I have to share with those who are wondering what gardening book would
be the absolute best one (inexperienced as well as sage and experienced
gardeners) and there on my shelves, not appreciated was my brown
covered, hard back American Horticultural Society edition of
"ENCYCLOPEDIA of GARDENING". this tome is 647 pages thick. Covers
everything from just how to use the book, garden planning and design,
ornamental shrubs, topiary, climbing plants, rose garden, perennials,
rock gardens, bulbous plants, water gardens, cacti and other succulents,
lawns, the herb garden, vegetable gardens, fruit gardens, indoor
gardens, tools and equipment, greenhouses and frames, structures and
surfaces, climates and soils and principles of propagation, plant
problems and basic botany........this thing is awesome! I had gotten
mine full price a couple of years ago because I had purchased my other
gardening bible, the American Horticultural Society A-Z Garden Plants
book, that sucker was over 1000 pages and a wonderous tome in itself.
But when I discovered the brown edition of gardening, I had to have it.
Last year at a little book store in eastern Knoxville, I came across
a used edition of the Encyclopedia of Gardening and purchased it for
"Ethyl" my gardening buddy for her own. Tonight, whilst we were talking
Spring planting and I was poring over seed catalogs and reading
descriptions of veggies I sooo wanted to plant (no sunny spaces, but I
have a plan, oh yes I does!), she asked me a pertinent question
concerning patio fruit trees. I couldn't answer her honestly, so I
reached into the vast shelves of my gardening book collection and pulled
out our duplicate books and hunted the index for fruit trees. The
chapter blew me away. I'm now taking this book to the bedroom to read
further and eat this more thoroughly. The fact that despite that I am
considered a "master gardener" with certificate from UT from YEARS ago,
I NEVER learn enough, and this showed me that I am behind and slipping
in my knowledge of things horticultural. I now have the Spring disease
really bad, and a book to re-discover. And my solution for my rabid
desire to grow my veggies (I would have already planted my radishes and
spinach by now, believe me.....and snow peas! gotta have snow peas! LOL)
I'll do what Ethyl suggested and gather huge containers to put upon
the deck outside the kitchen and plant those up, and then hit my
landscaping friend, Karol up for a piece of her garden that has all the
sunshine exposure one would ever want and something I DON'T
have........a level plot. She has recently gotten a house with SIX ACRES
and turned her garden up already for her food garden. I'm more than
sure she'd share a spot with me........now it's a matter of time before
she and I and Ethyl form our plans for the little nursery selling select
perennials for the fall......give us time and you'll hear adventures of
horticultural proportions, endeavors of sticky pots, regales of
hilarious and misadventures........and oh yeah, did I mention? I can't
contain myself any longer (I've been writing an early "madgardener
ramble" and just can't finish it to share with you all) I'm gonna be
published!! Ethyl convinced someone at the print shop she works at to
let me write a spring/summer piece and after much angst and agony, I
turned out a piece on container gardening for them. It was really hard,
considering I could only have three pages.....LOL But eventually I did
it just in time for the deadline, and come the Spring/Summer issue of a
new magazine for our region called Tennessee East of 75 (which is
interstate 75, by the way) there will be a piece by yours truly! Quite
a trowel in me bucket! It matters not that this publication is only
twice a year. I'll ask if they need another article from me. g
Encourages me no end to really try harder to write, I've been away too
long..........

Soooo, howdy all my gardening buddies out there. It's been way too
long, and I've missed every one of you. I'm back!! LOL I have things
up way too soon, and it looks like March has come in up here in Fairy
Holler like a lion. I'll post me first ramble soon, I promise., Thanks
for the share,

always.........
madgardener, up on the ridge, back in Fairy Holler, overlooking a
blustery and wet English Mountain in Eastern Tennessee, zone 7, Sunset
zone 36