American Horticultural Society Gardening Manual

Rating:
Summary: So THAT's how you do it!
Review: Here is a book that covers every potential garden project you can think of - and shows them all to you for comparison. Not a typical garden book - information on specific plants and growing instructions are not the main themes here - there are step-by-step plans and project guides for countless garden improvements including building an arbor, creating focal points, planting fruit crops and caring for your water garden, to name a very few. By far the best part of this book is a section titled "What Looks Good When" that helps you plan a true 4-season garden. Subtitles include "Good Year Round" "Long Flowering Season" "Spring" all the way through "Autumn to Winter". How long have you waited for this?! Obviously not a comprehensive list but illustrated with color photos of the plants, it will inspire you to "fix" your two or three season garden and make it a dream all year round. The "What to Do When" section is a fabulous to-do check list that is wonderfully organized by season to help you get all of your tasks done in a timely fashion. The American Horticultural Society has done a bang-up job of giving gardeners some of the best resources in years and done so with beautiful photos, great information and wonderful ideas.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing~!
Review: This book offers a truly vast and amazing amount of information. There are beautiful color pictures or drawings on just about every page. It shows how to do so many things, including pruning, planting trees, etc. It also shows diseased plant samples, types of mulch, lawn alternatives, etc. There is a detailed guide for what garden tasks to perform each season. There is also a guide for plants according to when they bloom so that you can plan for a long blooming season in your garden. A very useful how-to guide for setting up and maintaining a garden, even for a person who doesn't have a green thumb.