Latin name
Plant type
Height and spread
Bloom time
USDA Hardiness Zone

If it's a North American native, that is noted as well. Easy-to-understand symbols show light and moisture requirements. In the descriptive paragraph that follows, growing advice is given and on occasion, Fischer offers suggestions as to where the plant may be sourced.

At $12.95, the 7-inch by 7-inch softcover book is priced right for providing inspiration for those gardeners that want eye-catchers in their flower beds. Though touting that the plants are some of the best to be grown in a wide variety of climates, Fischer still succeeded in teasing me with several that gave me that bane of all gardeners - zone envy.

On the other hand, I'm already growing many of the plants in this book and as I read the information presented about them, I can personally vouch for the author's knowledge of his subject matter. This is a delicious little book that arrives just in time for spring planning.

Tom Fischer is editor-in-chief of Timber Press. Before moving to Portland, Oregon, in 2004, he was the editor of Horticulture magazine in Boston, Massachusetts. His experiences as a bi-coastal gardener and his inexhaustible curiosity about plants have both shaped his new garden, which in 2008 was profiled in the Oregonian. A prolific writer as well as an editor, his articles have been featured in magazines such as Garden Design, Gardens Illustrated, and Martha Stewart Living.

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The publication being reviewed in this blog post was the sole compensation for reviewing the product. All opinions expressed here are mine. If I like it, I'll say so. If I don't, I'll say that, too.

Attracting Butterflies & Hummingbirds to Your Backyard

gardengeek57@gmail.com (Kylee from Our Little Acre) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 04:31:00 +0000

Attracting Butterflies & Hummingbirds to Your Backyard
by Sally Roth

304 pages
Rodale Books, 2002
List Price: $18.95

If there's a better book out there than Attracting Butterflies & Hummingbirds to Your Backyard on the subject in its title, I want to see it. I can't imagine anything more complete or more attractively presented than this.

A list of the chapters really tells the story:

Butterflies and Hummingbirds: The Basics
Flowers and Feeders for Nectar
The Lure of Water
Tempting Butterflies with Treats
The Sheltering Garden
The Next Generation
Butterfly and Hummingbird Garden Designs
Butterfly and Hummingbird Behavior
A Gallery of Hummingbirds
A Gallery of Butterflies

There are photographs, illustrations, tables, resources, maps, and recommended readings. This book contains so much useful and interesting information that in my opinion, you shouldn't bother with checking it out of the library. You should buy a copy of your own.

Sally Roth, author of numerous birding, nature, and gardening titles, spends much of her time watching birds and enjoying nature across the country. She currently lives in New Harmony, Indiana.

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Book reviewed was purchased by the reviewer.

The $64 Tomato

gardengeek57@gmail.com (Kylee from Our Little Acre) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:29:00 +0000

The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden
by William Alexander

304 pages
Algonquin Books, 2006
List Price: $13.95

I'd heard about this book long before I read it and all of what I'd heard was good. Then I read it and knew why. There are many books written about the actual experiences of starting a garden for the first time, but few will have you smiling most of the way through it like The $64 Tomato.

Gardening has a way of sucking you in and making a liar out of you. "Oh, I'm just going to grow a few things in this plot of dirt here..." you say, but before you know it, you're elbow deep in soil, compost, how-to books, and have spent your very last dime on that wonderful new garden tool. How on earth does that happen?

Alexander shares his own personal obsession with gardening and all he encounters and learns along the way. Undeterred in his quest for an organic garden, he finds the deer and weeds and neighbors to be just a few things that seemingly conspire against him. Nevertheless, he persists in finding a way to have the garden he always wanted, if not quite in the way he imagined.

I dare any gardener to read it and then say you have no idea what he's talking about.

William Alexander is the author of the best-selling memoir, The $64 Tomato, and the forthcoming (April 2010) 52 Loaves: In Search of Truth, Meaning, and Really Good Toast, his hilarious and moving account of a year spent striving to bake the perfect loaf of bread.

He has appeared on NPR's Morning Edition, at the National Book Festival in Washington, DC, and was a 2006 Quill Book Awards finalist. Alexander has been a frequent contributor the New York Times op-ed pages, where he has opined on such issues as the Christmas tree threatening his living room, Martha Stewart, and the difficulties of being organic.

When not gardening, baking, or writing, Bill keeps his day job as director of technology at a psychiatric research institution, where, after 28 years, he persists in the belief that he is a researcher, not a researchee.

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The book reviewed was purchased by the reviewer.

Finding Out-of-Print Books

gardengeek57@gmail.com (Kylee from Our Little Acre) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 07:43:00 +0000

My last two reviews were of books that are no longer being printed by their publishers. Books go out-of-print for various reasons - lackluster sales being the most prominent. This doesn't mean, however, that the book has no value or hasn't been a good seller in the past. But when a book is no longer in print and you want a copy, where can you go to find one?

Several years ago, I offered a booksearch service where, for a small percentage of the price of the book, I'd search different online sources to find the best copy at the best price for a desired out-of-print or rare title. Since that time, these sources are more widely known, thus making books easier to find for everyone.

Here I've listed several sources for finding out-of-print books:

Abebooks.com - This is the first place I look, because booksellers from all over the world have listed their inventories here, and this is where I've had the best success finding what I want.
Alibris.com - Similar to Abebooks, Alibris is a good source that offers coupon discounts on purchases from time to time. Sign up for their newsletter to receive their offers.
AddALL - Here you can search for in-print as well as used books from over 20,000 sellers and over 40 book sites.
Bookfinder.com - Together with their JustBooks partner sites, you can search for titles from sellers throughout the world, in not only English, but French, German, Italian, and Dutch.
BookCloseouts.com - This is kind of a T.J. Maxx for books. You'll find books that are in- and out-of-print at bargain prices. You never know what they'll have at any given time. All books are new, but some copies are sold as "Scratch and Dent" and will be listed as such. If you find a Scratch and Dent copy, be sure to check if they also have an identical title as a Bargain Book. Typically, the Scratch and Dent copy will cost a few dollars less, since it will show some wear.

This is a fun site to just browse and you'll want to sign up for their newsletter as well, since they offer coupons quite often. Usually it will be either free shipping or $5 off for orders over $35. Their standard shipping times are not the fastest, I've found, but some great bargains can be had on brand new books, making them worth the wait.
Half.com - Now partnered with eBay, Half.com is a site where anyone can list books for sale at a wide range of prices and conditions, used and new.
Amazon Marketplace - Amazon.com also offers a listing service where sellers can list books for sale. Simply search for a title, then look for links listed as new, used, or collectible. They also have a Bargain Books in Gardening & Horticulture section.
BarnesandNoble.com has a search service for used and out-of-print books.

These are just some of the sites where you might find a book that isn't readily available in major bookstores. You know...like How To Know the Wildflowers.

How To Know the Wild Flowers

gardengeek57@gmail.com (Kylee from Our Little Acre) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 21:49:00 +0000

How To Know the Wild Flowers
by Mrs. William Starr Dana

346 pages
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1893 (1915 printing)
List price: $2.00

There is a certain charm that old books possess - their musty scent brings back memories of something you can't quite put your finger on; something you've smelled before, but can't remember just where or when. Bibliophiles know the perfume well.

When I saw this historical book in a used bookstore, I knew I had to have it. Not only do I love wildflowers, I also love the colored plates and line drawings - over 150 of them - scattered throughout the book. It's a handy little volume to have, being still useful for identifying many of the wildflowers common in our area.

Plants are sorted by color: white, green, yellow, pink, red, blue and purple, and miscellaneous. If a plant has flowers in two different colors, they are listed in both sections. Both common and botanical names are given, and this is where it gets interesting, due to name changes over the years. Details are given as to the appearance of all parts of the plant.

A small paragraph accompanies each listing and many are beautifully descriptive:

"The small flowers of the bitter-sweet, which appear in June, rarely attract attention. But in October no lover of color can fail to admire the deep orange pods which at last curl back so as advantageously to display the brilliant scarlet covering of the seeds. Perhaps we have no fruit which illuminates more vividly the roadside thicket of late autumn; or touches with greater warmth those tumbled overgrown walls which are so picturesque a feature in parts of the country, and do in a small way for our quiet landscapes what vine-covered ruins accomplish for the scenery of the Old World."

The book has been reprinted many times over the years, but if you're lucky enough to find an older copy, it's worth more than the cost, which can be right around five dollars.

Frances Theodora Parsons (née Smith, 1861 - 1952), usually writing as Mrs. William Starr Dana was an American botanist and author active in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Her most important botanical work was How to Know the Wild Flowers (1893), the first field guide to North American wildflowers. It was something of a sensation, the first printing selling out in five days. The work went through several editions in Parsons's lifetime and has remained in print into the 21st century.¹

¹Wikipedia, "Frances Theodora Parsons"

forcing, etc

gardengeek57@gmail.com (Kylee from Our Little Acre) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 08:33:00 +0000

forcing, etc
by Katherine Whiteside

154 pages
Workman Publishing and Smith & Hawken, 1999
List Price: $24.95

It's too bad that this book is presently out of print, because I've yet to find a comparable title that presents such a useful variety of information on forcing bulbs. But don't dismiss that "etc" in the title.

You might expect profiles on each of the commonly-forced bulbs, such as hyacinths, tulips, daffodils, and crocuses, and these are included here, but the detailed information on growing tender bulbs such as Amaryllis (Hippeastrum), Oxalis, and Clivia helps add even more character to your winter quarters. If those aren't enough, suggestions for houseplants that can fill in the gaps between bulb blooms will keep a gardener entertained until spring.

Also included are instructions for forcing branches from flowering shrubs and trees into bloom weeks and sometimes months before their usual time. Who wouldn't love the bright yellow forsythia blooms in February? Cut a branch at the end of January, bring it inside, put it in water, and three weeks later - sunshine in a vase! There are suggestions for thirteen such trees and shrubs.

Yet another section gives tips on propagation and there's a resource guide with a few suggestions for where to find what you need. Smith & Hawken, whose name is on the front of the book, is one of the listed sources, but sadly, they closed their doors this year.

Adding to the comprehensive how-to information on the subject matter is the beautiful photography of Richard Felber. That alone is inspiring enough to motivate a gardener to try their hand at forcing, etc.

Copies of this book can be found in many places online, including Amazon, which has several available via their Marketplace.

Katherine Whiteside is an award-winning freelance garden writer whose stories have appeared in Elle Decor, House & Garden, Town & Country, Martha Stewart Living, The New York Times, Vogue, Garden Design, Metropolitan Home, and many foreign publications. Her first book, Antique Flowers, won two Awards of Merit from the Garden Writers of America. Her second, Classic Bulbs, was a Main Selection of the Garden Book Club. She is also the author of The Way We Garden Now.

Richard Felber is a leading garden and landscape photographer who regularly contributes to major publications and books.

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The book reviewed was purchased by the reviewer.

Black Magic and Purple Passion

gardengeek57@gmail.com (Kylee from Our Little Acre) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:31:00 +0000

Black Magic and Purple Passion
by Karen Platt

208 pages
Black Tulip Publishing, 3rd Ed., 2004
List price: $26.99

Karen Platt knows her way around in the dark. A resident of Sheffield, England, she has been studying, researching, and promoting black plants for nearly 20 years and her Black Magic and Purple Passion, now in its 4th edition as an e-book, as well as the print 3rd edition, is a testament to the vast knowledge she has acquired.

Featuring profiles of over 2,750 dark plants, with 425 color photos, this is the best reference work on the darkest plants and flowers in the plant world in print. As I sat and thumbed my way through page after page of luscious lovely licorice plants, my list of wants grew to an impossible length, even for this gardener who has a full acre of land to work with.

While the photography is gloriously detailed, the information in the book is also complete, including explanations as to why a plant appears black, which hues are considered to be black, and ideas for using black plants in the garden. Entries are listed alphabetically by genus, then species, with instructions on how to grow them. There are worldwide sources given for finding many of the plants in the book.

If I have one complaint about this book, it's that it isn't available in hardcover. I know I'm going to wear this one out, for all the poring over its pages, especially in the gloomy days of winter. Yes, that's right - nothing like a book about dark plants to bring a ray of light to the dark days.Though we in the north long for the sunshiny warmth of summer, and dream about our spring gardens that are months away, we use this time to scheme and plan for the next growing season and Black Magic and Purple Passion provides plenty of inspiration.

Karen Platt is a gardening author and publisher. She began her horticultural career with research on black plants in the early 1990s. In 1996, she founded her publishing company and released The Seed Search, selling over 10,000 copies. Her successful color series of books on gardening is recognized worldwide. She is also founder of The Black Plants Society. For more information, visit her website.

Also by Karen Platt:

Gold Fever
Silver Lining: 2400 Silver Plants for the Garden
Emeralds: 1000 Green Flowers and 500 Choice Green Foliage Plants
The Seed Search
Lifestyle Gardening: Plants, Features and Materials for Today's Gardens
Plant Names A-Z
Seed Sowing and Growing Success
Plant Synonyms: 21,000 Plant Name Changes Simplified

Everything You Can Do in the Garden Without Actually Gardening

gardengeek57@gmail.com (Kylee from Our Little Acre) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 02:34:00 +0000

Everything You Can Do in the Garden Without Actually Gardening
by Philippa Lewis

216 pages
Frances Lincoln Limited, October 2009
List price: $24.95

This eccentric book is a history lesson (prominently British, including many anecdotes about the Royals), disguised as a romp through the gardens. Much has been said about the what and how of planting and tending to our flowers and veggies, but a garden is more than its growing parts. Once the garden has been established and necessary chores are done, then what?

Through time, the garden has been a part of our lives in various ways, but aside from the act of gardening itself, it is also a backdrop for the rest of what we do in our leisure time. As I read this book, I had to remind myself that the author is British, and where she comes from, a garden includes the lawn. This came into play when reading about playing croquet or badminton. Not in my garden, you don't!

The retro-style illustrations and photographs peppered throughout the book depict scenes that provide proof of past activities that have taken place in gardens, many that are either taken for granted or have been forgotten altogether. This book provides suggestions that help us integrate and elevate the gardens to a place of prominence in our everyday activities, once the deadheading's done and the beans have been picked.

Phillipa Lewis is an author, picture researcher and photographer. Her previous books include Details: A Guide to House Design in Britain and (with Gillian Darley) A Dictionary of Ornament. She is married to the painter Miles Thistlethwaite, and lives in Somerset.

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The product or merchandise being reviewed in this blog post was the sole compensation for testing and reviewing the product. All opinions expressed here are mine, with no suggestions whatsoever by the manufacturer or distributor. If I like it, I'll say so. If I don't, I'll say that, too.

10 Great Books For Gardeners

gardengeek57@gmail.com (Kylee from Our Little Acre) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 14:18:00 +0000

Christmas is less than three weeks away and I'm betting there are others out there that are faced with the same dilemma that I am: what to get for Aunt Marie? One of the criteria I use for purchasing gifts for others is to ask myself if I'd like to receive it. Not everyone has the same tastes and interests, but in many cases, it's a good starting point.

I'm a gardener and a reader, so a book that has anything to do with gardening is always a good choice. But there are thousands of books to choose from, so which one to buy for the gardener on your list?

Here are ten of my favorites:

Planthropology: The Myths, Mysteries, and Miracles of My Garden Favorites
by Ken Druse

I just LOVE this book. It's visually pleasing and is written by a real plant lover. Ken writes about several of his favorite plants in an everything-you-always-wanted-to-know-but-were-afraid-to-ask kind of way. It's a fascinating read, peppered with beautiful photography, in a coffee table format. You can't go wrong with this one.
The Well-Tended Perennial Garden: Planting and Pruning Techniques
by Tracy DiSabato-Aust

Tracy has earned her credentials as a gardener in-the-know and in this bestseller, she shares her tips for growing a beautiful garden. She's written other excellent books, but this is the best selling of them. I have personal knowledge that she knows what she's talking about, because I've met her and seen her garden in central Ohio.
Bulb
by Anna Pavord

As far as I'm concerned, most bulbs are success stories in the garden, in that they require some of least care of anything you could plant. As long as you choose those that are hardy to your area, or pot up those that aren't (or lift from the garden) and bring them in for the winter, you can enjoy their beauty year after year.

Ms. Pavord helps you make important decisions about what to plant, where to plant it, and how. All the essential information is here, and it's beautifully presented.
What's Wrong With My Plant? (And How Do I Fix It?): A Visual Guide to Easy Diagnosis and Organic Remedies
by David Deardorff and Kathryn Wadsworth

No matter how good a gardener you are, you're going to encounter problems with your plants. This guide will help you diagnose and treat those problems. Help doesn't come in a much easier way than this.
The Perennial Care Manual: A Plant-by-Plant Guide: What to Do and When to Do It
by Nancy Ondra

Perennials are the mainstays of the garden and Nancy tells us the basics of their care in easy-to-find and follow manner. The best thing about this how-to guide is that Nancy is a genuine gardener who has learned what works and what doesn't through her own experience and you'll recognize that as you follow her great advice.
The Curious Gardener's Almanac: Centuries of Practical Garden Wisdom
by Niall Edworthy

This may very well be the perfect gift book for the gardener on your list. It's jam-packed with valuable information in a fun format. It's easy to read because of its presentation in bite-sized morsels of fascinating facts and gardening tips. Even a non-gardener would enjoy this book.
Gardening All-in-One for Dummies by the National Gardening Association

This one is for the novice gardener on your list. As silly as it might sound, this really is a good overall guide to gardening. It provides an overview of gardening basics in easy-to-understand terms and in such a way that encourages everyone to give it a try.
American Horticultural Society A to Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants
by Christopher Brickell

At 1,104 pages, this is a hefty book, loaded with just about anything you'd ever want to know about more than 15,000 plants, with over 6,000 photos. It's the definitive plant guide and well worth the cost of $80. Shopping hint: Amazon offers it for $50.40, with free shipping.
From the Ground Up: The Story of a First Garden
by Amy Stewart

I've mentioned before on this blog that I think this book is charming and a delight to read. It provides encouragement for new gardeners and seasoned ones will smile as they see themselves in Amy's story of her first garden.
My final suggestion isn't a book, although there is a publication involved. A membership to the American Horticultural Society is the best value out there. For $35 a year, you get six issues of The American Gardener, a quality magazine that always contains practical gardening information. But the best part of being a member of the AHS is their reciprocal membership benefit. This alone more than pays for the cost of membership.

In one year, I enjoyed free entry to Marie Selby Gardens ($12), the Cincinnati Flower Show ($20 weekday, $25 weekend), Cleveland Botanical Gardens ($7.50), and numerous visits to my local Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory ($5). You can get a dual membership (two memberships) for $50, although only one magazine subscription will be provided. Romie and I have a dual membership so we can both enjoy free admission to the various gardens we visit together.

The AHS is a non-profit organization and $25 of membership fees are tax deductible. ($10 is for the cost of the magazine subscription.)

There are hundreds of great gardening books out there and hundreds which I haven't yet read. Which ones are among your favorites?

The Gardener's Gripe Book

gardengeek57@gmail.com (Kylee from Our Little Acre) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 03:55:00 +0000

The Gardener's Gripe Book
by Abby Adams

256 pages
Workman Publishing, 1995
List price: $10.95

As satisfying as gardening is, there are those times when whining is appropriate. Perennials fail to return in the spring, we get too much or too little rain, the bugs get the better of our blooms. Abby Adams joins us in our misery, and therein lies the charm of The Gardener's Gripe Book. Misery loves company, you know, and she manages to not only find humor in it, she makes us feel like real gardeners in spite of our shortcomings.

Who can't relate to this?

"...the garden hose, unquestionably the most hateful device ever invented. Drag the heavy cumbersome thing all the way out to its fullest length (which is six feet short of where you need it), turn it on and nothing happens - there's a kink somewhere. Unkink it and it takes off, spritzing everything in sight, like a water-breathing dragon. Meanwhile its path through the garden is strewn with broken and uprooted plants, victims of its progress."

I could have written that.

Sometimes we don't want solutions to our problems, we simply want to wallow in them. There's therapeutic value in just being honest about our feelings. And while you might think this book is a downer with all this griping going on, you'll be pleasantly surprised to find that reading it is actually a feel-good experience.

Abby Adams is the author of An Uncommon Scold (1,000 quotes from women) and, with her husband, High Jinx and Transylvania Station. Born and raised in New York City, she has at various times lived in San Francisco, in London, in Woodstock, New York, and on Fire Island. She has always gardened.

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* The book reviewed in this post was purchased by the reviewer.

Flora Mirabilis: How Plants Have Shaped World Knowledge, Health, Wealth, and Beauty

gardengeek57@gmail.com (Kylee from Our Little Acre) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 04:12:00 +0000

Flora Mirabilis: How Plants Have Shaped World Knowledge, Health, Wealth, and Beauty
by Catherine Herbert Howell

256 pages
National Geographic, October 2009
List price: $35.00

When National Geographic joins with the Missouri Botanical Garden to produce a book about the history of plants, you know it's going to be something exceptional. Flora Mirabilis: How Plants Have Shaped World Knowledge, Health, Wealth, and Beauty is an intriguing look at the history of plants and how they've occupied places of distinction as their value and beauty were discovered.

Catherine H. Howell has created a time line of history, coupled with reproductions of more than 200 exquisite botanical illustrations, taking us from prehistory to the present:

Origins

Discovery

Exploration

Enlightenment

Empire

Science

There have been those plants that influenced the course of history, such as cotton, coffee, and cinchona, the latter from which we get quinine, used to treat malaria. Many others are highlighted and by the time you come to the end of the book, it leaves no doubt as to the invaluable part plants have played and continue to play in our lives.

Flora Mirabilis comes along just in time for gift-giving, not only for the gardener on your list, but for those who love history and want to know "the rest of the story."

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Catherine Herbert Howell has authored a number of natural history books for National Geographic, including Backyard Wilderness, Mountain Life, and four volumes in the Nature Library series, and has contributed to dozens of other books, among them National Geographic's Book of Peoples of the World, Expeditions Atlas, and The Curious Naturalist. She holds a master's degree in anthropology from the University of Virginia and is an enthusiastic - though very amateur - gardener.

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The product or merchandise being reviewed in this blog post was the sole compensation for testing and reviewing the product. All opinions expressed here are mine, with no suggestions whatsoever by the manufacturer or distributor. If I like it, I'll say so. If I don't, I'll say that, too.

The Green Gardener's Guide

gardengeek57@gmail.com (Kylee from Our Little Acre) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:43:00 +0000

The Green Gardener's Guide: Simple, Significant Actions to Protect & Preserve Our Planet
by Joe Lamp'l

363 pages
Cool Springs Press, 2008
List price: $16.95

I have a confession to make. I'm not a gung-ho green gardener. Sometimes when I'm among my gardening cohorts on Twitter, Facebook, or my gardening blog, Our Little Acre, I feel a little guilty that I'm not out there being more of a cheerleader for the ecology than I am. Oh, I'm a believer in 90% of it, but I know I don't do all I could to back up what I believe.

What I also know is that everyone can do something and something is...well...something.

"What can I do?" you might ask.

Joe Lamp'l to the rescue! In The Green Gardener's Guide: Simple, Significant Actions to Protect & Preserve Our Planet, the key to answering that question is in the title. In Joe's book, appropriately labeled as a guide, he lays out many simple tips for being more responsible gardeners in a format that lends itself to quick reads. No single suggestion in the book is more than three or four pages long - many are shorter.

With each idea presented, Joe gives us the logic behind it and the results achieved when it's followed. When you know that things you do have an impact, no matter how small, it provides the motivation to do them.

The Green Gardener's Guide is just the type of book that gets people talking over the fence, which happens to be one of Joe's suggestions. When you find helpful tips in this book, tell your friends and neighbors! Before you know it, you'll be feeling good about taking better care of not only your little corner of the world, the rest of it will be better off, too.

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Joe Lamp'l, also known as Joe Gardener®, is a nationally syndicated garden writer and host of the PBS series GardenSmart and DIY Network's Fresh from the Garden. Joe has emerged as one of the most recognized national gardening communicators - and certainly one of the most stimulating personalities in the "green" sector, with his passion for gardening and environmental stewardship.

You can also find him on his website, Joe Gardener: Growing a Greener World.

_________________
The product or merchandise being reviewed in this blog post was the sole compensation for testing and reviewing the product. All opinions expressed here are mine, with no suggestions whatsoever by the manufacturer or distributor. If I like it, I'll say so. If I don't, I'll say that, too.

Gardener's Latin: A Lexicon

gardengeek57@gmail.com (Kylee from Our Little Acre) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:56:00 +0000

Gardener's Latin: A Lexicon
by Bill Neal
Introduction by Barbara Damrosch

144 pages
Algonquin Books, 2003
List price: $10.95

I have a thing for botanical names of plants. I like to say them; I like how they roll off the tongue, even when I have to use a combination of phonics and my recollection of high school Spanish to pronounce them. Sometimes I get it wrong, but thanks to Gardener's Latin: A Lexicon, I not only get a pronunciation guide, I get a clue about the nature of the plant I'm trying to talk about.

Plants are identified by genus and species, with the latter being a descriptive characteristic of the former. One of my favorite things in our garden is the Japanese Maple tree that my grandmother gave us. It's botanical name is Acer palmatum. Acer is the Latin word for "sharp," which refers to the sharp points on Maple tree leaves. The species of my Japanese Maple tree is palmatum, which means "shaped like a hand."

Sometimes the species tells you where to place the plant in your garden. You might want to plant Bugle Weed - Ajuga reptans - where you want a groundcover, because reptans means creeping.

Knowing botanical names can also be of great help when trying to assure that you're buying what you want to buy. Common names can be confusing, because the same common name is often used for two entirely different plants. Bleeding Heart? Could be Dicentra spectabilis or Clerodendrum thompsonii - very different plants.

The terms defined in this lexicon are mostly those of species. They are listed alphabetically, and while this isn't a book to be read from cover to cover, it is a handy reference guide designed to take some of the mystery out of those strange-sounding names you see on the labels accompanying the plants you bring home from the garden center.

The handy-sized book (6 by 7 inches) also has entertaining quotes and gardening tips in the margins. Many might think reading this book is a bit like reading the dictionary. Perhaps, but its small size and interesting facts make it fun to learn some very useful information that will serve you well throughout your life as a gardener.

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Bill Neal (1951-1991) was widely admired as a chef and the author of four cookbooks, among them the classic Bill Neal's Southern Cooking and two other collections of Southern recipes. In Carrboro, North Carolina, his hometown, he was also well known as an avid gardener whose own eclectic garden had something in bloom every day of the year. Gardener's Latin was a work in progress at the time of his death, and Algonquin Books put the finishing touches on it before publishing the first edition in 1992.

Barbara Damrosch is one of the nation's most respected garden experts and writers. She is also the author of The Garden Primer: Second Edition and Theme Gardens, and writes a weekly column for The Washington Post called "A Cook’s Garden." She appeared as a regular correspondent on the PBS series The Victory Garden, and co-hosted the series Gardening Naturally for The Learning Channel. She is the co-owner, with her husband, Eliot Coleman, of Four Season Farm, an experimental market garden in Harborside, Maine, that is a nationally recognized model of small-scale sustainable agriculture.

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Book purchased by reviewer.

From the Ground Up: The Story of a First Garden

gardengeek57@gmail.com (Kylee from Our Little Acre) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:10:00 +0000

From the Ground Up: The Story of a First Garden
by Amy Stewart

272 pages
Algonquin Books, 2001
List price: $15.99

You know Amy from her other books, such as the recently published Wicked Plants and her eye-opening Flower Confidential (which I just recently read). She's also a contributing writer for the well-known gardening blog, GardenRant. But aside from her more recent endeavors, I have a soft spot in my heart for her first book, about her first garden.

I first read From the Ground Up: The Story of a First Garden back in 2005, when I was a novice gardener myself. It was the first gardening book I ever read and I've recommended it countless times since then.

The beauty of this book is that regardless of whether you only have a curious interest in gardening or you've been around the garden centers a few times, it will appeal to both. Amy lets her gardening naivete hang out here and shares her failures as well as her successes as she relates the adventures of creating her first garden in Santa Cruz, California.

"My lettuce. It was a silly thing to get excited over, I suppose. Growing lettuce is a small accomplishment; the results are fleeting, perishable. And I only had one short row to show for three months of gardening: a dozen or so plants, barely enough for two salads. In fact, I almost hated to go after them with my scissors. I'd worked so hard to grow them in the first place. They were like little works of art, these lettuce heads in miniature. It was a shame to snip off even a single leaf."

At the end of each chapter, Amy shares the knowledge she gained along the way during that first year. Gardening tips, recipes, and plant recommendations are just a few of the tidbits you'll find.

Amy has since gone on to wow the gardening world, but peeking into this little window of her early start will have you laughing and cheering her on. It's almost as if she's in your kitchen, telling her story as you share a cup of coffee. Charming.

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Amy Stewart tends a garden of her own in northern California. She is the award-winning author of four books on the perils and pleasures of the natural world.

Her essays and commentaries have appeared in the New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, Garden Design, Organic Gardening, and elsewhere. She's been featured on NPR, Good Morning America and CBS Sunday Morning. She is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship and a California Horticultural Society Writer's Award.

Stewart lives in Eureka, California, with her husband Scott Brown. They own an antiquarian bookstore called Eureka Books and tend a flock of unruly hens in their backyard.

She is also the author of The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms, and the New York Times bestselling Flower Confidential: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful in the Business of Flowers. Her newest book is Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities (Algonquin Books, May 2009).

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The book reviewed in this post was purchased by the reviewer.

Gardening Nude

gardengeek57@gmail.com (Kylee from Our Little Acre) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:59:00 +0000

Gardening Nude; a Common Sense Guide to Improving Your Health and Lifestyle By Increasing Exposure to Nature, Cultivating a Green Mindset, and Building a Strong Community
by Shawna Lee Coronado

170 pages
The Casual Gardener Company (2008)
List price: $18.95

Let's set the record straight right from the start. Shawna isn't promoting gardening in the buff. But the title got your attention, didn't it? That's just what she wants to do, to guide and motivate you to live a better life.

In Gardening Nude, Shawna tells how she went from her corporate America, high-stress job that was literally making her sick, to her current life, where she enjoys good health by doing good things. Lots of good things.

I met Shawna in person last May, when I attended Spring Fling Chicago, a convention of garden bloggers. She lit up the room with her genuine enthusiasm for life, and as such, was a convincing ambassador for what she outlines in her book. There's meat behind her concepts:

Increase your exposure to nature
Cultivate a green mindset
Build a strong community

She calls it the Get Your Green On Healthy Philosophy and this book is a manual for doing just that. One of my favorite chapters is number seven: "Strip Away The Excuses - How To Make The Conservation Plan A Reality." How many of us make excuses for why we can't live a greener lifestyle? Chapter four is similar, with her steps for the Go Green Health Plan.

Appendices in the back of the book provide sources for products and more information. Though the book only has 170 pages, Shawna has managed to pack an incredible amount of information for all of us to improve our health and our community. She shows us how little things add up to make a big difference. We can all do more.

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Shawna Coronado is an author, locally syndicated newspaper columnist, energetic speaker, and environmental and health correspondent. Shawna has been featured on ABC News (Chicago), WGN 9 News (Chicago), Oklahoma Gardening TV and Local Access 10 TV. Special written features on Shawna can be found on CNN Health, Chicago Tribune Local, and The Daily Herald.

She lives in the Chicago area with her husband, daughter, and Harry the Pug, and can be found online at The Casual Gardener.

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The product or merchandise being reviewed in this blog post was the sole compensation for testing and reviewing the product. All opinions expressed here are mine, with no suggestions whatsoever by the manufacturer or distributor. If I like it, I'll say so. If I don't, I'll say that, too.

Bulb

gardengeek57@gmail.com (Kylee from Our Little Acre) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:13:00 +0000

Bulb
by Anna Pavord

544 pages
Mitchell Beazley/Octopus Books USA (November 1, 2009)
List Price: $39.99

When my doorbell rang and Fed Ex handed me a hefty padded envelope, little did I know what a treasure was contained within. It was a book. A thick, beautiful tome that made me sit right down with it as soon as I got it out of the envelope.

Bulb is written by Anna Pavord, British author of the bestselling Tulip. Released on November 1st here in the U.S., Bulb features 600 of Pavord's favorite bulbs - "more than enough to sustain a gardener through a lifetime of growing them, " she tells us.

The book is beautiful. It has a cloth spine and the photo of the 'Prinses Irene' tulip on the front cover is embossed, with title and author in gilt. The pages inside are of heavy quality paper, which enhances the beautiful photography by Andrew Lawson. A nice touch is the attached green satin ribbon for marking your spot. But the best part is the content.

A concise introduction tells us the history and origin of bulbs, then we get a bit of a botany lesson before moving on to the bulbs themselves. Each bulb is listed alphabetically by botanical name (Acis to Zigadenus) and in many instances, several cultivars are also pictured. Each entry gives essential information about the bulbs (light, how deep to plant and spacing, hardiness zone, bloom period) as well as their native origin. Companion plantings are sometimes suggested.

Finally, the book concludes with a section called "How to grow bulbs," followed by a planting guide, which consists of lists such as "Bulbs for naturalizing in grass" and "Bulbs for containers." Another handy appendix lists "Bulbs by season," which is helpful when planning companion bloomers. The inside covers contain a U.S.D.A. Hardiness Zone map in the front and an AHS Heat Zone map in the back.

No one book could possibly contain this kind of information on every bulb, but if you want a resource for the ones you're most likely to buy or grow as well as some rare and species varieties, Bulb is "The One."

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Anna Pavord has written eight books, including the internationally acclaimed bestseler Tulip, as well as The Naming of Names, New Kitchen Garden, Border Book, and Plant Partners. She was one of the founding editors of Gardens Illustrated and contributes regularly to programs for BBC Radio. She has lived in Dorset in the U.K. for almost forty years. After restoring the garden of an old rectory, she recently moved to a new garden, which she is filling with bulbs.

Andrew Lawson is an award-winning photographer, whose pictures have been reproduced extensively in books and magazines worldwide. Andrew's photos are informed by a deep knowledge of the subject of gardening. He had provided pictures for numerous books, including those written by Rosemary Verey, Penelope Hobhouse, Roy Strong, and HRH The Prince of Wales.

What's Wrong With My Plant? (And How Do I Fix It?)

gardengeek57@gmail.com (Kylee from Our Little Acre) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:53:00 +0000

What's Wrong With My Plant? (And How Do I Fix It?): A Visual Guide to Easy Diagnosis and Organic Remedies
by David Deardorff and Kathryn Wadsworth

452 pages
Timber Press (December 2, 2009)
List price: $24.95

I don't care how long you've been gardening, even if you do everything right, plants won't be healthy 100% of the time. Some new bug or spot eventually finds its way to your garden and then what?

You put your plant detective hat on and get to work at finding out just what the problem is. So the leaves are yellow and it's not fall. There are little green specks on the stems and leaves. And they're moving.

Thankfully, you don't have to be an entymologist with a degree in horticulture to figure this out, because David Deardorff and Kathryn Wadsworth have done the work for you. Their collaboration to bring gardeners a simple method of diagnosing a plant's problems leaves this gardener grateful for the immense amount of labor that has gone into this book.

With easy-to-follow flow charts, you are taken through a series of identifications by both illustrations and photographs that eventually lead you to the problem and the solution. If a pesticide or fungicide is required, there's an organic remedy described. They've also provided a list of resources for locating recommended products.

For years, we've wondered what the strange, pointy growths were on the leaves of some of our maple trees. I now know they're infected by bladder gall mites for which the solution is insecticidal soap, horticultural oil, or Neem oil. It took me no more than five minutes to find this out, using the flow charts.

This is one reference book that no gardener's library should be without.

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David Deardorff, Ph.D., is a plant pathologist and botanist who uses public speaking, writing, and photography to explain the science and beauty of the natural world. Naturalist Kathryn Wadsworth shares her love for gardening and the outdoors through writing and photography. Together, David and Kathryn (www.ddandkw.com) present classes and workshops with a focus on diagnosing and curing plant problems. They live and garden in Port Townsend, Washington.

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The product or merchandise being reviewed in this blog post was the sole compensation for testing and reviewing the product. All opinions expressed here are mine, with no suggestions whatsoever by the manufacturer or distributor. If I like it, I'll say so. If I don't, I'll say that, too.

Bloom-Again Orchids

gardengeek57@gmail.com (Kylee from Our Little Acre) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:19:00 +0000

Bloom-Again Orchids: 50 Easy-Care Orchids that Flower Again and Again and Again
by judywhite

132 pages
Timber Press (November 28, 2009)
List price $14.95

Who thinks orchids are scary plants, hard to grow, and expensive? *raises hand* Judy White is here to tell you it's not true!

In her new book, Bloom-Again Orchids: 50 Easy-Care Orchids that Flower Again and Again and Again, she attempts to debunk the common myths about growing orchids. As one who has grown orchids for about three years now and has encountered some of the difficulties commonly associated with them, I was really interested in what Ms. White had to say.

Her book is easy to understand, with the guidelines for growing orchids laid out in a concise, simple manner. She lists 50 orchids for growing that are easy to find, easier to grow, and relatively inexpensive, with information specific for each one.

When one is an expert in their field, with years of experience behind them, it's easy to say that something is...well...easy. Much of what is learned becomes instinct. After awhile, you just know. And while I'll agree that her tips for orchids aren't difficult, following them does require a bit of vigilance and effort above and beyond that of the ordinary, everyday keeper of houseplants.

Most gardeners know that orchids aren't the kind of plants that you simply water once a week and expect to produce those exotic, luscious blooms. There are many things to consider, such as soil type, amount of light, amount of water, how to water, fertilizing, etc. Different types of orchids have different requirements.

But with this book at your side and a little effort, you too can grow orchids that will be the envy of the neighborhood.

judywhite is author and photographer of the award-winning Taylor's Guide to Orchids (Houghton Mifflin 1996). Her photography has graced many books and publications, and has been exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution. A former research biologist and past editor-in-chief of one of the world's first mega-gardening Web sites, Time-Life's Virtual Garden, judywhite is married to British garden writer Graham Rice. She is proud to say she has killed orchids on both sides of the Atlantic.

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