I am so excited about adding my two cents’ in this week about Michael A. Dirr’s Dirr’s Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs! The book’s publisher, Timber Press, has been hosting a giveaway on their site, and one lucky tree-and-shrub loving reader will win a copy of the Encyclopedia this Friday, December 2–and to celebrate the release, a number of bloggers have been reviewing the book this week.

I’m going to come right out and say that my weakness as a gardener and designer is trees–I’m not super great about identifying them, and I continually need to look up different varieties for both my clients and myself. So this book, all 951 pages of it, just might be my new bible. As I was reading the introduction, it became quickly apparent how profoundly knowledgable Dirr is on this topic–truly, this is a person who really knows what he is talking about. Dirr, a professor of horticulture at The University of Georgia, co-owns Plant Introductions, Inc.,  and through this business, breeds, trials and evaluates plants. In a plant world where new introductions are often shuffled through to the buying public without enough information to ensure the customer of the plant’s reliability, Dirr’s research and knowledge is like an oxygen mask on a turbulent plane. (Wow, that was eloquent, wasn’t it? Score.)

If you need info about a particular tree or shrub, you will find all the specifics you need–sun/water requirements, soil needs, hardiness, growth habits, pest & disease propensities, general availability and comments on ease of transplantability. You’ll also find a bit of plant history, compare and contrast between cultivars, and advice on how to use particular plants.

A really helpful section appears at the end of the book–if you need a suggestion of a good tree or shrub for a very specific use (hedging, urban planting, winter interest), here’s where you need to sit a spell. The usability of this book is really amazing.

So, one of the first things I did when familiarizing myself with the encyclopedia was to look up my tried-and-true favorites as well as some of the shrubs and trees that I hate. I did this simply to see how what I think I know about a plant stacks up to the Master. My faves–glossy abelia, sandankwa viburnum and lacebark elm–were all there, and what I read confirmed what I know about these plants and why I love them. A couple of the plants I hate and won’t use–Arizona ash, Bradford pear–were either not mentioned (Arizona ash–yessss) or were mentioned but with a suggestion to not plant it (the pear–double score).

Now, I know what some of you might be thinking. “Trees and shrubs–yawn.” or “Encyclopedia? No, thanks.” But I assure you, my friend, you are wrong. Might I offer some examples of Dirr’s writing style? It’s a one-two punch to publish incredible in-depth material in a way that is truly readable and enjoyable:

Funny:  Momi fir (Abies firma) p. 25: “Slow to initiate strong growth–kind of stares at the gardener for several years, then decides to leap.”

Poetic: Sweetbay magnolia (Magnolia virginiana) p. 495: “…sweetbay magnolia is at its best on a June day, when the silvery-backed leaves are tousled by the wind and sparkle like diamonds and the lemony sweet floral fragrance rides on every current of air.” I want a sweetbay magnolia now.

Emphatic: Japanese pittosporum (Pittosporum tobira) p. 609: “One of the most essential broadleaf evergreen shrubs for souther and West Coast landscapes, growing in sand, seaside conditions, full sun or shade, heat, and drought.”

Blunt: Nandina (Nandina domestica) p. 521: “Although beyond common, it is one of the most serviceable broadleaf evergreens.”

There is nothing “beyond common” about this book. I’ll be honest–I don’t like huge books. I don’t own an encyclopedia. And my tree knowledge is weak. And I love this book. It’s a discovery on every page–superb information written in a real, engaging style–I am totally sold. Thank you, Michael Dirr!

To enter to win your own copy of the Encyclopedia, hop over to the Timber Press site and leave a comment on their post–good luck! The winner will be chosen on Friday, December 2.

To read other reviews about Dirr’s Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs, click on the following blog links:

North Coast Gardening

Our Little Acre

Gossip in the Garden

Gardens of the Wild Wild West

Attention, tree lovers! I’m happy to announce a giveaway happening over at Timber Press: a copy of Michael A. Dirr’s Dirr’s Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs!

I’ll be reviewing my copy of Dirr’s this coming Wednesday, but if you pop on over to the Timber Press site and comment on their post here, you will be entered to win your own copy. This book is huge and exhaustive on this topic–a must-have for home gardeners! Check back here throughout the week to hear more about this and to get links to other reviews of this book. This contest is open until Friday, December 2 on the Timber Press site–so go leave a message and good luck!

A few months ago, my friend Sherry was telling me that she’d seen one of her favorite authors on one of our favorite shows, Central Texas Gardener. Although Susan Wittig Albert is a resident of our own nearby Hill Country just outside of Austin, I’d never met her and hadn’t yet read any of her best-selling books. For those who love a good mystery and are avid gardeners, Susan is well known for her China Bayles mystery series, with a feature character who is an herbalist continually finding herself in the middle of murder and mayhem. My friend Sherry has read them all. Through connections on Facebook, I found out that Susan was giving a book signing at The Book Spot in Round Rock, and I couldn’t wait to call Sherry and let her know!

We decided to meet there, and I arrived a few minutes late to a full house with Susan already rocking it! I found a seat towards the back and settled in.

Susan enthralled her readers with tales from her books, how she develops characters, how she got started writing and some of the pitfalls she’s encountered along the way. I think the crowd could have easily asked questions for hours. She told us about her China Bayles character, as well as her Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter books and her new series, The Darling Dahlias.

She looks a little ticked off here, doesn’t she? She wasn’t –just totally into her talk. This woman not only can write, but speaks and connects with her audience so well–she was funny, straight-shooting, sharp and a bit irreverent–my favorite combination! Somewhere around this time, Sherry and our other friend Jacque slipped in.

Now on to the book signing part of the program! Sherry (left) waited in line with the others–she looks like she’s calm and patient, but I knew how excited she was to meet Susan and get her book signed. She’d recommended which books I should start with, too–and I wound up buying three!

Sherry’s got her chance! I would call Sherry Susan’s #1 fan, but that sounds a little Misery-ish, doesn’t it? I can vouch for her character–she’s not a stalker. Not much. Anyway, I was excited to get my three books signed, too, although I forgot to ask Sherry to take a picture of it. I do that all the time–I go to some big deal thing and meet someone people know and I spend my time taking pics of them with other people. I’ll learn one of these days.

So what did I buy?

Mourning Gloria: The newest installation in the China Bayles series, where our heroine tries to solve a murder, find a missing reporter and learns about pychoactive plants that make us drowsy or high. Yep, Susan rolls like that.

Thyme of Death: I thought I should get the first China Bayles book, too, to see where it all started. In this one, the herbalist tries to figure out a good friend’s death with her sidekick Ruby, uncovers steamy love letters and tries to avoid getting hauled in by the suspicious local cop.

The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree: This is Susan’s newest series, and it’s kind of like a Depression-era “Desperate Housewives” with characters like Ophelia, Verna and Lizzy. The ladies of the garden club try to solve Bunny Scott’s murder while investigating some shenanigans at the local bank and evading an escaped convict.

I’m an avid reader, but I’m also a picky one. I don’t have a lot of patience for poor character development, stupid dialogue or thin story lines. I am happy to report that Susan’s books grabbed me from the first pages, made me laugh, and had me actively trying to figure out who’d done what. (By the way, I totally had some of The Darling Dahlia’s mystery solved. I’m good.) Avid readers who love to garden will be drawn in by how Susan weaves plants and gardens into her stories–and while I’m at it, I want to put a plug in for our independent book stores. The Book Spot is a newish book store feature new and used titles, some interesting merchandise crafted by locals and a shop dog that jumped up on everyone’s laps. Great place!

I hope you get some of Susan’s books for yourselves! Stop by your local indie book shop and pick up a few titles…and if you see Sherry lurking in the corner, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

So my friend Ivette Soler wrote a book. And not just any book, no ma’am. Ivette is anything but pedestrian; no run-of-the-mill kind of garden book for her. Nope, she wrote a book called The Edible Front Yard (Timber Press)*– she proposes ripping out your useless grass and growing all manner of veggies, fruits and herbs there. And, of course, making it beautiful.

Ivette’s the perfect person to write a book like this–she’s an awesomely talented landscape designer, an engaging writer and speaker, she does things her own way and she encourages the rest of us to get our thang on, too. She is passionate about everything she takes on, and she can say the most outrageous things and get away with it. But she’s also a smart cookie–she knows that asking people to take out a lawn in the front yard when some people are just beginning to wrap their minds around a grassless backyard is asking a lot. And she knows that some gardeners live in HOA-ruled neighborhoods where they are required to have a front lawn, and that neighbors might not want a substantially different-looking yard next door. So Ivette recommends the following:

• Consider minimizing your lawn rather than totally getting rid of it
• Focus on hardscaping (pathways, raised beds, masonry) to define your front yard so that it doesn’t look like it’s a Boy Scout project (no offense, Max & Luke, my Eagle Scout sons)
• Make your garden as beautiful as you can (don’t give people a reason to complain, for heaven’s sake!)
• Share your harvest with the neighbors (well-fed people find it more difficult to gripe about your yard)
• Incorporate flowering perennials and evergreens alongside your edibles so you have beauty, structure and function covered

This is smart advice, my friends! Any old hippy can grow vegetables anywhere they want, and people will likely shrug and say, “Well, that’s just Sunshine. She really is a nice person, once you get past her odd ways.” How about you get Ivette’s book, take her advice and have your neighbors say, “Whoa! Check out Steve’s front yard! I bet I could do something even better….” and before you know it, you’ve got an entire neighborhood of awesome edible front yards.

I don’t have a yard. I mean that literally. I live in a 3rd floor apartment with a windy balcony for a garden. And next year, I am planning to move down to The Hunky Foreman’s house on a whole entire acre–but the front yard is waaaay too shady for edibles. The backyard, however, will be a veritable farmer’s market. I’ll be able to employ many of Ivette’s ideas into that back yard; The Hunky Foreman won’t know what hit him.

*Oh, yeah. Here’s where I say I was sent a preview copy of The Edible Front Yard by Timber Press. But if you think for a moment that that influenced my review, think again, bubba.

I can’t think of a better 200th post for J. Peterson Garden Design than a review of a cool little book like “Garden Rules: The Snappy Synopsis for the Modern Gardener” (Cool Springs Press) by Jayme Jenkins and Billie Brownell! There aren’t too many garden books specifically geared toward the beginner gardener that are full of really good advice, written in humorous and short entries, so when I received a review copy of “Garden Rules,” I was eager to start reading.

While many of the readers of this blog might be seasoned gardeners, we all know people who aren’t. This little book is the perfect gift for the beginning-to-intermediate gardener, but guess what? As I was reading through it myself, I found several tidbits of garden wisdom that were new to me, and I’ve been gardening for 20 years and own a landscape company! Wondering if it’s warm enough to plant? Billie says on p. 79 to park your bare bohonkus (that’s your bottom if you live in Texas) on the ground to get a sense of the soil warmth. No, I didn’t make that up. And Jayme has a great tip on p. 100 about companion planting in the vegetable garden–good info for me, a relatively new veggie gardener!

Here’s some of my favorite tips, and the JPGD Superlative Awards that they won:

1. Most Useful Design Tip: Page 94: Use opposite elements in designing your garden
2. Most Hilarious Tip that Made Me Spit My Coffee Out: Page 84: Only virgins should be sacrificed to volcanoes
3. Most Likely to Make Me Fist-Pump in the Air: Page 78: Just because a plant is for sale, doesn’t mean it should be.
4. Most Obvious Tip that We Obviously Forget & Need Reminding About: Page 33: You get what you pay for with bargain plants.

Along with all of these great tips, there’s an awesome glossary and guide to speaking horticultural Latin in the back of the book. This is great for everyone–it’s fine to know the common names of plants, but if you really want to be sure you’re talking about the same plant, the botanical Latin name is the way to go. I’m a bit hopeless myself with botanical names–although I do try, I often make them up in frustration. But since the staff at The Great Outdoors nursery doesn’t really get it when I ask if they have “Shrubus dwarfii” or “Flora Beautiosa,” I’m guessing I need to read more of Jayme’s and Billie’s guide.

Although Mother’s Day is passed, I think “Garden Rules” would make a great birthday gift. I’m also going to a couples wedding shower soon that has an outdoor/garden theme, and I know the young couple would love to have a copy of “Garden Rules” along with some awesome garden gloves and hand clippers! So, it probably goes without saying that I recommend this book–but promise you’ll let me know if, after reading it, you learned how to prepare the soil for your new Plantus magnificus x enormii. I’ll pass on the compliment to the authors!

Texas Gardener’s Resource: All You Need To Know To Plan, Plant & Maintain a Texas Garden

By Dale Groom and Dan Gill (with Steve Dobbs, James Fizzell, Joe Lamp’l and Joe White), Cool Springs Press, Brentwood, TN.

Nice book! I was sent this great resource by Cool Springs Press to review a couple of months ago, and have really enjoyed paging through it. Truth be told, I come from a family of gardeners and we all live in Texas, so parts of the Nybro clan had a great time reviewing this book with me.

Fist, the layout of this book is really great: thorough chapters on annuals, perennials, bulbs, grass, vines, etc.–but with each chapter comes a calendar for what to do each month in that category. The chapters are also color-coded at the tops of the pages for quick reference, something that I’m finding I appreciate. In addition, there’s detailed information on pest control, watering, soil preparation and mulching. I really love the section on roses–I”m not a huge rose gardener, but we have so many antique roses in Texas that are super-tough and defy the dainty, fussy rose reputation, that it’s great to have special attention paid to this group of plants for those who are ready to try them.  It’s solid information, and not every book I read includes accurate information on these topics. And the photographs–they are gorgeous!

The only issue I have is one that the authors themselves note in the opening introduction: Texas is probably one of the most incredibly diverse states, with four hardiness zones and terrain ranging from piney woods to prairies to deserts. This makes it difficult, if not impossible, to write a gardening book that covers the whole state–there will always be an exception to whatever rule or info you put out there. For example, salvia and lantana are listed as both annuals and perennials. They’re annuals in the northern part of the state, and solid perennials where I live in Central Texas. If you’re not clear about this or are a new gardener, this could be very confusing to you.

I do recommend this book–my sisters loved it, and one of my teenage sons kept picking it up and saying, “This book feels good!”  Informationally, it’s one of the most thorough and solid books on Texas gardening that I have read; just make sure that the information you are taking is appropriate to your part of the state and you’re good to go!

Beautiful Tabletop Gardens

By Janice Eaton Kelly, Sterling Pub., New York, NY

For anyone who enjoys container planting, this book could be one of your favorites–I know it’s one of mine. It’s that cool. I container garden for about 40% of my clients and for myself, and yet I own precious few container planting books. Why? Because many are redundant and uninspiring at best (seen that ten times in other places), and downright wrong at worst (plants potted together don’t have the same requirements, or drainage is not considered.).

This book features a number of different designers, each with an original idea that I can almost guarantee that you haven’t seen before, or a twist on something you may have. When you buy it, check out the design on page 79 (it’s a brilliantly simple Zen design that I’ve done several variations of) and page 97 (a painstaking but incredibly beautiful compilation). Let me know which one you create!

Mexicolor: The Spirit of Mexican Design

By Melba Lewick, Tony Cohan and Masako Takahashi, Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA.

Gorgeous book! If you’re drawn to the saturated color palette of Mexico and want your house and garden to reflect it, here’s your guide.  I reach for it again and again when I need inspiration, for both my clients and myself. This book not only has the tastiest photos for landscaping, but also furniture, textiles, architecture and decorative items as well.  I can only dream of having the garden on p. 138.  If I did, I could die happy. Hasta luego!

Native Texas Plants: Landscaping Region by Region, 2nd edition.
By Sally Wasowski & Andy Wasowski, Lone Star Books

My first pick has to be a classic. This book is the best friend of every gardener, both hobbiest and pro. It really has everything I want in a great landscape/plant book — extensive individual plant information, beautiful photographs and incredible organization, and all by two of the most solid and respected landscape professionals around. Texas is one of the most diverse states in terms of its topography and environment, and while it allows us to garden year-round, it also provides us with some unique challenges. Austin, for example, sits on the edge of two different growing zones and is bordered on one side by Blackland Prairie and on the other side by limestone and Hill Country.

The authors know this, get this, live and breath this. Don’t bother with books by others who don’t. If the Wasowskis aren’t rich yet, they should be. Do your part and buy this book!