2 comments about Simon & Schuster's Guide to Garden Flowers (Nature Guide Series).

1. Finally, a book small enough to carry out to the garden with me for reference yet compact with enough information to enable me to find answers to my basic questions regarding best locations, season, size, appearance, care, possible difficulties, etc. I found the illustrated key next to each written description and picture of each plant to be extremely helpful and time saving for quick reference as to whether or not I want a plant based on its's being suitable for the location I want and the purpose intended for the blooms. All I have to do is flip open the book to the desired page, glance at the illustrated key symbols, slide my eyes over to the colored photograph of the actual plant and I know in less than 10 seconds if the plant may be suitable for my needs. I can then read the clarifying information and firm up my choice. The photography is very clear and the write-ups simple enough for a beginning gardener, such as myself, to understand.



2. The real strength of this book is its profuse illustration. Every flower is shown in a good-sized photo, and there are hundreds of them. That makes the book useful as a visual reference for someone drawing or painting, giving plenty of color and variety.

   As a gardening guide, though, I'm not sure how successful it is. The descriptions of each plant and its culture are very brief, possibly too brief to ensure good understanding of the plant and its needs.

No comments about Herbal Emissaries.

No comments about Iowa State Fair: Country Comes to Town.

2 comments about Rodale's Successful Organic Gardening: Herbs (Rodale's Successful Organic Gardening).

1. +AH4-More of a 3.5, but I'll round up :-) This is one of the first herb gardening books I got. Because I am not gardening in a large space, like a raised bed or half my backyard, many of the directions and much of the information was sort of overwhelming, at least for right now. I do mostly container herb gardening and in flower boxes and barrels, so there wasn't much info specifically geared for these types in this book, but cut down the organic gardening, soil preperation, pest control,+AH4-+AH4- sowing, watering, and composting info into small-scale size and it's great.

   However, the info on the herbs specifically, which ones work for what climate zones and how to cultivate, dry and use them is wonderful and all but makes up for the focus on larger-scale gardens. The info on more than 50 common herbs is invaluable, especially the chart that details each one individually with all the necessary info you need at a glance, name, growth form and size, climate, soil condition,+AH4-+AH4- propagation, pests, and primary uses. It is a good supplemental to the other gardening books I have. I use the herb chart and specific herb info in the back of the book a lot, the instructions on how to harvest and dry the herbs, and the culinary and craft ideas, such as how to make herbal vinegar, dressings, spreads, teas, dyes, potpourri, soap, oils, and more.

   It is a very good book for a beginning herbal gardener, especially one interested in raising them organically and wanting to+AH4-+AH4- know the many things you can do with herbs once you've grown them! I would just hasten to add that this book would be best in conjunction with a book on container or patio gardening or something in a smaller scale if that is your main goal, otherwise for larger-scale backyard herb gardening from the ground up, it's perfect.+AH4-




2. I collect books on growing herbs and without exception they are all useful. Some books are personalized and others give general and basic information. This is probably one of the very best "all round" books that I've ever seen.

   Some of the topics that are discussed are as follows: Climate, Topography, Garden Style, Understanding Basic Botany, Species Chart, Soil Preparation, Weeding, Propagating Herbs, Over-Wintering Plants, Drying Herbs, Cooking with Herbs, Medicinal Herbs, a Plant by Plant Guide and a USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.

   The section on Preventing Pests and Diseases has very good illustrations of plant damage with a drawing of the insect culprit next to the herb. The Species Chart is six pages long and gives the growth form, the preferred climates, soil conditions, propagation season, the primary usage of the plants and the pests and diseases that each plant is susceptible to getting.

   This is a very concise and usable book.

5 comments about Theme Gardens: Revised Edition.

1. If you just want it done for you this is the book. Garden plans, seasonal views, and good lists of plants. You could make a lot of mistakes in designing your own 1st garden, but this takes a lot of the guess work out of your gardening.

   Start with this book as a jump start, in the following years you'll get the hang of it. Good basically for zone 4-9, plus/minus 1.




2. This book has become my dear companion over the past 12 years. The plans are beautiful and they have worked well for me, but the general information, and capsules on specific plants CONTINUE to teach me. Each plan is shown in three views, for color and growth covering spring, summer, and fall. As I contemplate my new Cape Cod location, and my mother's shady retreat in Ohio, I draw out my own plans this way now. My husband bought me Theme Gardens in 1988, and it has helped me grow from a complete novice in California to a skilled amateur in New Jersey, especially with perennials. I planted the Secret Garden, and every spring I think, that Barbara Damrosch really made this great! I am buying a copy for my mother, a hesitant gardener, and together we will plant another.



3. Don't waste your time or money. What she wrote in the First Theme Gardens is enough. If you can't find the first one then this is a good book, but as a REVISED and UPDATED Edition the changes were very subtle.



4. My 1982 edition of "Theme Gardens" is well-worn, dirt-spattered, and much loved. When I saw a revised edition, I was thrilled, hoping it would illustrate another dozen or so themes. Unfortunately, very little has changed from the first edition; most of the changes I found were in the photos while the text is almost the same, as are all the theme gardens themselves. If Ms. Damrosch writes another book that shows us new themes, I'll buy it, but until then my trusty book from '82 is just fine.
   
   Suggestions for themes:
   A Songbird Garden
   An Elizabethan Herb Garden
   A Reader's Garden
   A Dyer's Garden
   A Red, White, and Blue Garden
   A Biblical Garden



5. For those who want step by step instruction in laying out a particular kind of garden...this book can be most helpful. Various types of gardens are included & plant lists are provided ...some history on each particular garden is also added in some cases.
   
   Writer's style is very approachable & easy to understand...no high & lofty botanical terms to look up in the dictionary.
   
   Author carefully explains various aspects of developing the projects in some cases such as how to build raised beds, prepare soil & building a trellis etc. These additions are there to supplement the ideas put forward by the author in a very effective manner.
   
   I recommend this book on the premise of it's intended purpose...to help people looking to establish a few particular kinds of gardens & suggested layouts. With respect to it's purpose the objective has been met.

No comments about Descanso: An Urban Oasis Revealed.

1 comments about Playsets (Better Homes & Gardens).

1. WELL....This IS a great book for novice builders. It has all the basics, detailed plans & more. There ARE a couple nice playsets & BASIC playhouses. The problem is, I bought the book to build the adorable playhouse shown on the cover for my granddaughter. If you hoped for that too, don't buy this book. No where in this book are the plans (or pictures) for that playhouse :(

1 comments about Ecological Aesthetics: Art in Environmental Design: Theory and Practice.

1. Landscapes leave their imprint on human beings. It's the basic intention of this book to make the reader understand landscape as a phenomenon situated between the two (seemingly) opposite poles of nature and culture and, to make us experience the necessity for a sustainable ecological preservation and development of nature through the intervention of art. This is evidenced by a multitude of examples with great illustrations, easy to grasp in the first chapters of the book and becoming increasingly complex and diverse thereafter, particularly in the last part which deals with integrative landscape art. As important and meaningful as the illustrations are the essays compiled in this book. In many respects they provide the fundament for understanding the various images and provide access to the ideas of ecological aesthetics. Although the book may primarily be directed towards artists, art and cultural scientists it is eventually a stimulus for reflexion and an aesthetic joy also for people who, like me, are not active in the art business.

1 comments about Fresh Cuts: Unexpected Arrangements with Branches, Buds, and Blooms.

1. Fresh Cuts: Unexpected Arrangements With Branches, Buds, And Blooms is a marvelous interior decorating guide focusing on the vibrant touch that flowers and flora can bring to any setting. Full-color photographs spotlight a wide variety of decorative and pleasant plants; the bulk of Fresh Cuts devotes two-page spreads featuring color schemes and arragement patterns that smoothly incorporate leaves, berries, cuttings, even seed pods into the overal gestalt of one's home sweet home. A joy to page through and a wonderful source of ideas for sprucing up or setting at east one's domicile.

3 comments about The Northwest Herb Lover's Handbook: A Guide to Growing Herbs for Cooking, Crafts, and Home Remedies.

1. This is a very concise and helpful book for the beginning gardener.



2. This is Mary Preus' second book about herbs. The first, "Growing Herbs", covered the basics but was limited in scope. This book expands on the first, guiding the reader deeper into the world of herbs as well as describing 50 of the best-known herbs in detail. While the book is focussed on growing herbs in the Pacific Northwest, it would be a useful book for herb lovers anywhere.

   The writer was for 20 years owner of the Silver Bay Herb Farm in Washington State. In the first 80 pages of the book she shares her extensive knowledge of herb growing basics and of using herbs for cooking, healing and crafts. She includes plenty of recipes that are both imaginative and practical. In this section also she explains how to plan and build different types of herb gardens, and how to harvest and preserve herbs.

   Most of the book, however, is a detailed look at 50 species of herbs. The writer includes information about planting, propagation, pets and diseases, harvesting and uses for cooking, healing and crafts. I particularly liked the information about the chemical elements found in each species and their value in balanced healing and a healthy diet.

   This is a thoughtfully written book from a knowledgeable and experienced herb gardener. The book ends with a calendar of seasonal tasks in the herb garden, a list of the herb gardens open in the region, sources for plants and seeds, and publications and societies of interest to herb gardeners.




3. This is Mary Preus' second book about hers. The first, "Growing Herbs", covered the basics but was limited in scope. This book expands on the first, guiding the reader deeper into the world of herbs as well as describing 50 of the best-known herbs in detail. While the book is focussed on growing herbs in the Pacific Northwest, it would be a useful book for herb lovers anywhere.

   The writer was for 20 years owner of the Silver Bay Herb Farm in Washington State. In the first 80 pages of the book she shares her extensive knowledge of herb growing basics and of using herbs for cooking, healing and crafts. She includes plenty of recipes that are both imaginative and practical. In this section also she explains how to plan and build different types of herb gardens, and how to harvest and preserve herbs.

   Most of the book, however, is a detailed look at 50 species of herbs. The writer includes information about planting, propagation, pets and diseases, harvesting and uses for cooking, healing and crafts. I particularly liked the information about the chemical elements found in each species and their value in balanced healing and a healthy diet.

   This is a thoughtfully written book from a knowledgeable and experienced herb gardener. The book ends with a calendar of seasonal tasks in the herb garden, a list of the herb gardens open in the region, sources for plants and seeds, and publications and societies of interest to herb gardeners.