4 comments about Plant Propagation A to Z: Growing Plants for Free.

1. I love this book. Beautiful color photos of propagation. We use this in our class for Master Gardeners for reference. I like the way it has seperate lists for cuttings and division and seed germination. This makes it for fast look up. I bought one for home use too. The reference part tells season to do propagation,strike time or germination time and temp. All around good reference guide.



2. Filled with lots of photos and charts. Very thorough listings broken down by propagation category (seed, cutting, division etc) and genus listing best time, requirements, time required etc. I've been a plantaholic for about 25 years and was amazed at how much the book had to offer. With all of the photos, charts and descriptions it should be detailed enough for the beginner too.



3. This is a great book for beginners as well as the seasoned gardener. Very easy to understand language and a lot of pictures. Anyone who has ever considered propagating their own plants either from seed to grafting should really consider buying this book.



4. I think this is a great book for beginner to intermediate gardeners. It's all that 90% of the people out there would ever need. The book describes several methods of propagation, then gives lists of plants and what methods to use. It doesen't cover some exotic plants, but then most people aren't trying to grow very exotic plants. I recommend it.

5 comments about Weedless Gardening.

1. The mental factors brought forth through this book will certainly help gardners all but stop weeding.
   Using the info in this book, I have all but eliminated weeding so far by placing 4 sheets of newspaper down before I build my rows.
   My weeding time has been cut down to 10 minutes or less daily in my 46' X 35' garden. I also use the same between rows with cardboard boxes cut to fit my walking needs, which has all but eliminated weeds or grass between rows.
   Try the book if you want to save yourself a lot of weeding this spring, summer and fall.



2. Having started my gardening life in the John Jeavon's double-digging school, it took me awhile to accept and implement the approach described so well in this book. Other reviewers have lauded the book and its benefits. I would like to add one that has really changed how I garden and how my garden looks. I used to rip out my large So-Cal vegetable garden completely twice a year, digging in the compost and amendments in one big push and starting fresh. With Reich's methods I can stagger my prep and planting in a way that spreads the work out, and makes the garden more beautiful. Winter flowers that aren't quite done can be easily left in while you plant the summer veggies around them. My newest bed, which was done with his newspaper method over a nasty lawn, is flourishing.



3. Doubtless there are some good suggestions in this book, e.g. the chapter on drip irrigation. However, if your garden area is infested with nut-grass (Cyperus rotundus) you can forget about the method the author propounds. I covered my garden area not with newspaper but with cardboard boxes, broken down and laid flat. That was four months ago. The nut-grass wasn't even fazed; it punched right through the cardboard and the 4" of mulch on top of it like those impediments weren't even there. I'm sure this method works on "kinder, gentler" weeds, but in my context the "weedless" thesis is useless.



4. I bought this book because from the write-up I read it sounded like he might have some new ideas. There really isn't much. If you already practice no-dig or low-dig gardening and mulch your beds I wouldn't bother. However, the information in this book is very basic and easily digestible for the novice gardener.
   
   There were a few things I though were lacking for the novice even. One was dealing rocky soils if you want tor grow root crops. He says if you have ledge you should make a raised bed. No kidding. However, many of us are between the extremes of growing on ledge or in the silty soil the author has. In the northeast pebbles, stones, rocks and boulders abound, and growing root crops directly into a rocky soil yields some pretty interesting results. Especially if you start your root garden over a boulder you didn't know was right beneath the surface. :-)
   
   All in all a good book for the beginner, but if you're a more experienced gardener and you're really curious I would check it out of the library, or better yet sit at the library and read it -- it took me less than 3 hours to read it from cover to cover.



5. I came across Lee Reich's book a few years ago in our local library (I've since purchased it to keep on hand). Since I was knee deep in weeds at the time the title intrigued me. At the time it was mid summer and my garden, as usual, was an example of spring time work gone awry.
   
   Each year, I dilligently tilled and rowed my garden as my father and his father had done, arranged the sprinklers, planted the best plants, staked the beans, caged the tomatoes and planned how this year I was going to have a TV worthy garden. Then May turned to June, to July and 98 degrees and 98% humidity stopped my outdoor adventures. I only went to the garden to harvest the results, which were rapidly disappearing under a malaise of weeds, bugs, and diseases. So once again by summer time the garden had become an unsightly eye sore rather than the picture of pride I had foolishly envisioned while reading over the seed catalogue. If only I didn't have a real job, and kids, and a to do list a mile long, I could spend my days toiling away in the garden to get one of those "fake" TV gardens that obviously cannot be produced by mere mortals.
   
   After skimming through the book I began to get excited. I really didn't expect much from the book but the concepts made a certain sense and if they worked, maybe I could actually improve my garden.
   
   Three years into this experiment, I can say that I look forward to gardening more now than ever. What used to be a chore is now a pleasant break from my routine and a source of pride to visitors. While no garden is truly weedless, it is much easier to stay ahead of the weeds using Lee's approach. It also fits much better into the rest of what I do. I used to have to figure out where to get rid of the grass clippings all year, and the mulch/chips from tree removal and land clearing. Now, my 1000 square foot garden consumes as much material as I can throw at it. My grass, my neigbors grass, my mothers grass, leaves, kitchen scraps, etc, most of which people are glad to have a place to dump, all go into my garden.
   
   I have not followed all the recommendations of Mr. Reich. I'm currently experimenting with composting in my overly large walkways (48 inch) rather than composting in a seperate compost bin. It cuts my yield but pleases the wife since there is no large ugly bin in the yard, and no turning of the compost. (My chickens turn it for me, while adding their own brand of nitrogen.)
   
   As with most garden books, the first half is dedicated to the topic at hand, the second half is a glossary of gardening topics, plant varieties, tools, and techniques/tips which are common to most any gardening book. This is often viewed as a "filler" in many books, a way to justify the price for the now larger book. This book has many such items in it's second half but all that I have read are specific to the no till, weedless method and are not simply added ad hoc from another source for filler.
   
   Again, three years into this experiment, I'd can honestly say I'd never go back to the till method.

1 comments about The New Outdoor Kitchen: Cooking Up a Kitchen for the Way You Live and Play.

1. Deborah does an amazing job with this how - to on outdoor cooking. beautiful pictures and designs to inspire even the most uncreative of readers. highly recommended - she even includes pictures of her own amazing outdoor kitchen which is just a testament to her knowedge and experience. even if you are just looking for ideas or creative possibilities pick up a copy and you will not be disappointed- you truly get what you pay for. i wish i could just carry out all of the projects she puts in here!

5 comments about The Impatient Gardener.

1. I started using this book in mid summer and so far I have been amazed. I purchased a house that had nothing but weeds in the back yard. I hired someone to get rid of the weeds and all they did was kill what little grass there was. A friend gave me The Impatient Gardener and I started doing what it recommended and now I have a yard full of grass. My next door neighbor came over to find out what I had done to make the grass grow. I plan on giving her the book for Christmas.



2. Even if you don't garden much, you'll love reading all the little stories and tidbits in this book. If you do garden, consider them a huge bonus!



3. I really enjoyed the book. It was laid out in a straight forward manner, and I can see why do many have purchased this book over the years.
   
   Baker's book trades on simplicity and practicality and in that respect reminded me of Haley's Hints. Haley's Hints
   
   I recommend this book to anyone with a love of gardening or think they may have it within themselves to develop a love of gardening.



4. This is a great book. Easy to understand and gives you enough confidence to get creative. Even the experienced gardner will find good solid facts and techniques.



5. I bought this book for my husband and 2 years later.....unbelieveable success. Our neighborhood of clinically trimmed lawns by landscapers actually have asked WHO does your lawn. My husband has given this book to friends and they are always inspired when they see ours. Our neighbor bought it a year after we started. I am happy because I have small kids and if I had a dog, I would be comfortable that all of them were not being exposed to chemicals through their nose, skin by rolling around in toxic chemicals. Simple solutions by Jerry Baker - THANKS!

5 comments about Moss Gardening: Including Lichens, Liverworts and Other Miniatures.

1. I read this book from cover to cover and while it does have some great information the author is far too long winded and can't seem to stay on track. He seems to have an ego far larger than the minute moss he writes about and it really ruined the book for me.
   
   More moss and less ego stroking please!



2. The other reviews, both positive and negative, seem to be on the mark. I think the words, "The Joy of" should have preceded the title. I was personally looking for a little more of the "How to" in this book about gardening. '...not much about lichens. It was both funny and long winded at times. It was beautiful but not as informative as I would have liked. This makes a great, compact sized, coffee table book but not a very good HYI text book.



3. This is an excellent text for the "beginner to mid" moss apprentice. The photos are brilliantly gorgeous and add much excitement to the text. Schenk is clearly an enormous fan of moss as his pen scrolls simple, yet technical, information about moss throughout the text. The only qualm I have with this book is that Schenk keeps to the 2 major genus of moss. However, the photos, which might give the moss-lover ideas for a moss garden, pull the book into a text that is a must for the moss-"er."
   
   I have a bit of an obsessive-compulsive disorder with moss. I collect it, use it to build moss sculptures, grow many different genus of it. 2 years ago, I fell in love with moss and the obsession hasn't stopped.



4. Images in this book take you instantly into an green fairy tale. Carefuly chosen details speek for them self, in addition to it, text was writen with humor, and very professionaly, at the same time.



5. Another nice book with some good photos but expected a little more terms of variety of mosses reviewed. Certainly could have included more photos....

5 comments about Cass Turnbull's Guide to Pruning: What, When, and Where and How to Prune for a More Beautiful Garden.

1. Cass Turnbull brings both her expertise and her fun spirit to this excellent book about pruning. It's a page turner, with lots of great information and insight. Turnbull's writing makes it enjoyable to read, unlike many boring gardening books. I'm glad I found it before attempting some major pruning this year.



2. Now in an updated second edition, Cass Turnbull's Guide To Pruning is a no-nonsense guide to pruning plants the right way, since the wrong way can lead to "water sprouts" (stringy, hairy twigs that grow straight up on a tree) or other eyesores and disasters. Professional gardener Cass Turnbull gives step-by-step instructions for pruning more than 160 species of trees, shrubs, ground covers, vines, and more. Over 150 b/w illustrations clarify the various techniques, and new highlights of the second edition include additional chapters on pruning ground covers and hedges, expanded coverage of mounding-habit, cane-growing, and tree-like shrubs, pruning tips organized by regions of America, new illustrations, and more. Cass Turnbull's Guide To Pruning is a superb supplementary reference and resource for gardeners, homeowners, and landscapers.



3. MUCH better than the highly rated American Horticultural Society pruning guide, in my opinion. I bought them both at the same time. She doesn't cover the huge variety of species that other books try to, and the book is actually a collection of short treatises she wrote for a periodical publication, so there's a lot of repetition. But the repetition is all information that you really need to learn, so it's better to get it hammered in right. Instead of a big quick listing of facts, you'll get to know the personalities of various types of plants in depth, and know how to put that knowledge to use. I definitely don't look at people's yards the same way anymore, and I feel confident that I can take care of my own shrubs and small trees now. I also enjoyed her dorky sense of humor, compete with bad puns and comic illustrations.



4. I discovered Cass Turnbull's original guide several years ago through on-line research - and was amused and excited to read about her work forming Plant Amnesty, an organization with a goal of protecting plants from mal-pruing into meatballs and other boring shapes.
   
   Her guide is structured to provide a general introduction to pruning techniques, then branching out to cover different classes of plants, finally focusing in detail on many common plants with specific guidelines for pruning. This has become my pruning bible.
   
   Suffice to say that this second edition is more of the same, more plants covered, more photos and how-to illustrations, and more humorous stories. Well worth your investment!
   
   Read it, refer to it, prune by it. And learn to respect your plants by pruning them naturally!



5. I love this book! I have a hard time remembering what I am supposed to do in the garden and when, but Cass Turnbull makes it easy. She groups plants into types and explains how to prune each type. This makes it much easier to remember how to treat various trees and shrubs, although there is a nice index in case you forget or want to look up something specific.
   
   She has a very fun writing style and an easygoing approach that makes you feel like the plant police aren't looking over your shoulder. Highly recommended!

5 comments about The American Woodland Garden: Capturing the Spirit of the Deciduous Forest.

1. I am a novice gardener but this book gives great advice and great choices from groundcover to shrubs and trees for the woodsy landscape. I refer to this book all the time.



2. This man is the best photographer of the woodlands and a great speaker. Would purchase any book by him.



3. If you live near the edge of woodlands as we do, you'll find this book to be a valuable source of information. It's a challenge to landscape the transition from woodland to home, but this book provides the knowledge needed to make that happen. And if you love to live in or near woodland areas as much as we do, you'll appreciate the wonderful photographs.



4. Whether you are planning a woodland garden, look out on a woodland garden, or just dream of woodland gardens, this book is a must have. It is the most beautiful, awe-inspiring garden book I've ever encountered.
   
   The photos are the first layer of beauty. The descriptions of the plants are the second layer of beauty. The suggested arrangements of trees, shrubs and flowers are the third layer of beauty. You could spend weeks reading this book and not get through the layers. Mr. Darke has produced a true gift for those of us who treasure woodlands.



5. Loved this book - a keeper for sure. Rick Darke does a great job of writing - I found his prose to be both instructive and inspiring-one really gets a sense from his writing that he knows his plants in intimate and fond detail. Photography is stunning as he captures the spirit of the woodlands and plants he shows in the book. I especially love how he depicts the changing beauty & contrast throughout the seasons of a local scene as he drove by on his way to and from work. What a treat it is to be a gardener and have gems like this one to read and enjoy.

5 comments about Noah's Garden: Restoring the Ecology of Our Own Backyards.

1. I thought it a good idea to give a guy's opinion and so here it is. This is a "nice" book, with nice sentiment and excellent ideas about how we should live with and not apart from nature. Actually it wouldn't be a bad idea for more men to see nature as a refuge, not a place to wreck havoc with and certainly not a killing field. However, I think few "guys" could get beyond the niceness of it all. It's just too very nice.



2. This book is absolutely wonderful, it should be required reading for every lawn fanatic out there. An ecological viewpoint presented in an easy to understand and engrossing style. I would recommend this book to everyone. I am giving copies of this book as presents and loaning my copy to friends. This would be the perfect book to donate to your local or school library.



3. This book is a charming memoir that follows the cycle of destruction and restoration of a piece of land in Westchester County. After moving in, the author and her husband set to clearing and "gardening" the land -- only to notice that they had driven away the quail and the frogs by changing their habitat. The author then set herself upon the task of learning about ecosystems and restoring her land. The book is as much about animals as it is about plants -- and really about the complex systems that have arisen in nature for plants and animals to support one another. The author's overarching vision is that of a suburbia with enough habitat (woods/meadows) replacing pieces of individual yards to support the animals that have been displaced by vast expanses of mowed lawns.



4. I was sorry to hear Ms. Stein died before I had a chance to write a letter thanking her for this book. As a beginning gardner I attended a lecture she gave at a local college. My only criteria for landscaping at the time was to find the most colorful, longest-blooming plants, despite their area of origin. Ms. Stein made me realize how important it is to also provide native plants to benefit the creatures we have displaced with our rampant building. A few years ago I bought a 7.5 acre undeveloped parcel and recently had a small log cabin built on it. I plan to spend the rest of my life restoring the prairies, woodlands and wetlands with the help of this book as well as the sequel, Planting Noah's Garden. I hope Ms. Stein knew she had a great impact on many lives. Thank you, Sara.



5. Sara Stein's books are amazing. She manages to lump concrete facts and advice in with lyrical symphonies to the restoration of a safe, secure ecosystem. She also makes me laugh in the process. In one section she discusses the formula for determining what size a meadow has to be, how many herbivores it has to contain, and how many predators. The question is what poundage of predator does the meadow support. Her answer: "You've got me. Don't ask me to weigh owls."
   
   I love it!
   
   The part that made me cry was chapter 10 - Frogs: in Memorium. I remember so well the bullfrogs from my childhood. Sara Stein has written what she did not intend to be the swan song of the frogs, but rather a call to do something about that part of the environment we CAN affect -- our own backyard.
   
   I list this book on my website as an invaluable resource for gardeners of any experience level. Even non-gardeners would benefit from reading NOAH'S GARDEN.

5 comments about Wildwood Wisdom.

1. This book was my introduction to outdoor skills. I thought I'd order myself a copy after all these years for sentimental reasons, for some reason I remembered it being kinda hokey.
   
   Well I got it and it isn't hokey at all. I love this book. Taught me many things back when, taught me more things just now.



2. THE BEST OUTDOOR/SURVIVAL BOOK I HAVE EVER READ. LOADED WITH INFORMATION, AND AT A GIVE AWAY PRICE OF ABOUT 10 BUCKS. ITS A NO BRAINER, BUY THIS BOOK.



3. All outdoorsmen should own a copy of this book. Highly entertaining and a wealth of knowledge.



4. I first read this book in my High School Library in 1955.
   The best outdoor survival book ever.
   Buy it at least a month before you go camping.
   Must read for campers.



5. A great book with much of interest to anyone interested in outdoor skills and woodsman ship in an age that has mostly vanished. The illustrations are great and some are humorous as well.

5 comments about Roses Love Garlic: Companion Planting and Other Secrets of Flowers.

1. I originally bought this book over 20 years ago from Rodale press and lost it in one of my many moves. It is an excellent resource for companion and inter-planting of flowers, many of which are edible, with vegetables. I now garden in containers and the concepts in this book lend themselves easily to this kind of gardening.



2. Recently purchased this book and find it very useful, not only from the types of roses but for all the other things that you would never think of doing with them. A nice book for gardeners and anyone interested in roses to have



3. Good companion book to Carrots Love Tomatoes. A must have for the gardener whether professional or homegrown.



4. I have a garden. This is an awesome book. I will use some of the tips in the book for sure.



5. This is a very informational book. I bought two, gave one to my 73 year old mother who just planted her first successful garden!