It's Not Work, It's Gardening!: book

Showing posts with label book. Show all posts

Showing posts with label book. Show all posts

Vintage gardening wisdom

>> Wednesday, August 10, 2016 – book, discovery

As I leave the bakery each morning I drop off our organic waste and recycling. The recycling dumpsters are sometimes filled to the top, spilling cardboard (usually) onto the ground. Last week though they were not overflowing yet there was still something on the ground -- a book turned face down. Maybe not too surprising as there is a book store that shares these dumpsters, but still, one single book -- I've never seen books here before.

Upon picking it up I saw that it was surely intended for me to find, some cosmic force or another guiding me to this place at this time. Yes, an old Sunset Gardening book!

Book review: Heaven is a Garden

>> Monday, April 11, 2016 – book, review

This is a long overdue book review. So tardy, but that's not a reflection of the book's content in any way! Heaven is a Garden is a design guide by Jan Johnsen (2014, St. Lynn's Press) whose tagline is "Designing Serene Outdoor Spaces for Inspiration and Reflection". Not being an overly spiritual person I was a bit put off by the title, but I'm all about "serene outdoor spaces" so I accepted a review copy from Jan.

My first act when getting a new gardening book is to quickly thumb through to get a feel for the content, a quick preview. Heaven is a Garden has everything to get me excited: rocks, trees, water, and enough photos to satisfy visually.

Book review: The Living Landscape

>> Monday, February 2, 2015 – book, review

This book review is long overdue, but don't take that as an indication of the book's merit: this is probably my favorite gardening book published in 2014. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

The book is The Living Landscape by Rick Darke and Doug Tallamy, and when I saw mention of this then-new book in an email from Timber Press over the summer, I was immediately intrigued. The tagline of "Designing for beauty and biodiversity in the home garden" gives you a hint at what's in store on these pages, but only after opening the book did I realize what a gem it was.

Book Review: Deep-Rooted Wisdom

>> Friday, November 14, 2014 – book, review

Suppose I asked you to tell me everything you know about plants and gardening. Not the specific plants themselves -- I don't want you to create a list of plants -- but things in general: how to plant, what tools to use, where to get plants, how to create good soil, pest management, etc. Everything you can think of related to your garden. A daunting task, right? Now suppose that I asked you to include details on how you learned each of these things, especially if you learned it from another gardener.

That's how I can best describe Deep-Rooted Wisdom, "Skills and Stories from Generations of Gardeners" by Augustus Jenkins Farmer (2014, Timber Press). It's "everything" Jenks Farmer knows about gardening plus lots of stories about the people who taught him.

Timber Press, Lan Su Garden

>> Thursday, July 17, 2014 – book, moss, travel, water

The first full day of the recent Garden Bloggers Fling in Portland, Oregon started with an 8 AM walk from the hotel to the offices of Timber Press, publishers of so many fantastic gardening books.

You won't see any photos of the walk over there, or images of the building or offices themselves from me as I could say I'm usually more interested in the experience itself than documenting every aspect of it. (I could say that, but maybe I just get lazy sometimes?)

Book Review: Attracting Beneficial Bugs...

>> Thursday, February 27, 2014 – book, insects

About a month ago I saw notice from Timber Press about a new book that was now available, and I immediately got excited. You see, although they publish so many great books about nature, plants, and gardening already, many of them don't strike a chord with me. Books about plants and gardens are like the plants and gardens themselves, in that they're a personal thing -- sometimes a plant (or book) gets you excited, and sometimes it doesn't.

Well, Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control by Jessica Walliser got me excited! Perhaps it was because I really love insects -- they're one of my favorite things about a garden -- but it could also have been the fact that other than a stray hover fly, the odd house spider, and several fungus gnats I hadn't seen any insects for four months, but I immediately sent an email to Timber Press begging to be sent a copy to review.

Weeds Find a Way

>> Thursday, February 20, 2014 – book, weeds

After almost four years of blog posts, it can be challenging to come up with fresh topics, things that I haven't written about or showed you before. Which is why today's post is so very special, as it's a first for this blog, something I guarantee you haven't read about here before.

It's a review of a gardening book, of sorts. Although I've done several book reviews before, until today I have not reviewed a children's book. So I was excited to give this one a look...

Book Review: Hardy Bamboos

>> Wednesday, December 18, 2013 – book

One last book review for you last-minute holiday shoppers, this time on a subject that is a favorite of mine: bamboo. I own a few books on bamboo, and although they have their merits this one is probably my favorite.

It's Hardy Bamboos: Taming the Dragon by Paul Whittaker. So what makes this bamboo book the one I pick up most often?

Book Review: Botany for Gardeners

>> Thursday, December 12, 2013 – book

Today I turn from books that are filled with beautiful photographs of plants, to a book that is jammed with beautiful information about how plants work. (I'm not saying that those other books didn't inform because they did, but they can't compete with the level of education you'll receive from today's book.)

The book is Botany for Gardeners by Brian Capon. I've had the revised edition for a few years now, and I consider this a must-have book for my gardening bookshelf. (Note that the third edition is currently available.)

Book Review: The Beginner's Guide to Growing Heirloom Vegetables

>> Wednesday, December 11, 2013 – book

Another book review, this time on a subject that seems to trigger strong positive feelings in every gardener and even non-gardeners: heirlooms. What vegetable do you think of when you think the word "heirloom"? If you're like me, you think "tomato" first, but then what?

In The Beginner's Guide to Growing Heirloom Vegetables, author Marie Iannotti shows us 100 wonderful heirloom vegetables in all categories of edibles, not just tomatoes. Let's take a look!

Book Review: Hardy Succulents

>> Tuesday, December 10, 2013 – book, succulents

Continuing with my holiday season book reviews, today I'm looking at a book that I got a couple of years ago, and has helped fuel my branching into the sometimes spiky and spiny world of growing succulents: Hardy Succulents by Gwen Moore Kelaidis.

I have always grown some succulents, mainly sedum and the common-for-good-reason yucca, but only after I started conversing with other gardeners and read this book did I really start expanding into other areas of succulent growing -- and you'll soon see why.

Book Review: Missouri Wildflowers

>> Wednesday, December 4, 2013 – book

Today's book is different than the rest in that it's a reference, field guide, and has been around for quite a while. It's Missouri Wildflowers by Edgar Denison.

Please don't think "I don't live in Missouri" and stop reading, or think that this book wouldn't be helpful to you. Besides containing information on dozens of plants that are found in many parts of this country, this book is a model of what a great reference book should be.

Book Review: The Roots of My Obsession

>> Tuesday, December 3, 2013 – book

Continuing my book reviews, I turn from one single man's year-long view of a tiny piece of a single "garden" to a book that involves 30 gardeners and at least that many gardens.

The first book I reviewed was historical with little to no narrative or personal touch, the second book was personal but focused on observation, but this book is all personal. The Roots of My Obsession (Timber Press) is the subject of today's review.

Book Review: The Forest Unseen

>> Sunday, December 1, 2013 – book

Yesterday I started my small series of book reviews with a history of the Garden Club of America, a book I concluded would be best appreciated by those who either loved history or the GCA -- but it probably wasn't for everyone.

Today's book is at the opposite end of the spectrum, as it's poetic, educational, digestible, and completely entertaining. It's The Forest Unseen by David George Haskell, and it's a beauty.

Book Review: The Garden Club of America

>> Saturday, November 30, 2013 – book

With gift-giving season upon us, I thought it would be a good time to review some of the gardening books I've received or read in the last year.

Actually, "review" might not be the best description, as I'm not yet sure how extensive my comments will be -- I'll at least give you my thoughts and feelings about each. Does that pass as a review these days? I'm planning on doing at least four of these posts, but let's see how it goes.

INWIG on Facebook

>> Tuesday, October 2, 2012 – book

In case you haven't noticed, INWIG now has a Facebook page.

I've actually had it up for a while and quietly collected a few "Likes". Please take a look and "Like" it if you're into that sort of thing. Thanks! INWIG on Facebook

It's different: My Earth Day Reading List

>> Wednesday, April 20, 2011 – book

I was recently invited by Christine over at The Gardening Blog to participate in an Earth Day meme: to compile a reading list of books that inspired me to "live green" and write a post about it. This particular idea was originated (as far as I know) in a post by The Sage Butterfly.

At first I was reluctant to contribute, because I don't really read books on this topic. Reading more about the spirit of the meme, I realized that the books don't have to be about gardening, recycling, carbon neutrality, or the like -- they could be any sort of book. Hmmm... okay, here's my list. It's a bit different.

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