Review of Oklahoma Gardener's Guide (Paperback)

Great book for us that are new to the wonders of gardeing in Oklahoma. There are tips on plants that can handle windy conditions, drought and blistering sun but will come back after the blizzards of winter.
I also like the symbols that tell the plants attributes such as fragrance, attracts bees or birds or butterflies, native plants, etc.
This book goes with me on plant shopping trips.

Product Description
Steve Dobbs, a horticulturist, garden writer, and lecturer, was the host and producer of Oklahoma Gardening from 1990 to 1995.  The show was selected by the Garden Writers Association of America as the Best TV Gardening Program in the Nation in 1992.  Arranged according to plant size and permanence in the landscape, The Oklahoma Gardener's Guide highlights the plants that are most suitable to Oklahoma's four ecoregions.  Besides the USDA Cold-Hardiness Zone Map, Steve includes an annual precipitation map, spring and fall freeze maps, and a frost-free map which provides the mean length of the frost-free period in weeks for the state.  Steve discusses over 170 selections, including trees, woody shrubs, groundcovers, vines, roses, perennials, ornamental grasses, annuals, and turfgrass that are adaptable to all four regions.  He also explores Oklahoma natives as ornamentals and devotes an entire chapter to the plants that are specific to the western region.  Oklahoma gardeners will learn specific techniques useful for maintaining their local environment, maximizing their garden's beauty potential, and appreciating the wide diversity offered by the state's unique and varied climate.

About the Author
Dobbs is an award-winning horticulturist, garden writer, and lecturer. Since his graduation from Oklahoma State University and the University of Arkansas in horticulture, he has worked in the retail and wholesale trade, and in landscape design, installation, and maintenance, as well as in education as an Extension Horticulturist in both Oklahoma and Florida. He and his wife, Jo Alice, own and operate Morning Star Farms new Vian in eastern Oklahoma.

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Review of Month-by-month Gardening In Minnesota (Paperback)

This book is great if you want to hit the ground running. It is comprehensive, covering lawn care, trees, gardening, houseplants, vegetables and more. Its clearly organized so it is easy to use. It tells you what you should be doing NOW, so you can get up to speed very quickly without getting overwhelmed by too much information.

As a life-long apartment dweller, I was starting from complete ignorance when I bought a house and had to learn right away how to care for my lawn and existing landscape plants. This book was *indispensible* and my constant reference during my first two years of homeownership. I still refer to it regularly for timing issues and the helpful tips specific to our MN conditions. Thanks to this book I haven't killed a single one of the plants that came with my house.

Suggestion for future editions: Currently the book is organized into sections according to plant type (annuals, bulbs, herbs, lawn, trees, etc), and then the months of the year are found within each plant section. I have found when using the book, I will read about April, for example, for each of the plant types, so I am skipping all over the book looking for all of the April listings. In future editions, I think it would be helpful if the editors reorganized the sections so that a reader could go to a given month, and then each plant type would be in successive pages within "April".

The content has been GREAT and, despite my suggestion above, the book is easy to use in its current format.

Product Description

Gardening is now the favorite leisure pastime in America. Homeowners are realizing the health benefits derived from gardening and the increase in their home's property value.

Book retailers are well aware that the trend in gardening books is to regional titles that provide credible information on the plants that perform well in specific regions.

Month-by-Month Gardening in Minnesota is written for Minnesota gardeners who want to know how to properly care for their gardens and the correct timing for successful results. Each chapter is comprised of monthly plant-specific information. This book covers landscape and vegetable gardens and is appropriate for beginning to intermediate gardeners.

About the Author
Myers is a nature and gardening writer whose specialty is attracting wildlife, especially birds, to the garden. She contributes regularly to the magazine Birds and Blooms, and lectures widely on creating gardens that please both human and avian visitors. She is also a teacher and consultant, with over 20 years of experience in the field of horticulture.

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