Description:
"Heloise's Helpful Hints" meets "Dear Abby" for the gardening set, The Gardener's Essential Companion will quickly become dog-eared and dirty from repeated referencing. The combination of solid how-to's, practical advice, and wry observations makes for easy, entertaining reading. Galitzki, a gardening columnist for The New York Times and a contributor to Martha Stewart Living, advocates finding pleasure in getting down in the dirt--because the resulting garden doesn't always turn out as you intended. Ah, nature! Filled with spittlebugs, powdery mildew, and overly wet springtimes. These variables are out of the gardener's control and the sooner you accept that, Galitzki says, the sooner you will be serenely puttering in your little patch of earth. Whether you need help with a traveling yellow slime mold on new mulch (keep scooping it off; it'll disappear when the mulch dries--it's not harmful, just disgusting) or want to grow your own gingerroot (it's tough, time-consuming, and not really worth it), you'll find Galitzki a humorous, no-nonsense voice of reason. The chapters are organized straightforwardly and succinctly cover a large variety of questions and situations. Later chapters explore being green in the city and people's need to touch the earth. Since Galitzki is based in the Northeast, many of her examples are specific to that region; nonetheless, her "get out there and garden" attitude and homespun advice are inspiring and will ring true no matter where you live. --Dana Van Nest
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