American Horticultural Society Practical Guides: Lawns And Groundcovers

Rating:
Summary: AHS Practical Guide: Lawns & Groundcovers
Review: Book lovers will want to buy this book simply because it is such a beautiful little book. It's nicely laid out at the perfect size for a little book, printed on slick paper and has dozens and dozens of top quality photographs.

I am not a lawn or gardening expert, but this little book seems to me to be chock full of good information. The section on ground covers other than grass, such as bulbs, perenials, and bushes is particularly good for such a short book. In addition, there are scores of tips and techniques for everthing from filling in low spots in your lawn to raking and aerating to planting bulbs under your lawn and dividing and propagating bulbs and other plants.

There are deficiencies. In particular, there is no discussion of soil PH, and the coverage of grass species is poor. A page on each of these topics would improve the book a great deal. A simple chart of grass species and their characteristics would be a great help.

I would characterize this as an "idea" book. You will get a lot of useful information about how to care for your grounds, but you will need to supplement this book with another for really comprehensive coverage of lawn care. Try "Lawn Care for Dummies."

More important, you will get good ideas about how to make your lawn and gardens stand out. In this regard, the photographs alone are worth the price of the book.