Category: Book Review

National Wildlife Federation’s ® Attracting Birds, Butterflies, and Other Backyard Wildlife by David Mizejewski  

Dr. Martha Martinez

This beautifully illustrated book provides an introductory overview on how to design a garden that is good for people, animals, plants, and the Earth. Chock-full of useful information, it helps gardeners understand the value of native plants over invasive exotics, the importance of achieving an ecological balance in your garden or backyard, and how providing for wildlife’s basic needs (food, water, cover, and places to raise young) can be an extremely rewarding experience for the gardener turned backyard naturalist. Mizejewski’s holistic approach includes educational, fun, and easy steps to make Read More …

Book Review: “The One-Straw Revolution: An Introduction to Natural Farming” by Masanobu Fukuoka

cngriffin

“The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings.” — Masanobu Fukuoka As a 15-year old I moved from rural New Hampshire to suburban south Florida. I quickly grew disenchanted with the artificial environment and found a paradigm for understanding the modern disconnection of humans from nature in Daniel Quinn’s “Ishmael.” Upon graduation, books including “The Unsettling of America” by Wendell Berry and “The Good Life” by Helen and Scott Nearing inspired me to apprentice as a luthier on an Read More …

Book Review: Perennial Gardening “Easy to Follow Guide, Plant once and enjoy your plants, flowers, shrubbery, and vegetables forever” — Susan Hollister

T-roy

I purchased and read this book for the assignment from Alaska UAF Master Gardening class. It is applicable to my garden where I try to only plant perennials; and hopefully ones that are low maintenance. The book will be a reference for me in the future. The author covers all types of perennials: vegetables, blooming perennials, grasses, shrubs, bulbs and rhizomes, fruits and berries, and landscaping with perennials. What I liked about the book is the detail description of the plant characteristics, what type of locations they prefer, how to Read More …

Gardening in Alaska just got cooler with “Cool Plants for Cold Climates” by Brenda C. Adams

Boreal Bioscapes

Are you new to gardening in Alaska? Are you often overwhelmed by all of the possibilities when trying to select annuals, perennials, trees, and shrubs? Do you enjoy spending winter evenings flipping through glossy garden photos for inspiration? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you will enjoy Cool Plants for Cold Climates, the latest book by award-winning Alaskan garden designer Brenda C. Adams. Cool Plants for Cold Climates aims to provide you with the tools necessary to create beautiful flower gardens in Alaska. Organized into five concise, Read More …

Sometimes we just need a little inspiration…

dmmatthews2

Years ago, I was a late comer to a marvelous children’s book called The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, who also wrote A Little Princess, which was made into a movie in the 30’s starring Shirley Temple. Unfortunately, most film adaptations of The Secret Garden are nowhere near as magical as the book. The book starts out in late winter with the arrival of the young Mary Lennox to a relative’s (an uncle) manor on the English moors. Her entire family has just died while in India. However, Mary Read More …

Crops in Pots – A Book Review

Elizabeth

Are you limited in available space to plant a garden, but still want to grow your own fresh veggies, fruits, and herbs? This book can help. Crops in Pots by Bob Purnell, describes how to plan, plant, and grow vegetables, fruits, and herbs in easy-care containers. Book Overview The book is broken into three main sections: starters, main courses, and desserts. In all, it presents 50 specific project ideas describing how to grow fruit, vegetables, and herbs in various containers. Each of these 50 projects includes a list of equipment Read More …