A Woman's Hardy Garden (Horticulture Magazine Garden Classic)

Rating:
Summary: An excellent book, and a wonderful resource
Review: This wonderful book is rightly considered a classic among gardening books. Though it was originally published in 1903, it is still a marvelous resource for the modern gardener. The book starts out with gardening basics, such as soil preparation (the beginning of any garden), laying out the garden, seeds-beds, and planting. Then, the author begins her examination of the flowers that were popular in her time, covering annuals and perennials, and the moving into biennials, roses, lilies, and bulbs. At the end, she turns back to the practical, with a discussion about water for the garden, walkways and other decorations, and finally insecticides (OK, this is rather out-of-date) and tools. The conclusion is also worth reading, containing Ms. Ely's thoughts and several interesting garden diagrams.

This is an excellent book, and a wonderful resource. It puts so much knowledge together is a readable and interesting format. I highly recommend this book to you. [As a companion to this book, please let me recommend An Island Garden by Celia Thaxter.]