Product Description

The Renegade Gardener, Don Engebretson, and his sidekick Don Williamson once again serve up a generous portion of gardening experience and know-how in order to save you needless expense and worry. TREE AND SHRUB GARDENING FOR MINNESOTA AND WISCONSIN demonstrates the proper selection and care of trees and shrubs that will do well in the climate of the Upper Midwest region. Includes information on pruning, optimal location, maturity, planting, pests and diseases. Loaded with color photographs.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #569736 in Books
• Published on: 2005-04-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 360 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781551054834
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
...an instant classic that I will return to often. --The Country Today, Barneveld, WI

This book is just the ticket to put your yard back on the right path to aesthetic, long-term beauty, plus some protection from those harsh, cold winters we are so well known for. --Detroit Lake Newspapers

…(this book) is packed with plants, color photos and pithy advice, all offered in a user-friendly design. --St. Paul Pioneer Press

About the Author
DON ENGEBRETSON is a University of Minnesota Master Gardener and award-winning garden writer who has been featured regularly on HGTV and has appeared on PBS TV's Hometime program. He is the monthly garden columnist for MPLS-St. Paul magazine, a field editor for Better Homes and Gardens and a frequent contributor to a variety of gardening magazines. Known as the Renegade Gardener, Don has 10 principles of renegade gardening, among them that gardening should be challenging, relaxing and fun, that renegade gardeners know the Latin names of the plants they grow and that gardening and rock music do not mix. DON WILLIAMSON, who has turned a passion for gardening into his life's work, has a varied background in landscaping, golf course construction and management and now garden writing. He also has extensive experience in the design and construction of both annual and perennial beds in formal landscape settings. Don has a degree in applied horticultural technology and professional certificates in turf management.

Customer Reviews

Helpful hints for those moving to the Upper Midwest.
Since we live in the South, but are building a cabin in Northern Wisconsin, we were at a loss for landscape ideas. General gardening books and catalogs do not specify a broad range of trees and shrubs to successfully grow in this climate. Rather than giving the reader generalized information about a specimen, this author provides detailed facts about the necessary soil, water, sunshine, and other care. Included are types of problems including temperature, susceptibility for diseases, insects, fungi, and any other difficulties the specimen may attract. In addition, ideas for placement and the positive aspects of each item are detailed. The pictures and clear prose make this a must for even the practiced gardener.

Lacking in originality, sometimes provides poor choices
After moving to Wisconsin I purchased the whole series of these gardening guides (xxx for Minnesota and Wisconsin) so as to prepare for fall in my new 5 acre "garden". I already wrote a lengthy review for Perennials for Minnesota and Wisconsin, describing my deep disappointment in the series. I will give a summary here:

1. The choices are ordinary, and bring nothing special: I did not find a single "interesting" choice that I was not already aware of (I don't know that much abt gardening btw).
2. There is little or nothing that is truly specific to Minnesota or Wisconsin, no section/ selection of native plants, and little discussion of them, although when a plant is native the authors will often mention that fact in the description.
3. Some choices are outright dangerous due to their invasiveness. In addition, I feel that some problems and pests are greatly understated and misrepresented. I will give the example of red oak, highly susceptible to oak wilt, which has ravaged many counties and cost many millions of dollars along with much heartache to gardeners of these two states.

in summary, I find the works of the whole series disappointing at many levels. Their only interest (and the reason for my 2-star rating) is due to the quasi-total lack of alternative publications on the topic. I just ordered two more books on the subject (Landscaping with Native Plants of Wisconsin and The Vegetation of Wisconsin: An Ordination of Plant Communities, the only two others I found),and will report on them when I have received them.

You may feel that you have no choice but to order these books due to lack of alternatives. If you do you will probably be disappointed.