400 Trees and Shrubs for Small Spaces - Book Review

First of all I like a book that includes plant hardiness maps, glossary and an illustrated glossary.  The 400 Trees and Shrubs for Small Spaces by Diana M. Miller is such a book. It also includes an easy reference section to select the right plant for the right conditions as well as by its features. Some of the features include foliage, fruit, & flower colour.

The photographs are sharp, colour correct and numerous.  The only downside to this book is the plant material selection includes too many plants we in southern Canada cannot grow outside year round. The upside is that many of these plants make excellent container plants that you can grow indoors and summer outside on your deck, patio or porch. Some of them would also be excellent to sink into your summer garden to create an interesting feature specimen or focal point. I have even seen some of the plants sold as annuals in my local garden centres.

The information in this book will help you to properly place all these plants around your garden.

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Bruce

USDA New 2012 Plant Hardiness Zones

USDA 2012 Plant Hardiness Zone Map website

Happy New Year!

A Christmas Break for the Open-Line Garden Show

The Open-Line Garden Show will return to the airwaves on 105.1 Ed-FM on Saturday, January 7, 2012 at 8:00 am.

Glider Flying_Take Off to Landing_Part 1

Glider Flying_Take Off to Landing_Part 2

The Edible Front Yard -- Book Review

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Each gardener has their individual style of gardening, in short we garden to the best of our abilities.  The "Edible Front Yard" by Ivette Soler gives numerous suggestions for the gardener to adapt to their own personal needs.

The idea most prevalent in the "Edible Front Yard" is the old idea of mixed edible plants and non-edibles to add colour, texture and of course functionality to the home garden.  Many plants in the "Edible Front Yard" are not hardy here or our growing season is not long enough.  Here you adapt their function in the garden with suitable plants to mimic them.  eg. growing citrus is not practical on many levels for me, so I use a hardy orange tree in my garden.  You can also winter some tropical effects so I winter a banana tree.  You can also surprise many people as I do with a hardy cactus.  My wife has never like the cactus, so it can stay.  I just have to trim it with a spade to control the size.
 
You should also consider local by-laws and the neighbours before you turn your front yard into edibles.  In my area the city could come in and harvest your front garden right down to the soil.  The neighbours might think I am now unemployed and desperate to have enough to eat.  This is all a good idea as long as you do not go overboard. eg: photo on pg 178.

The growing information is basic but the photographs really tell the story.  Enjoy these photographs especially the best photograph in the book on pg 152 of the lovely Lola.
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Bruce