A Thank You!

I just wanted to say a quick thank you to Gloria Ballard, the garden columnist at The Tennessean newspaper for including me in her latest article! It has some great information on Fall Planting of Vegetable Crops. Please stop over and read her article online at The Tennessean: Second Season Springs to Life in the Garden or visit Gloria's personal blog at Turning Toward the Sun and say "Hi!"

To see what I'm planting for this fall's garden check out my post on Fall Planting of Cool Season Vegetables or my Fall Garden Layout.

In the News Again!

I would like to thank Roben Mounger (AKA Ms. Cook) for the great write up on her culinary blog Ms. Cook's Table! I would also like to welcome any new visitors from the Columbia Daily Herald who found me because of her article. I hope you find something that interests you in this visit, if not keep checking back I never seem to be able to quit talkin' garden stuff!

Here are several places you might want to explore:

Vegetables	Plant Propagation
Garden Layouts	Random Thoughts

I would love to have your support in the Better Homes and Gardens - The Home Depot 48 Hour Challenge. Just vote for the arbor!

The Garden Primer by Barbara Damrosch

The other day I was contacted by the folks at Workman Publishing. They had a new book that they wanted someone to look at so I said I'd be happy to check it out. The book is The Garden Primer: Second Edition by Barbara Damrosch. Some of you may be familiar with the original version of this gardening manual that was produced about 20 years ago. This version has been updated to include newer and better information about organic and sustainable gardening.

I found a wealth of knowledge inside this book that beginning gardeners will find invaluable. More advanced gardeners will still find it a useful resource that will help fill those gaps of forgotten information.

The first few chapters discuss a variety of gardening practices and techniques, about what plants need to thrive, tools for the garden and how to select various plants. This is where Barbara fills in the gardening gaps and gives you really useful information. She talks about plant diseases and how to deal with them, procedures like double digging garden beds, types of weeds and even how to compost for your garden. There are also chapters that discuss the various plant types giving many examples of annuals, perennials, vegetables, herbs, fruits, ground covers, and several more! In all over 370 different plants are discussed. To me those sections are fantastic. I can open the book up to vegetables and find all I need to know about tomatoes or anything else that I intend to plant in my garden. What gardener wouldn't like to learn more about the individual varieties of plants they grow in their garden? Each plant description tells how to grow it the best way possible and in some cases she shares her personal experience with that plant. The vegetable section is very specific. For each vegetable she covers the appropriate site for growing, how to plant it, some tips for the plant while it's growing, information on pests, harvesting, and the varieties of the plant.In the vegetable section she includes a small garden layout of 20' x 24' and a larger one of 40' x 60'. The other plant sections also contain useful garden plans.

The Garden Primer packs in significant gardening information to create a veritable tome of garden knowledge. This is one of those books that you pick up and learn something new each time you read it. Barbara writes in a very conversational way, sharing stories of her personal experiences and philosophies of gardening. It seems that she draws you into the conversation in such a casual and friendly manner that it doesn't feel like some scientific horticulturalist speaking in technical jargon, but rather a friendly neighbor sharing her experiences.

The one thing that I felt The Garden Primer lacked was color photographs. The pencil drawings in the book are very well done but one of the most important aspects of gardening, in my opinion, is color. To see the flowers and vegetables listed in a color format would have been extremely helpful, especially for planning purposes. I think you lose a little detail without the color photographs.

It would be impossible for one book to have all the gardening information in the world, but the Garden Primer would be a good first place to look. The Garden Primer is great informational read and an asset for any gardener's library!

The American Gardener

I just received my copy of the The American Gardener for January and February and by skimming the table of contents I can see some interesting articles. The magazine is the American Horticultural Society's bimonthly magazine which you receive with your membership to the AHS. The magazine has great articles for those who enjoy horticulture in its many forms. If you aren't a member go check it out here: American Horticultural Society.

Here is what is in this month's issue :

In Plants with Promise Rita Pelczar discusses some new plants for this year. That is always an interesting subject!

Ray Rogers talks about coleus in Coleus's Comeback.

Conifer Heaven in the Heartland by Marty Ross introduces us to Marvin Snyder's conifer collection in Kansas.

Heirloom tomatoes are the subject of Flavors from the Past by Kris Wetherbee.

Wonderful Walkways talks about designing complimentary plant beds for the walkways of your home.

Each issue also includes lists of regional events, interviews with various people and a plethora of useful information!

I think I have some reading to do!