Gardening & Horticulture

American Horticultural Society A to Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants

4 stars (Beautiful Book) - This is a beautiful, coffee-table worthy book. The information is detailed and thorough. However, I am just starting the landscaping process, and was hoping for a book that I could study to decide WHAT I want to plant; possibly a book divided into categories. This book is organized entirely alphabetically. With this book, you must already know the plant and can then get any information about it you want. It will be useful once my landscaping is finished. 3 stars (Encyclopedia of Garden Plants) - This is an excellent book only if you know the name of your plants. If you are looking to find out what the name of a specific plant is, the book is just way to huge to go through page by page to find out its name. 4 stars (AHS A-Z of Plants) - An excellent work. Full of detailed photos and comprehensive and thorough information on most varieties you are likely to encounter. Easy to reference and locate responses to your gardening questions. Downside is the book is a little heavy and a little expensive. ...
DK ADULT :: Gardening & Reference :: Reference :: Plants :: Ornamental :: Ornamental Plants :: Gardening&Plants :: Gardening & Horticulture :: Gardening :: Encyclopedias :: Christo :: American Horticultural Society A to Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants

Mushroom Cultivator- A Practical Guide to Growing Mushrooms at Home

5 stars (Great Help For Growing magic Mushrooms) - My only interest in getting this book was growing magic mushrooms so this review will only be of interest to people wishing to grow mushroom species that produce psilocybin. I had found a free online grow guide and after reading it, I decided I would like to try growing mushrooms myself but I wasn't totally sure of what to do. This book cleared up all my questions about growing magic mushrooms because while the online growers guide is a very good explanation, I needed more photographs of the procedures described to help me fully understand what I had to do. This helped me produced a crop that was 100% successful on my first try. I would not recommend this book alone to someone with no previous experience unless they already had an understanding of how to grow magic mushrooms. If you want to grow but have no idea how, use a search engine to find 'magic mushroom growers guide' and read it first. If you still have questions then get this book. While it is geared towards growing on a large scale, it will help those who are interested in growing a small personal garden. If you want to grow on a larger scale later, everything you need to know is in this book. While it is not only about growing magic mushrooms (Psilocybe) I can not comment on using the procedures described for growing other species because I have no experience. 4 stars (The ABC's of mushroom cultivation!) - There's a very good reason that Paul Stamets is such a respected authority on mushrooms-- the man knows his stuff! Amateur mycologists are lucky to have a trustworthy source of information, especially one who doesn't shy away from controversy (witness the several pages devoted to Psilocybes in this book!). This is a comprehensive "how to" manual targeted at the amateur enthusiast. Stamets uses clinical and scientific terminology throughout most of the text, which can be frustrating if you don't speak his language, but which is also very precise. ...
Agarikon Press :: Mushrooms :: Mushroom culture :: Horticultural Crops :: General :: Gardening&Plants :: Gardening & Horticulture :: J S Chilton :: Paul Stamets :: :: Mushroom Cultivator- A Practical Guide to Growing Mushrooms at Home

Square Foot Gardening

4 stars (An excellent source book) - An excellent source book for the gardener. Clear instructions and excellent advise on garden planting and continuing care. Makes good use of garden space. Container gardeners need to adapt to their individual situations. 3 stars (Pretty detailed information, ought to be good for expert or novice) - Lots of information here on all aspects of gardening, layout, types of plants to use, maybe everything for the novice. I found the diagrams to be of more value than the photograph selection, you've got some of both giving details on every aspect of gardening from soil perparation to putting up your harvest. You'll find charts and diagrams for planting, watering,plant support, just about anything. There are even recipes and other tips for some of the things you might find yourself growing. About the only thing I could really find to complain about is the lack of any sort of watermelon information, muskmelons/ cantalopes were mentioned- why not some variety of watermelon? 5 stars (Simply a Great Gardening Book) - 55 Reviewers pretty much say it all, but I just had to add to the applause. I have used this book as a reference for over 20 years, and have used Mel's methods in the sands of Florida, the gumbo of Texas, and now the 'barely there' soil of Northern Virginia. And what have I gotten... production and ease! Based in part on the French Intensive method of gardening, you pretty much can avoid the inherent soil problems of where you live and grow veggies and flowers with little weeding and grunting. Ideas in this book include: How to prepare the soil (fertilizers, conditioners) How to put together raised beds and other support structures if you want them A guide for popular vegetables -- how and when to plant them, including how to start seeds -- the what-fors of watering -- common pest and disease problems In my opinion this easy to read book is a gardening staple good for all levels of experience. ...
Rodale Books :: Vegetables :: Gardening & Techniques :: Vegetable gardening :: Techniques :: Square foot gardening :: Gardening&Plants :: Gardening & Horticulture :: Mel Bartholome :: Square Foot Gardening

Perennial Combinations- Stunning Combinations That Make Your Garden Look Fantastic Right from the St

5 stars (Still a star) - PERENNIAL COMBINATIONS by Colston Burrell is another practical and increasingly beautiful Rodale publication (remember those older Rodale volumes printed on coarse pulp paper?). Although this book was published several years ago, it is still a mega-star as far as I am concerned--printed on slick glossy paper and filled with beautiful and clear photographs. The combinations I used worked for me then and they work now in my more mature garden. Burrell includes many suggestions for the gardener charged with developing an otherwise barren plot into a floriferous spot. Every yard is a collection of ecological zones ranging from dry loose (or compacted) soil to wet mucky bogs. Different combinations of plants work in different circumstances. For example, although I once had a professional gardener tell me Siberian Iris would grow anywhere, that has not been my experience, and Burrell confirms their best showing comes in a relatively damp area (Mine do best in the boggy area where our air conditioning unit drips ceaselessly throughout the summer-check out the lake in the middle of Central Park, Siberian Iris grow all along the shoreline). And speaking of "wet" gardens, Burrell shows ferns, Hosta, flags and various other perennials who either like or can tolerate damp feet combined into a `Garden for Three Seasons.' Burrell covers almost any situation you can encounter in the garden: shade and wet, shade and dry, hot and dry, hot and wet. Have you just removed a dead tree and are puzzled about what to do to disguise the residual stump? Perhaps you want to grow wild flowers and don't know how or where to begin. Or, perhaps you have prairie-like conditions and wonder what to plant. And by the way, you don't have to live on the Great Plains to have prairie-like conditions, a sunny bank will do or, as in my case, where the driveway meets the street. Burrell offers many tips and "secrets for success" with whatever condition you may encounte...
Rodale Books :: Gardening & Garden Design :: Planting design :: Perennials :: Landscape Design And Planting :: Gardens :: Gardening&Plants :: Gardening & Horticulture :: Gardening :: :: Perennial Combinations- Stunning Combinations That Make Your Garden Look Fantastic Right from the St

The Ortho Problem Solver- Sixth Edition Ortho Problem Solver

5 stars (Great reference book) - I have a chemical lawn/tree & shrub business, and I use it. The only negative I can see is that the Home Gardener's Problem Solver covers most of this book for $30. That said, I gave my techs the home gardener's version and kept this one for myself. 4 stars (Comprehensive except for lack of Organic control methods) - "The Ortho Problem Solver" is a wonderful reference book on pests, fungus', etc and controlling them with inorganic methods. Of course, Ortho is not known for organic pest control, but I still feel that maybe they should include this information considering that many that wish to control certain pests also live in wildlife areas--such as areas where there are birds, or are environmentalists or oriented towards this area when it comes to certain issues such as vegetables and fruit. Environmentally correct methods do often work. Some will do nothing about pests no matter what because they fear any interruption in the wildlife. I purchased the book because of the information it has in a variety of other areas--soil PH, lists of pests/fungus/other and photos of the damage they do, and overall general information. It is a very interesting and comprehensive reference book. It has a good layout with several sections. 5 stars (This book is the "missing link" to solving garden problems.) - Having just completed training in the Master Gardener program in our state, I found that I still needed a better visual reference to correctly identify garden problems. Recently, while shopping for a pesticide, I was able to pinpoint my exact problem because the store had prominently displayed a copy of "The Ortho Problem Solver" by Michael D. Smith! Its brilliant photographs and easy to understand narratives were surpassed only by its explicit and wonderfully cross-referenced index feature. I was unable to tear myself away - and kept calling my husband over to help me remember photos for later diagnosis at home. As a serious photogr...
Meredith Books :: Gardening & Reference :: Reference :: Pest Control In Horticultural Crops :: Life Sciences - Horticulture :: Gardening&Plants :: Gardening & Horticulture :: Garde :: The Ortho Problem Solver- Sixth Edition (Ortho Problem Solver)

Well-Tended Perennial Garden- Planting - Pruning Techniques

4 stars (excellent explanations) - This book as been invaluable in caring for my first perennial garden. She doesn't just tell you what to do she actually explains what each task means/is/how it is done. The only thing truly lacking that i find myself wishing for every time I go through the book is more on design. The pictures are great but there is often not a listing of all the plants or a corresponding lay-out so I can use them for help in future planning. A key element for her to have left out I think. Maybe I will find another book with more on that aspect. 5 stars (Great Book) - Loved this book! I have about 5 shelf-feet of gardening books which I refer to once in a while, but this book will always be on my quick reference stack because it contains an enormous amount of PRACTICAL gardening how-to. No extreme close-up pictures for the artsy crowd, no repetition, no half-empty pages to increase the page count, just a ton of down-to-earth how-to-do it information. 5 stars (Well-Tended perennial Garden: Planting & Pruning Techniques) - Of all the gardening books I own, this is the one I use the most. I have given it to friends and family as a gift many times. ...
Timber Press (OR) :: Techniques :: Perennials :: Ornamental Plants :: Gardening&Plants :: Gardening & Horticulture :: Gardening :: Flowers - Perennials :: Tracy DiSabato-Aust :: :: Well-Tended Perennial Garden- Planting - Pruning Techniques

Interactive Manual and Photo-Library of Woody Landscape Plants

5 stars (thorough reference with tons of photos) - In planning my garden I have scoured the web for photos of different shrubs and trees for their habit, in flower, in fall, etc. As I am not a professional, buying the Horticopia photo library is hard for me to rationalize. Buying this DVD was not- Dirr gives lots of practical information on placement, habit, propagation, and disease problems associated with numerous varieties and cultivars of each plant. The range of photos is very useful (though for choosing the right magnolia, for example, I am still desiring a separate book on the many cultivars, and I have had the darndest time trying to locate anywhere a picture of Hamamelis Jelena in its summer leafed-out habit--). While this won't substitute for going to arboretums and nurseries to window-shop in person (and it would be a little sad if it could...), it is the handiest reference I've come across. For the price, I would buy this instead of Dirr's encyclopedia (or in addition to it). I am happy to have both but now refer to the DVD more often. ...
Varsity Press Incorporated :: Trees :: Shrubs :: Reference :: Landscape :: Gardening & Horticulture :: Gardening :: Architecture :: Michael A Dirr :: :: Interactive Manual and Photo-Library of Woody Landscape Plants

Color Encyclopedia of Ornamental Grasses- Sedges- Rushes- Restios- Cat-Tails- and Selected Bamboos

5 stars (Absolutely Fantastic) - This is such a wonderful informational book... AND ... a gorgeous coffee table book. It is terrific from beginning to end! If you like or are interested in, or even thinking about Ornamental Grasses ... then THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU! I can't imagine anyone who has an interest in Ornamental Grasses NOT LOVING THIS BOOK, and would be delighted they purchased it. My only concern is that it is going to look dog-earred from my reading it over and over and over again ... which frankly takes away from its beauty on our coffee table. 5 stars (Buy 2 copies...) - This book is structured, written, photographed and edited with parallel purpose and effect: communication of the author's respect and regard for the book's subject and for its readers. Mr. Darke sets out to inform and does so with enconomy but in full course; when he instructs, he teaches the novice and gives pause to the critic; when he photographs he shows his passion and inspires with the nature and wonder of his subjects. The book is encyclopedic, yet its prose is always to the point with the agreeable dryness of a good, well-bodied wine. Credible, trustworthy, enlightening. This is the best gardening book I have ever read. Negatives? Only one: Mr. Darke's standards are unimpeachable; those of the book's typographer and designer, however, are not. 5 stars (Excellent information, awesome photographs) - Excellent and complete information about ornamental grasses. A great book. Thirty pages on the botany, anatomy, and classification of grasses. Twenty pages on native habitat, thirty pages on designing with grasses, and twenty pages of growing and propagating grasses. 170 page encyclopedia listing 400+ species / varieties of grasses. Each species is described in a paragraph or two of text along side a clear photograph of the plant. In the back of the book, you find a 2 page glossary, 5 page bibliography, 2 page grass nursery listing, USDA and European hardiness maps, and a comple...
Timber Press (OR) :: Reference :: Plants - Grasses :: Pictorial works :: Ornamental grasses :: Ornamental Plants :: Grasses :: General :: Gardening&Plants :: Gardening & Horticulture :: Gar :: Color Encyclopedia of Ornamental Grasses- Sedges- Rushes- Restios- Cat-Tails- and Selected Bamboos

Enciclopedia de Jardineria

Enciclopedia de Jardineria ...
Grijalbo :: Sale Books :: Gardening & Horticulture :: Flowers - General :: Christopher Brickell :: :: Enciclopedia de Jardineria

Mushrooms Demystified- A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi

5 stars (Nicely Done) - This book is an essential desk-reference for mushroom enthusiasts. The extensive introduction includes articles on "fungophobia" (fear of eating wild mushrooms), mushroom biology, mushrooms and the environment, scientific names and classification, mushroom collecting, mushroom identification, directions on how to use keys, mushroom FAQs, LBMs (little brown mushrooms), habitats, and a list of 70 distinctive mushrooms. This material is followed by a general key to the major groups of mushrooms, and then over 800 pages of mushroom descriptions, organized according to the key, with additional specific keys for each major group. Brief articles are provided for each individual mushroom species, including scientific name, common names (if available), and descriptive information covering (where relevant) cap, gills, stalk, veil, spores, habitat and edibility. High quality black-and-white photographs are provided for many (though not all) species. There is also a section of color plates in the middle of the book referenced by name and page number to the articles in the text. End material includes articles on mushroom cookery, preservation, and toxins, a dictionary of scientific Latin relevant for mushroom study, a glossary, a bibliography, and an index. A metric/inch ruler is printed on the back cover as a useful measurement aid. With its varied in-depth articles and large number of species covered, this book is a treasure-trove of information. It is not quite as visual as other large guides, since not all species have photos, and all the photos in the main text are black-and-white. This approach forces the user to rely on reading the details of the key, which is a very sound approach to identification. The first edition of the book was written solely about Californian mushrooms. In this edition, Arora has expanded his coverage to the continental United States, but he notes that many of his comments about habitat may be more relevant to Ca...
Ten Speed Press :: Pacific States :: Nature&Ecology :: Nature :: Mushrooms :: Life Sciences - Bacteriology :: Identification :: General :: Gardening & Horticulture :: California :: David :: Mushrooms Demystified- A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi

American Horticultural Society Plant Propagation- The Fully Illustrated Plant-by-Plant Manual of Pra

5 stars (EXCELLENT! Look no where else for this bible of propagation) - Ive had this book for two days and I just adore it. For the advanced or intermediate gardener, this book does not "speak down" to you, yet supplies enough info for the average, curious or Home Depot crowd. There is so much information compiled in here -- great breakdown of species and methods -- conventional and traditional methods of propogation (that I use, and I like their write-ups on these more complicated - yet effective - methods). The artistic direction and layout of the book is fabulous. Highly illustrated with step-by-step techniques and photography. My only criticism is the way the individual plant species are layed out in the book, but that is just my preference. The book is arranged in species by annuals, trees, vines, etc -- I would have preferred to see the book arranged in the alphabetic by species or common names; however, there is a well thought out index in the back which makes the look up easy. A great book -- look no further. If I could marry a gardening book, this would be it!!! 5 stars (American Hort. Society Plant propagation) - This book is great. I borrowed it from my local library and had to have it for my own !!!! 5 stars (The mysteries of propagation have finally come together...) - I was in search of a good informative book for seed starting and stumbled upon this one. What a find!!! They give detailed instructions for hundreds of plants (including hardy and tropicals) defining exactly what propagating technique(s) works best for each. Softwood cuttings, hardwood cuttings, dividing, grafting (far more methods than I have ever seen in one book) and the various methods of gathering and seed-starting, whether your species prefers cold-stratifying, soaking, scarification or if it prefers to be direct-sown. This book has techniques for reproducing just one or hundreds of plants. I could go on and on but it all boils down to this; If you have any interest in multi...
DK ADULT :: Gardening & Techniques :: Techniques :: Regional - General :: Plant propagation :: Horticultural Plant Propagation :: Gardening&Plants :: Gardening & Horticulture :: American Horticultural Society Plant Propagation- The Fully Illustrated Plant-by-Plant Manual of Pra

From Vines to Wines - The Complete Guide to Growing Grapes and Making Your Own Wine

5 stars (The best introduction to growing & making wine) - I have acreage in california that I want to use for growing and making wine (I also live there, it's not a commercial venture). I have been doing research on what to grow, what to plan for etc. and this book has been, by far, the most helpful resource so far. Cox covers all aspects from site selection, planting, training, harvesting, and the wine making process itself. This book won't answer every question you have, but it answers far more than most. Highly recommended! 5 stars (Nice book on making wine) - I like this book for my winemaking and think it has been very useful over the years. The author does a nice job of explaining the entire process of making wine here from starting with a bare plot of ground to picking the grape varieties to grow, spacing the plants, pruning, harvesting, crushing, fermenting, and finally bottling. He also makes the point that winemaking is as much of an art as it is a science, there is more than one way to do most things and he explains some of them in this book. I happen to use some different methods to growing the grapes than he recommends in this book though due to the climate I live in, such as using shoot thinning which he advises against. He leans more towards cluster thinning and I can't come to the task of removing grape blooms when that is the whole point in grape growing. Instead I remove the new shoots with no grape blooms and leave only those shoots that have them. I have found this to be the best way to get full crops in my climate, however with heavy bloomers his method may be more appropriate. Also he advises to fertilize and I don't do that either as it leads to rank growth and more severe pruning later on, but as I said those are minor points I do differently. The chapters on fermenting the grapes and producing wine are excellent as well, I would only say that my experience shows he tends to go too light on adding preservatives and I have found it is b...
Storey Publishing- LLC :: Gardening & Fruit :: Wine and winemaking :: Wine and wine making :: Viticulture :: United States :: Organic :: Gardening&Plants :: Gardening & Horticulture :: Gardeni :: From Vines to Wines - The Complete Guide to Growing Grapes and Making Your Own Wine

P Allen Smith-s Container Gardens - 60 Container Recipes to Accent Your Garden

4 stars (60 Container Recipes to Accent Your Garden by P. Allen Smith) - As a novice gardener, I found this book to be very informative and easy to read. Planting in pots for appearance and texture to suit my climate and zone make an easy beginner garden. P. Allen Smith offers many ideas that spark my own imagination and creativy. I enjoy owning this book! Cathy Leonard 5 stars (My Favorite P. Allen Smith Book!) - I liked this book for the plant "recipes" in large containers because my patio blooms all year round here in Florida. The photos in this book are outstanding and when I'm not using it as a reference book, it resides on my beautiful coffee table for others to browse and enjoy. 4 stars (This book makes a great gift...) - I bought this book as a gift for my grandmother and she loved it! The pictures are great and the step by step instructions are a perfect guide for beginner and even experienced gardeners like my grandma. The high quality of the book makes it a terrific gift! ...
Clarkson Potter :: Gardening & Container :: Gardening&Plants :: Gardening & Horticulture :: Gardening :: Container gardening :: Container :: P Allen Smith :: :: P Allen Smith-s Container Gardens - 60 Container Recipes to Accent Your Garden