The Gardener's Year

Book Description

The Gardener’s Year is not about quick fixes or design makeovers, but simply about knowing what you should be doing in your garden, when, and why. Month-by-month, Alan Titchmarsh tells you how to keep your garden looking its best, with sections on lawns, trees, shrubs and climbers, flowers, patios and containers, vegetables and herbs, fruit, greenhouses, and water gardens. Designed for easy reference, the book will answer all your questions, from what seeds you can plant in your vegetable plot in May to how to keep your hanging baskets stunning in September. Features include detailed plant directories, at-a-glance checklists of monthly tasks, creative projects, and 600 color photos and step-by-step diagrams.

Jerry Baker's Year-Round Bloomers: Hundreds of Super Secrets for the Backyard Gardener (Jerry Baker's Good Gardening series)

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The Flower Man knows his stuff

Jerry Baker's Year-Round Bloomers: Hundreds of Super Secrets for the Backyard Gardener (Jerry Baker's Good Gardening series)
Jerry Baker
Manufacturer: American Master Products, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0922433542

Book Description

Gardeners from the sunny south to the frigid north will learn to make their landscapes look as beautiful in January as they do in June with this handbook that reveals the secrets of how to create a vibrant, colorful garden all year round. Offering great design ideas and "old-fashioned grow-how," this guide explains how to turn an ordinary mix of flowers, ground covers, flowering trees, and shrubs into a four-season feast for the eyes without a lot of effort or expense. Organized by season, the book's easy-to-use format presents suggestions for using color to turn a garden into a brilliant palette and "Mixes and Fixes" to keep yards in tip-top shape. The "Ask Jerry" section provides answers to common gardening questions, while "Grandma Putt's Green Thumb Tips" features old-time, down-home wisdom that will make gardening a breeze.

Customer Reviews:

The Flower Man knows his stuff.......2005-08-29

Jerry Baker is wise in the ways of flora. His formulas work very well and have sent my garden into a bloom festival. I am very pleased with the purchase and consider it well woth the money. I only gave it four stars because roses were the only part of the garden I have used his ideas on so far.

3 Among the Wolves: A Couple and Their Dog Live a Year with Wolves in the Wild

Average customer rating:

A Fantastic Read
Wolves are beautiful creatures; this is a beautiful book.
Remarkable----Page Turner
A Fascinating Read

3 Among the Wolves: A Couple and Their Dog Live a Year with Wolves in the Wild
Helen Thayer
Manufacturer: Sasquatch Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1570614792

Book Description

Helen and Bill Thayer, accompanied by their part-wolf, mostly Husky dog, Charlie, set out on foot to live among wild wolf packs — first in the Canadian Yukon and then in the Arctic. They eventually set up camp within 100 feet of a wolf den, and are greeted with apprehension at first. They establish trust over time, because the wolves accept Charlie as the alpha male of the newly arrived "pack."

The Thayers discover the complexities of wolf family structure, including how pups are reared and how the injured are tenderly cared for. They view the intricacies of the hunt firsthand — how ravens direct wolves to prey in exchange for carrion — as well as the wolves’ finely honed survival skills and engaging playfulness. Readers observe the ways Helen and Bill model pack behavior and how they address an unforeseen event: the Arctic wolves attempt to lure Charlie to join them.

Customer Reviews:

A Fantastic Read.......2007-07-16

This book was incredible, and is definantly my favorite non-fiction book. This book is great for anyone who has a slight intrest in nature. It helps if you think wolves are awesome as I do.

Wolves are beautiful creatures; this is a beautiful book........2006-02-28

This book is my second literary experience with Helen Thayer and her dog Charlie following her 2002 book "Polar Dream," in which the pair join together as Ms. Thayer became the first woman (and oldest person at 50) to walk and ski solo (not counting Charlie) to the Magnetic North Pole. In this adventure her husband Bill joins the pair as they spend a year living with wolves in the wild above the Arctic Circle. It's easy to see why the National Geographic Society/National Public Radio has named Ms. Thayer one of the great explorers of the 20th Century. Her stamina and perseverance are phenomenal. The trio infiltrates the Richardson Mountains in Canada's Yukon Territory in search of the greatest villains in all of children's literature. After struggling through most difficult terrains, they come upon a family of wolves and spend months living in a tent within the animals' sight studying the social interplay of these beasts. Completing this phase of their adventure, they sadly leave this family and trek further north into the shifting and dangerous ice of Beaufort Sea to discover the wintertime interplay between wolves and polar bears, considered by many to be the most dangerous of all wild animals. After this near-death adventure, they ski back to the Mackenzie Delta and set up housekeeping next to another group of wolves. The hardships and danger the three faces on a daily basis are amazing to contemplate. The payoff from this book is two-fold. First, the scientific data discovered for the first time. But maybe more importantly is the realization that these creatures are truly magnificent and caring individuals, and anyone who reads this book with an open mind will forever despise hunters who slaughter entire packs by shooting them from low flying airplanes. Ms. Thayer makes it crystal clear that wolves deserve to be part of the world community. There is a bit of repetition in the book. I only need to be told once that the northern lights are called aurora borealis or that animals burrow under the snow were it is a few degrees warmer than above. But that's nit picking. There is also repetition in the telling of their studies, but that captures the flavor of their scientific existence, so is acceptable. To enhance this telling, dozens of pictures taken during this adventure are sprinkled throughout. All outdoorsmen, naturalists, and animal lovers will treasure this book.

Remarkable----Page Turner.......2004-06-03

A true story of two people, their wolf-dog and their amazing adventures with wild wolves in Canada's far north tundra and frozen ocean.
Helen Thayer, a recipient of many awards and honored by the White House, is a veteran world wide explorer over many years. She and her husband explore the world's remote places seeking material to add to their highly successful educational programs which I and fellow educators nationwide use in classrooms.
Her writing and lectures have inspired people of all ages in many countries. I had the pleasure of meeting this dynamic 66 year old, five feet two inch woman after she spoke at a national corporate convention in Florida.
This is a true life experience of living among wild wolf packs in which Charlie, her Inuit dog who once saved her life from a polar bear attack, is the story's star. Just as POLAR DREAM was, this new book is well written with vivid description that takes you on this remarkable journey. This very different approach to wolf study is a welcome addition to our knowledge of these animals. We see the close relationship of many species of animals sharing wild wolf habitat, and at times depending on each other.
Her first book, POLAR DREAM, tells of her adventure with Charlie when she became the first woman to walk alone pulling her own sled without dog teams or snowmobiles to the Magnetic North Pole.
This exciting story and THREE AMONG THE WOLVES are on the same informative, page turning level. The observation of wild wolf family life, their ability to adjust their survival skills, the raising of the pups and even the concern over an injured family member show close observation and remarkable intuitive understanding of wolf behavior. Of course beloved part-wolf Charlie is the reason for the success of the year long project as the author readily acknowledges.
The story is fast moving and flows smoothly from one chapter to the next. Also beautifully descriptive, compassionate and in places humerous. The numerous photos add to the account. A valuable addition to the story are the descriptions of the various animals the Thayers' encountered who share wolf habitat. An excellent addition to anyones book shelf.

A Fascinating Read.......2004-05-12

I collect books about wolves. This book is different with a new perspective both fascinating and informative.The author, explorer Helen Thayer,her explorer husband, and their Inuit dog Charlie of the best selling book, "Polar Dream" fame,(the author's book about her first ever by a woman to walk alone to the magnetic North Pole)lived a year with wild wolves above the Arctic Circle summer and winter. The author tells us "it would have been impossible without Charlie.He was the bridge we needed to cross the gap that allowed us to live alongside wolves and share their lives."
Charlie, part wolf, was quickly accepted. His human pack was accepted shortly afterward. The affectionate nature of wolves, their interaction with other animal species, even polar bears, that's not well documented elsewhere, is truly enlightening. The escapades of the mishievious pups are adorable as is their care and teaching by the adults.
The amusing episodes, the highly emotional times and the valuable information makes this book a winner. Beautifully written, vivid description, allows the reader to share this amazing and unique experience.
The reader soon knows each wolf, its personality, and its role in family life as if the reader were right there with the author.
A true winner in wolf literature.

The Cook and the Gardener : A Year of Recipes and Writings for the French Countryside

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A Cookbook you can Read
three joys
Great addition to a delightful Genre. A foodie must read.
heart warming and mouth watering
Rare & Very Special

The Cook and the Gardener : A Year of Recipes and Writings for the French Countryside
Amanda Hesser
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0393046680

Amazon.com

The Cook and the Gardener is Amanda Hesser's first book. From the opening lines of its introduction, her literary gifts are as evident as her passion for good food. Since this work combines recipes with her essays about Monsieur Milbert (the gardener at the Chateau du Fey in Burgundy, where Hesser worked as the cook), readers get to enjoy both of her talents.

Hesser worked hard to get M. Milbert to talk with her. She shares the careful, deliberate way she wooed him, sometimes by bringing freshly baked bread to his less mobile wife, sometimes by holding back questions she wanted to ask, just to win his tolerance of her presence. Crusty, surly, and tradition-bound, he is the quintessential French peasant. Fortunately, Hesser--who is respectful and patient even when M. Milbert's stubborn ways exasperated her--knows he is an almost-vanished breed. None of his children, or anyone else, is likely to work as he has, continuing to live mainly off the land for nearly 60 years.

Each chapter covers a month, starting with March, when the nearly 400-year-old walled garden comes to life. Hesser talks about the garden, how she used the bounty gathered by M. Milbert, and muses on life in and around Burgundy. In September, "the rains seemed to clean off and illuminate the plants' colors ... everything seemed to wake up, as after a hot, cranky nap." The final tomatoes are harvested, as are the green and butter beans, with Milbert sneakily keeping the best for himself. Hesser visits a neighbor's Portuguese-style garden, as exuberant and vivid as Milbert's is restrained and disciplined. She cooks sautéed red snapper with tomatoes, fennel, and vermouth; makes a profound Tomato Consommé; and slow roasts tomatoes into meltingly tender mounds.

Sepia drawings by Kate Gridley add to the low-key charm of this information-packed work. (It even includes a history of purslane going back to the Middle Ages.)

The knowledge and maturity of this work belie Hesser's youth. Not yet 30 at the time of writing, she's a wise cook worth following. --Dana Jacobi

Book Description

Winner of the Best Book on France by a Non-French Writer Award at the Versailles Cookbook Fair; finalist for the Julia Child Award, the Gourmet Magazine Award, and "Best Cookbook of the Year" sponsored by IACP; and nominated in the international category of the KitchenAid Book Awards of the James Beard Foundation Awards. The unique, award-winning cookbook--a collection of seasonal recipes from a traditional French garden. A unique blend of stylish cookbook and earthy garden story, here is a collection of 250 recipes derived from a centuries-old French kitchen garden. The stunning debut of a lively new culinary voice, The Cook and the Gardener chronicles a year in the life of the walled kitchen garden at Chateau du Fey and its taciturn, resourceful, charmingly sly peasant caretaker. Using the fruits and vegetables harvested from Monsieur Milbert's garden, Amanda Hesser creates four seasons of recipes tied ineluctably to the land and the all-but-forgotten practices upheld by Milbert. Hesser's sublimely simple recipes--each with accessible ingredients and clear notes and instructions--also tell a story. They are a month-by-month record of the ingredients available to her, so that this cookbook also serves as an almanac for cooks. Special "Basics" sections at the opening of each season lay the culinary groundwork for the recipes that follow. Tips on how to buy, store, and prepare particular vegetables, fruits, and herbs are presented in margin notes to recipes. By bringing the kitchen closer to the garden, The Cook and the Gardener gives home cooks a new understanding of the produce they have on hand, whether from the supermarket, the farmer's market, or their own gardens. At the same time, it captures the quirky customs and wily wisdom of a vanishing way of life in provincial France.

Customer Reviews:

A Cookbook you can Read.......2007-03-14

Amanda Hesser is well known for her excellent food columns in the NY Times. A few years ago she spent 12 months working as cook for Anne Willan at the Chateau du Fey, a seventeenth century estate located in Burgundy, France.

This book is a narrative cookbook - part novel, part cookbook, part local history. It revolves around a year in the chateau garden, lovingly tended by the elderly, reticent Monsieur Milbert. We learn of his traditional gardening methods and way of life, read interesting snippets of folk lore and get a feel for the surrounding countryside. As the produce is grown, the cook (Amanda) devises recipes that best use the fresh, seasonal ingredients she is so lucky to have at hand. For her too, it is a time of learning about the seasons in the garden and the origins of the food she uses.

'The Cook and the Gardener' is a nice big hardback, my edition has 632 pages. It's very attractively laid out in earth tones, decorated throughout with sepia illustrations on good quality smooth, creamy paper. There is a little seasonal fruit or vegetable drawing at the top of each page, which makes you feel that each page is special. There are no photos but there are a few blank end papers which you could use for jotting down notes.

The book is divided into seasons and then there is a chapter for each month, starting with spring and the month of March. Each chapter starts with a few pages telling us what is happening in the garden and what M. Milbert is up to. Following this are about 20 indexed recipes for each month, many with introductory notes. These notes include anecdotes about shopping in the local markets, stories about the ingredients used in the recipes, cooking tips, gardening lore, serving suggestions and information on buying, storing and preparing produce. Most of the recipes look enticing and there is a good mixture of simple, traditional and modern recipes as well as basics such as stocks, sauces and preserves. Many of the recipes use fresh herbs and are influenced by Hesser's experience cooking in other countries such as Italy - olive oil, for example, often replaces butter. The recipes are inspired by the produce she found in Burgundy, rather than being traditional Burgundian cuisine.

The recipe for pumpkin soup in this book is fantastic, and it is forever being requested by friends and family. The flavor base is a lovely reduction of white wine and leeks. Other recipes that caught my eye include asparagus with tarragon vinaigrette, baby potatoes in hazelnut oil, green beans with cracked black pepper, sweet chestnut soup, pancetta-rosemary rolls, roast duck, peach marmalade, apple-walnut batard, sautéed figs with honey cream and dark chocolate rosemary soufflé. There are recipe for everyday ingredients such as chard, brussel sprouts, zucchini and cabbage, as well as recipes using uncommon ingredients such as purslane, persimmon and gooseberries. Whether you already like using fruit and vegetables as a delicious focus for a meal, or are interested in doing so for health reasons, this book has a lot of appeal. There are about 240 recipes all up.

Because of the chatty style, the recipes often start in the middle of a page and go over several pages, which is not ideal for cooking, especially as the book is too thick to fit into an average cookbook stand. There are no pictures of any of the recipes - the illustrations are all of the produce, the garden, the people or the local surrounds.

On the negative side, I felt that the author was actually looking down on M. Milbert - not about his wonderful gardening knowledge, but in regard to his personal habits, personality, hygiene and lifestyle. I don't think she meant this to show through, but it did. What is more, she did this while simultaneously exploiting him as a marketable character. Without the Milberts, the book could not have been written. I have to say that was the one thing in this book that struck a discordant note to me. In all other ways I really enjoyed it.

If you are interested in the Willans and their culinary school, please note that although the book is set on their estate, they are never mentioned. This does not detract in any way from the book.

This book is recommended for anyone who enjoys food writing, gardening, has in interest in France or enjoys cooking with fresh produce.

three joys.......2006-10-12

I love this book- I love all things french, gardening, and cooking. This was delightful and has been the source of many wonderful seasonal meals. I love Hesser's style and sense of fun.

Great addition to a delightful Genre. A foodie must read........2004-04-09

`The Cook and the Gardner' by the young culinary journalist who has added a thoroughly enjoyable chronicle of seasonal cooking and gardening to that very small niche of books joining horticulture with gastronomy. The only other recent volume in this very small corner of culinary writing is `The Arrows Cookbook', a work dealing with the vegetable and herb garden attached to a three season Maine restaurant.

Like some other recent books on French life, this book develops a picture of a disappearing phenomenon, the chateau kitchen garden in rural France, tended by a dedicated gardener living on the premises. The chateau and garden is in Burgundy, owned by the renowned Anne Willen, the culinary schoolmistress of La Varenne Pratique. Oddly enough, Madame Willen never appears in this story and her works are cited less frequently than authors with a more historical bent, led by references to works by Elizabeth David. Willen appears primarily as the author's employer. The author's mentor, rather, is the Italian culinary authority, Nancy Harmon Jenkins. It is completely fitting with the antiquity of the context that most references in the book's exceptional bibliography are to works in French and Italian which were published in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

The cook of the book's title is the author, herself. The gardener of the book is the garrulous, elderly (mid seventies) Monsieur Milbert who, with his wife, occupies the chateau's gatehouse and who works the chateau's traditional walled garden which appears to be a square of 50 meters or more to a side. The author's story begins in early spring and spans four full seasons at the Burgundy chateau kitchen where her `day job' is responsibility for meals served at the chateau for up to sixteen people at a sitting.

Monsieur Milbert on the face of it is a stock Hollywood movie character. He is very slow to warm to the young American interloper, in spite of the fact that they are colleagues in the employ of the same house. Eventually, of course, he begins working with Ms. Hesser and shares with her his thinkings on horticultural matters as she helps him with various tasks to work her way into his good graces. Unlike the Hollywood character, Monsieur Milbert never really breaks from his very, very provincial mindset. The gardener's horticultural practice is the oddest mix of superstition and practical experience. Almost every aspect of planting is governed by phases of the moon. Almost every expectation about future weather is based on a totally unscientific observation of unconnected phenomena. On the other hand, planting, pruning, weeding, and cultivating is based on sound wisdom gained from personal observation and hundreds of years of accumulated experience.

The culinary material in the book is ordered entirely by the season and by the location. In spite of the culinary pedigree of the landlord, the style of cooking appears to be derived less from `haute cuisine' than from `la cuisine Regionale'. The first clue is that there are very few references to drinking wine in the book. The only references to wine are as traditional ingredients to soups and braises. A sure sign that we are in Burgundy and not Provence is the fact that there are simply no recipes or even any references to eggplant.

Each season has its own section and introduction. For each season, there are recipes that are distinctive of the entire season. One of the most novel sets of recipes within this schema is the four seasonal recipes for stock. Spring opens with a stock based on beef bones. Summer contributes a vegetable stock. Autumn weighs in with a poultry stock (with a strict warning to not mix duck parts with other fowl). Winter completes the year with a return to a stock based on beef bones. On the matter of stocks, I am really happy to see Ms. Hesser rail against the stockpot as garbage collector for any odd piece of leftover gristle.

Within each season are three chapters on the three months in that season. Each month is represented by about a dozen recipes. Appropriate to the garden at the center of the story, most recipes are vegetarian and many meat dishes are based on chicken, game fowl, and rabbit. There are virtually no recipes for seafood, although there is some North African influence in the appearance of salt preserved lemons. The chapters also spend a lot of time with the kind of culinary work you would expect in a rural farm kitchen. A lot of space is dedicated to making preserves, pickles, and comfits. True to the very provincial environment, space is also dedicated to unusual fruits such as medlar and persimmon.

This is a culinary work which is meant to be read from cover to cover. If you have your own kitchen garden in US horticultural zones four through seven, you are bound to find the suggestions doubly enriching. If you are tied to a city apartment, you will still find plenty to enjoy. There is much to learn about cooking, but the real gold is in the battle between the French gardener and his neophyte cook comrade against the elements, to harvest truly magnificent seasonal vegetables.

A classic culinary read. Some advanced methods, but lots to learn from.

heart warming and mouth watering.......2003-01-29

I loved the way Amanda paints her world in words. The intricate way the garden and the kitchen dance with the seasons. I lived in Europe and consider my creative outlet my cooking and learned in Europe that shopping is a daily thing to be looked forward to. Only then will you know what will be on the dinner table. Nowadays you can get anything anytime. If you do this you lose the rhythm of the season and the foods. And the anticipation that comes with waiting until your favorite veggies appear in their newness. So in winter it's roots and herbs that last the seasons, and slow braising of meats. Spring is the bright sprightly asapargus and new greens. The soul soars. Ok I'm going overboard. But if you love to cook and feel the rhythms of life this book is for you.

Rare & Very Special.......2003-01-25

This is one of those books that you can't put down until you near the end, and then you force yourself to ration the remainder in small morsels and stoically put it down again to savor and prolong it before it's inevitable end. Seasons in the garden and the kitchen are inextricably intertwined and evocatively presented. After finishing Ms Hesser's novel I stumbled upon another book by Anne Willan, owner of the Chateau where the Cook and Gardener meet and grow in friendship. Don't miss Willan's book either, "Anne Willan: My Chateau Kitchen" which continues our travels into this magical setting and the cooking school (La Varenne) she operates there. Enjoy! Kathryn

Average customer rating:

An invaluable, indispensable aid

The Gardener's Five Year Journal
John Ashton
Manufacturer: Whitecap Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 155285342X

Book Description

This handsome garden journal guides beginners and experts alike through five years of planning and organizing a garden. Informative tips, quotations, personal anecdotes, and a special section for children make this easy-to-use workbook an essential companion for any gardener. The extensive records section is the perfect way to track all your planning, planting, and plant care so that past efforts in the garden will never be in vain. Using and reviewing this functional journal will ensure that you will soon be enjoying the full fruits of your labor. Sections include Planning the Garden, Planting, Plant Care, Plant Inventory, and a "Potpourri" of other items.

Customer Reviews:

An invaluable, indispensable aid.......2003-04-18

John Ashton's The Gardener's Five Year Journal is an impressively handsome garden journal guide spanning five years of planning and organization for a productive garden. Ideal for beginners and will be prized by seasoned gardening practitioners, The Gardener's Five Year Journal is replete with informative tips, quotations, personal anecdotes, and is further enhanced with a special section for children making it an especially "user friendly" workbook companion for the gardener. An extensive records section enables the gardener to track all of the planning, planting, and plant care so that past efforts are easily accessible for current and future gardening projects and decisions. If you are a dedicated gardener, then The Gardener's Five Year Journal will prove an invaluable, indispensable aid to getting the most out of your horticultural efforts.

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The Gardener's Year
John Ferguson
Manufacturer: Frances Lincoln
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Average customer rating:

Journal Shortcoming

RHS Five Year Gardener's Journal (Rhs)
The Curators
Manufacturer: Frances Lincoln
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

With space to record your garden's developing pleasures over five years, this record book is the perfect gift for any gardener. The Gardener's Five Year Record Book provides a central store for all the horticultural notes you will ever need to make, dispensing with those scraps of paper that all gardeners seem to accumulate. The record

Customer Reviews:

Journal Shortcoming.......2007-02-08

Maybe it doesn't matter to you but I prefer a five-year journal that's organized such that there's a space available for an entry each day. I was disappointed when I received the RHS Journal only to find one relatively small vertical space for an entire week. The journals I used for the past 10 years were organized on a daily basis but I could not find those journals in print.

Clippings from Orene's Garden: A Sourthern Gardener's Year

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Clippings from Orene's Garden
A User Friendly Gardening Guide
Walking with Orene through her winter garden
A wonderful layman's guide to gardening!
A GREAT REFERENCE

Clippings from Orene's Garden: A Sourthern Gardener's Year
Orene Horton
Manufacturer: Cote Literary Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Essays | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

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Book Description

Orene Stroud Horton was happiest in her garden. Widely acclaimed for her skills as a gardener and writer, she successfully combined both these talents to produce gardening articles for such publications as Fine Gardening and Southern Living magazines and The State newspaper for more than a dozen years. Her knack for creating beauty in the garden in unexpected ways through practical insights and artistic abilities delighted and enlightened her readers. Her most popular columns have been collected in this book as a tribute to her productive career.

Orene takes you, month by month, through a whole year in her garden, providing encouragement and words of wisdom on everything from how to defeat slugs to ways to use vegetables as ornamental plants. Do you have problems with too much shade? Too much sun? Poor soil? Not enough color in your flower beds? Have you run out of ideas for what to plant? Orene has answers for these and hundreds of other questions that challenge every gardener. Her conversational style, infectious enthusiasm, and great sense of humor make you feel as if you are listening to a valued friend.

Customer Reviews:

Clippings from Orene's Garden.......2003-04-01

Orene Stroud Horton, renowned garden writer and true southern lady gives us a wealth of practical and artistic information in this book. It is a wonderful resource for novice to expert gardners, as well as pleasant reading. Espically important are the numerous plant combinations that provide guidance to southern gardners for beautiful color and texture. It wonderful to have her wisdom in one place and not scattered on many slips of paper. A special thanks to her family who have made this gift available to all.

A User Friendly Gardening Guide.......2003-03-20

After years of trial and error gardening that's hard on the back as well as the budget, I welcome this practical guide that tells me as much or as little as I want to know.

I like the author's conversational, neighbor to neighbor style. And she presents the reader with regular bouquets of gardening tips from experienced friends and professionals, specific ways to make gardening easier and more pleasant for both the gardener and the plants.

Using the book's helpful calendar month organization, I easily found instructions on how and when to prune my Crape Myrtle -- and the mistakes to avoid. In the accompanying table, I found its height, flower color, trunk color, and fall color.

Whether she's discussing Monet's garden, her garden, or mine, I like the wit and humor with which the author explains "rose rustlers" and "passalong plants" and "xeriscaping". Her guidance in how to choose the right plant for the right place will help any gardener eliminate landscaping disappointments. And I especially welcome her "southern fried" section on how both gardeners and plants can beat the heat.

This book is fun to read, easy to use, and my new gardening companion.

Walking with Orene through her winter garden.......2003-03-19

This afternoon is gray and cold, but I've really been unaware of it, as I've had the companionship of Orene as she "walked me through" her winter garden. With her today, I have seen things I have never dreamed existed outside in winter. Having lived all my life in North Carolina, I have always taken for granted the flowers and trees that are indigenous to this area. My mother had a "green thumb" and worked in her roses tirelessly, humming to her heart's content. I merely enjoyed the fruits of her labor. Until today, as I walked with Orene. I was totally unaware of the wonders that take place before and during the growing season. For her to hold my attention so completely and to bring several chuckles to my lips as she describes her world has been a thing of beauty. I have several hobbies that are so different from hers (although hers was a way of life) that it really surprised me just how much I learned from her sharing and how much it kindled my interest in gardening. I can readily see how gardeners share her interests and have knowledge of the names and habits of the different flowers and trees she so beautifully describes gain much from the pages of her book. It is easy and enjoyable reading and written in such a personal way that one feels she is talking strictly to them. After having shared this adventure with Orene, I know that I will be more mindful of the surprises that lurk in my own yard and seek to see them through her eyes. How grateful I am that she has left these thoughts and the vast knowledge she had about her love of gardening so that we may benefit from her life forever. Such love and beauty should be preserved and treasured. How like her to devise a way to continue to give and to share her passion, not only for gardening, but for God's people!

A wonderful layman's guide to gardening!.......2003-03-19

It's in my blood but I never appreciated what gardening meant to my mother and her mother until reading "Clippings." The "open letter" at the end sums it up.

I have been a homeowner for 30 years and searched for a practical guide to gardening. This book provides a layman's perspective--enough detail to understand pansies, crape myrtles,camellias, azaleas, etc. but not be overwhelmed--there are references if you want that.

Orene's style is that of a patient mother teaching an eager leaner. I appreciate that and recommend "Clippings" to my fellow weekend "gardening" warriors.

A GREAT REFERENCE.......2003-03-17

Orene Horton's wise advice works for beginners and experts alike. She obviously loved her gardening and sharing that feeling with others. This is a book that can be read straight through and then kept as a continuing reference.

Winter Gardening in the Maritime Northwest: Cool-Season Crops for the Year-Round Gardener

Average customer rating:

Exellent book for any cold climate gardener
Ok, but there are better choice for the Northwest Gardener

Winter Gardening in the Maritime Northwest: Cool-Season Crops for the Year-Round Gardener
Binda Colebrook
Manufacturer: Sasquatch Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1570611629

Book Description

In this revised edition of Winter Gardening, Binda Colebrook reveals the secrets of growing and harvesting fresh, flavorful produce during winter months in the maritime Northwest. Includes advice on how to select a winter growing site, what varieties to choose for hard weather and continuous harvest, how to utilize cold frames and cloches, and how to plan summer sowings to extend your growing season through the winter.

Customer Reviews:

Exellent book for any cold climate gardener.......2002-07-19

This book is an excellent resource for cold weather gardening especially those in the northwest. If you thought it might not be possible to grow much in the pacifc northwest winter this book will be an eye opener.

Ok, but there are better choice for the Northwest Gardener.......2000-05-12

The book had some good information, but was limited to only cool weather vegetables. Two other books Steve Solomons, Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades and William Heads, Gardening Under Cover are much much better choices. They cover all vegetables, yet still include plenty of info for winter gardening and extending the season.

Year' Round Garden Care. An amazing step-by-step, season-by-season, personal growing program!

Average customer rating:

Year' Round Garden Care. An amazing step-by-step, season-by-season, personal growing program!
Jerry Baker
Manufacturer: The YardenCare Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

Jerry Baker | Expert Advice | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0922433143

Product Description

With this amazong program, you and Jerry will develop a fast and easy growing plan for your own yard using Jerry's tips, tricks and tonics. No more guesswork- you'll know exactly what to do for your lawn, trees, shrubs and evergreens, flowers, vegetable garden and even your house plants!

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