Tag Archives: Garden

Review: Honey Crafting: From Delicious Honey Butter to Healing Salves by Leeann Coleman & Jayne Barnes

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Honey Crafting: From Delicious Honey Butter to Healing Salves, Projects for Your Home Straight from the Hive
by Leeann Coleman & Jayne Barnes
Rating: ***
Read 8/1/2013

I really enjoyed this book, which covers a lot of different crafts. Lip balm? Yes. Gelato? Sure! I loved the gelato/ice cream recipes and will be trying them at my first opportunity. Some of the more esoteric stuff (making your own wax sheets, f’rinstance) I will never get around to. But I liked reading about it. Recommended for all of my crafty, honey-loving friends, especially Judy!

Review: The Layered Garden by David L.Culp

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The Layered Garden
by David Culp
Rating: ****
Read 7/8/2013

Um, I… I don’t know how to say this, but Culp’s garden is almost too unstructured for me. Those of you who have walked through my garden, stop laughing already.

The photos are stellar, and seeing how his borders change from month to month is a real high point of the book. I only wish he’d set a mark to photograph from, so that the perspective was exactly the same in each shot. Which is persnickety, but still what I would prefer.

His plant selection is brilliant and eclectic and I was feverishly taking notes the whole time I was reading. His writing style is a touch breathless, but his essential love and reverence for his subject matter shines through.

Highly recommended for those of us who try to keep a garden and find ourselves kept by same.

Review: The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart

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The Drunken Botanist
by Amy Stewart
Rating: ***
Read 06/25/2013
My free review copy came from ALA Midwinter. I was much more impressed with this than with Stewart’s earlier work. The bad part of reading the ARC was that there was no index (this is of course corrected in the published version) and I wanted to flip back and forth more. Lots of fascinating plant trivia here! Worth a look.

Review: Succession Planting for Year-round Pleasure by Christopher Lloyd

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Succession Planting for Year-round Pleasure
by Christopher Lloyd
Rating: ****
Read 5/8/2013

Ahh, Mr. Lloyd’s voice is so reassuring. So reasoned. So (forgive me) cultivated. His plan for continuous interest in one’s border is clear and understandable and photographed with love and attention. He calls out his head gardener for especial praise and recognition. He’s a class act. Plus, I learned some things and gathered some inspiration. This is the very worst time of year for my border, and I think I now have the tools to fix it.

I borrowed this from the library, but it’s a book I would like to buy. It would be a comfort to look at all through the winter.

 

Review: Powerhouse Plants by Graham Rice

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Powerhouse Plants

by Graham Rice

Rating: ***

Read 4/9/2013

Beautiful photos. I think this book about plants which hold one’s interest for multiple seasons, is geared toward the beginning gardener. There were lots of lovely photos and descriptions of plants that I’ve been familiar with for years. I can lay some of the blame with my father and my grandmother, each of whom grew some crazy stuff. It’s certainly worth picking up if you are tired of having a garden strictly driven by flowers.