It is hard to imagine how Ed Steffek, POPULAR GARDENING’S Horticultural Editor, found the time to write a new book, but that is just what he has cloned.
Summing up his years of study and practical experience in a form that can be assimilated and put to use by the veriest beginner in gardening.
Using The Ground For Growing Plants
Ed begins his book where the new homeowner practically always begins: with the bare or, at best, sadly mangled piece of ground surrounding a new house.
His first chapter outlines the best way to go about making a plan for using the ground to secure maximum beauty with a minimum of headaches.
From there, he goes into the all-important question of soil: grading it, testing it, and improving it to grow the healthy plants that every well-planned dooryard needs.
The next chapters are devoted to the question of what to plant where beginning with the backbone of every good landscape: the lawn.
Listing of Plants For Different Climate Conditions
Going on to trees, shrubs, and vines. A precious feature of this book section is its listing of plants for different climatic conditions, from the tropics to the far North.
Ed does not repeat a lot of “rules” just because they are old.
In fact, he does not hesitate to brand as superstition some so-called rules that have been taken as articles of faith for many years.
In the chapter on watering, for instance, he makes short work of the old, mistaken idea that it is wrong to water in the middle of the day.
Gardening At Summer Home
Special chapters on gardening in the city, gardening at the summer home, and the construction and maintenance of water gardens.
It brings the book to a well-rounded conclusion, considering such special conditions as those encountered at the seashore and in the mountains.
One thing the old hand at gardening might question is the “easy” part of the title.
While this book won’t actually take all the work out of gardening, it will tell you the right way to garden, and that’s half the battle.
44659 by James Fanning