Product Description

Get gardening with the first comprehensive gardening encyclopedia for the South! From the reliable magazine Southern Living comes this all-inclusive guide offering more than 5,000 plant listings known to thrive in the southern United States. The authoritative reference also features: Thousands of full-color photographs, illustrations, and how-to diagrams 26 unique plant selection guides to help you find the right plant for every need Special focus on southern natives and heritage plants And more! Filled with practical tips and old-fashioned wisdom, The Southern Living Garden Book is an essential for every Southerner s household.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #937608 in Books
• Published on: 1998-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

Amazon.com Review
According to editor Steve Bender, southern gardeners are conservative, traditional but a bit eccentric in their plant choices (meaning they'll grow whatever Daddy grew, even if it's spotted or carnivorous), and dedicated (as they have to be to continue to weed and mow through the summer). This book celebrates the uniqueness of the southern garden. It's remarkably well organized, with colored page edges demarcating the different sections, the largest of which is the alphabetized plant encyclopedia in the middle. The best part of the book, however, may be the substantial section titled "Plant Selection Guide," which consists of a series of illustrated lists: "Fragrant Plants," "Plants that Attract Butterflies," "Plants Easy to Propagate," "Plants That Tolerate Drought," etc. With its lay-flat binding and excellent index, it's sure to be a favorite garden reference for quite a few gardeners, southern or otherwise.

Customer Reviews

Too Educational
I agree with the other reviews, that the author is very competent in his knowledge of plants. I found the format somewhat like a textbook, with the pictures separate from the plant descriptions a somewhat displeasing feature. Statements are too brief and too technical to be really beneficial to a new gardner. Also use of zones was infrequent and almost nonexistent. I find that a must in choosing plant material.

Landscape Architect loves it
I have many garden books, but none is as complete for southern gardeners. This book is more than just an overview. It does a great job of giving the different characteristics of the many varieties of each plant listing. Very up to date. Useful for professionals and weekend gardeners.

First-class book! Must-have for southern gardeners!
I live in the Piney Woods, north of Houston, and I think this book is invaluble. I wish I had had it 30 years ago. The book is sort of like a little portable arboretum. If you garden in the South (upper, middle, lower, coastal, or tropical), you will LOVE it. It gives you reliable infomation about what will grow and what is wishful thinking. It is also great for what it doesn't waste time on, e.g., it does not use up space telling you how to winterize your roses or the best varieties of lilacs or how to make cold frames. It does, however, go into great detail about that things that matter to us Southerners, such as azaelas, and it has a wonderful section on "Southern Heritage" plants. It has useful warnings about plants that can get rampant. It has great pictures. I use this book frequently (more than once a week) and I am giving it as gifts.