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What better place to start your preparation for the spring thaw than with the Reader's Digest Illustrated Guide to Gardening. It's an excellent reference with its 3,500 color illustrations, charts, photos, and hands-on instructions. This reviewer was given a copy of the first printing in 1975 and has used it heavily each year since. It's a complete source of gardening information on all phases of gardening. There's nothing one can mention that isn't covered in this book.
The true test of a resource is its depth and breadth of usable information. The experienced gardener knows he'll see all the usual information, but he wants a definitive resource that includes all of the hard-to-find topics as well. How do you prune a wisteria or the three classes of clematis properly so as to insure bloom? What does the week-to-week care of orchids involve? What must you consider if you want to greenhouse garden? How do you install a garden pool, what plants should it contain, and how should it be landscaped? Lawns, shrubs, perennials, annuals, roses, house plants, vegetables, fruits, and . . . well, you get the idea.
No doubt you've noticed that the day of the family Head Gardener is over. Today's gardener is likely to be a banker, cashier, or dental hygienist, and the garden is now seen as a refuge sought at the end of a busy day spent in one's career. The simple act of pulling weeds or mulching beds is both therapeutic and rejuvenating--not something to be avoided. This is why Rodale's Low-Maintenance Gardening Techniques has become an invaluable guide to hassle-free gardening and fits in with today's busy lifestyles.
The book is divided into four parts: Saving Time with Basic Techniques, Saving Time with Fruits and Vegetables, Saving Time in the Lawn and Landscape, and Saving Time with Smart Plant Choices. Getting the biggest bang for your buck with the least amount of sweat equity is the theme. There are also many environmentally friendly solutions for chemical-free gardeners. Low-Maintenance Gardening Techniques shows the home-owner that he doesn't have to give up flowering plants and vegetables to have a low-maintenance garden. Simply re-evaluating the planting site, building in convenience, and making better plant choices will insure success.
While we're on the subject of good reference books to have in one's garden library, Carole Ottesen's The Native Plant Primer: Trees, Shrubs and Wildflowers for Natural Gardens must be added to the list. Ottesen has achieved what she set out to do--search for the "American garden" and the "American gardener." Her plan was to visit as many natural gardens as possible and "meet local gardeners and designers and learn about the plants that give each region and its gardens their special character." She ended up traveling coast to coast, visiting all of America's nine regions, and taking more than 500 full-color photos of native plant gardens.
The author's personal exchanges with gardeners as they talk about their gardens is engaging. Some readers will recognize familiar names in this group. It's the little candid bits of information, growing tips, and observations particular to each region that captivate the reader and humanize the subject. Ottesen also includes a valuable guide for native plants, a source list of native plant nurseries and gardens, and suggestions on how the gardener can coordinate plantings in his own region.
One of the more usable, "complete gardening books," is the Burpee Complete Gardener. All too often, "complete" books are difficult to wade through. Readers are bowled over with tons of photos and little usable information. And, the information that is offered is so general that certain geographic regions can't use it.
This book is different. Yes, it is a comprehensive guide, but there are some pluses. There is a section on "Gardeners' Most-Asked Questions." Beginner gardeners will like this. Line drawings and photos are excellent (they're clear and detailed). There is a "Season-By-Season Guide to Garden Maintenance" for those who don't know what to do when. There is a section on "Tools and Equipment" (complete with pictures), which allows newcomers to differentiate between a spading fork and a spade. And, finally, there is Holly Shimizu (of "Victory Garden" fame) who has written the sections on roses, herbs, ground covers, and vines. The Burpee Complete Gardener makes a good gift for the new gardener.
Pat Regel is a gardener and an Associate Professor of English. She can be reached at pat_regel@bookpage.com.
©1996, ProMotion, inc.