Garden Talk: Ask Me Anything

Rating:
Summary: Where's the content?
Review: C.Z. Guest has been providing garden knowledge to readers for almost 30 years through her newspaper columns and has finally compiled some of the most common questions into one place. Geared towards the novice gardener, Guest's book is organized (or dis-organized!?) according to season and then, alphabetically. Despite some good basic (very basic) information, the book's lack of flow and sensible organization makes it a disaster to read or to use as a reference. Each "season" section contains varied information that may or may not pertain to that season, and some things appear more than once. For example, annual flowers are discussed under the Winter section because there is the briefest of paragraphs suggesting starting annual flower seeds in the winter, but an annual question also appears in the Spring section. Trying to follow alphabetically within the season is also futile since titles are inconsistent - some plants are discussed specifically while others are grouped together, etc. Thankfully it is fully indexed so you can get a quick look-up by subject. Information provided throughout the book is pretty mundane and something you will most likely know if you have been gardening for any amount of time. Guest's entire comment on daylily in the Spring section is: "You can plant day lilies in the spring or fall since they tolerate a wide range of growing conditions. Some bloomers are better than others, such as 'Happy Returns', a compact 18-inch yellow variety that will bloom all summer long. It is a true yellow and will blend beautifully with other flowers." There is a longer comment on daylilies in the fall section - but there is no indication that the reader should look there for more detailed info. This book may be worthwhile afternoon scan (the library's copy, of course) but does not stand alone as a garden reference guide worthy of the avid gardener's shelf.

Rating:
Summary: Nice reference for a beginner
Review: Contrary to the first review of this book, I ordered it anyway & feel that once you understand the concept of it (what to do each season of the year rather than in general) it can be a great help, especially to beginners. It tends to read like a novel with headings alphabetically arranged in each season. I very much like this book. It would be great for those who like to read the entire book instead of having neat headings for each topic.

Rating:
Summary: Nice reference for a beginner
Review: Contrary to the first review of this book, I ordered it anyway & feel that once you understand the concept of it (what to do each season of the year rather than in general) it can be a great help, especially to beginners. It tends to read like a novel with headings alphabetically arranged in each season. I very much like this book. It would be great for those who like to read the entire book instead of having neat headings for each topic.