"Jim Lewis" wrote in message ...
"barrett" wrote in message
m...
"Floreksa" wrote in message
...
I need some good book recommendations for both vegetable
gardening and
general landscape style gardening. I live in Western MA and
would love to
start gardening, but am kind of can't figure out where to
even start. My
biggest area of concern right now, is the front of my house,
which has NO
landscaping and receives very little sunlight.

Thanks
floreksa

'The Manual of Woody Landscape Plants' by M. Dirr is the text
for
almost all colleges and universities in the nation. Dirr is
from Ma.
He also has a color illustrated book that goes with the manual.

_My_ copy says he's at the University of Georgia, in Athens. But
I agree, Dirr is excellent.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Only where
people have learned to appreciate and cherish the landscape and
its living cover will they treat it with the care and respect it
should have - Paul Bigelow Sears.

Dirr is at the Uniniversity of Georgia unless he's retired, but he is
from Massachusetts.

Welcome to the gardening world! It's quite addictive, but very good for
the soul. I'm in W. Mass too (Pelham), so I know what your conditions
are like. My favorite garden reference book is Mike Dirr"s Manual of
Woody Landscape Plants. It is a compendium of most of the shrubs and
trees on the market now, and is great for finding out if a particular
plant you want to grow will fit into your scheme. For vegetable
gardening, Crocket's Vegetable Gardening(the new edition) is my
favorite, as it's aimed at gardeners in Zone 5 (which is us) and
thereabouts. There are umpteen garden design books out there, and I'd
suggest in any case, check out your local library first before you buy
anything. Another good source is used book stores. Are you in deer
country? They can be such a pest in your garden; they ate some of my
rhododendron flower buds last spring, and I've been caging and using
repellents this year to keep them away. My point being, if you have
deer, you'd better plant things they don't like to eat! (I have a list
if you'd like it). I'm a Master Gardener, and our local website is
www.wmassmastergardeners.org if you want some more help. We're putting
on a Gardening Symposium on April 3 At Pathfinder Regional H.S. in
Palmer, which could be very helpful to you. Go to the website and you
can get a copy of the application, which you should send in immediately
if you want to go, as the best sessions fill up quickly. Hope this
helps. E-mail me if you have more questions at , not
the UMass address. Wendy

Floreksa wrote:

I need some good book recommendations for both vegetable gardening and
general landscape style gardening. I live in Western MA and would love to
start gardening, but am kind of can't figure out where to even start. My
biggest area of concern right now, is the front of my house, which has NO
landscaping and receives very little sunlight.

Thanks
floreksa





--
Joseph S. Larson
27 Arnold Road
Pelham, MA 01002-9757
413-256-8256
http://myprofile.cos.com/larson358

Welcome to the gardening world! It's quite addictive, but very good for
the soul. I'm in W. Mass too (Pelham), so I know what your conditions
are like. My favorite garden reference book is Mike Dirr"s Manual of
Woody Landscape Plants. It is a compendium of most of the shrubs and
trees on the market now, and is great for finding out if a particular
plant you want to grow will fit into your scheme. For vegetable
gardening, Crocket's Vegetable Gardening(the new edition) is my
favorite, as it's aimed at gardeners in Zone 5 (which is us) and
thereabouts. There are umpteen garden design books out there, and I'd
suggest in any case, check out your local library first before you buy
anything. Another good source is used book stores. Are you in deer
country? They can be such a pest in your garden; they ate some of my
rhododendron flower buds last spring, and I've been caging and using
repellents this year to keep them away. My point being, if you have
deer, you'd better plant things they don't like to eat! (I have a list
if you'd like it). I'm a Master Gardener, and our local website is
www.wmassmastergardeners.org if you want some more help. We're putting
on a Gardening Symposium on April 3 At Pathfinder Regional H.S. in
Palmer, which could be very helpful to you. Go to the website and you
can get a copy of the application, which you should send in immediately
if you want to go, as the best sessions fill up quickly. Hope this
helps. E-mail me if you have more questions at , not
the UMass address. Wendy

Floreksa wrote:

I need some good book recommendations for both vegetable gardening and
general landscape style gardening. I live in Western MA and would love to
start gardening, but am kind of can't figure out where to even start. My
biggest area of concern right now, is the front of my house, which has NO
landscaping and receives very little sunlight.

Thanks
floreksa





--
Joseph S. Larson
27 Arnold Road
Pelham, MA 01002-9757
413-256-8256
http://myprofile.cos.com/larson358

"Joseph S. Larson" wrote in message
...
Welcome to the gardening world! It's quite addictive, but very
good for
the soul. I'm in W. Mass too (Pelham), so I know what your
conditions
are like. My favorite garden reference book is Mike Dirr"s
Manual of
Woody Landscape Plants.


Snip

You also need a good pest book. I like "Insect, Disease, and
Weed I.D. Guide" Rodale Press.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Only where
people have learned to appreciate and cherish the landscape and
its living cover will they treat it with the care and respect it
should have - Paul Bigelow Sears.

My favorite for a comprehensive gardening was from Rodale Press,
Encyclopedia of Organic Gardenning. Not cheap, but I've moved around
and it addresses various climate zones, soil ammendments, compost, as
well a variety of plants, and propagation. Consult your library
first. But as I said before, it has nearly all the information of my
other 6 books or so that I use as references.

"Floreksa" wrote in message ...
I need some good book recommendations for both vegetable gardening and
general landscape style gardening. I live in Western MA and would love to
start gardening, but am kind of can't figure out where to even start. My
biggest area of concern right now, is the front of my house, which has NO
landscaping and receives very little sunlight.

Thanks
floreksa

My favorite for a comprehensive gardening was from Rodale Press,
Encyclopedia of Organic Gardenning. Not cheap, but I've moved around
and it addresses various climate zones, soil ammendments, compost, as
well a variety of plants, and propagation. Consult your library
first. But as I said before, it has nearly all the information of my
other 6 books or so that I use as references.

"Floreksa" wrote in message ...
I need some good book recommendations for both vegetable gardening and
general landscape style gardening. I live in Western MA and would love to
start gardening, but am kind of can't figure out where to even start. My
biggest area of concern right now, is the front of my house, which has NO
landscaping and receives very little sunlight.

Thanks
floreksa

"Floreksa" wrote in message
...
I need some good book recommendations for both vegetable gardening and
general landscape style gardening.

My absolute favorite is the Better Homes and Gardens New Complete Guide to
Gardening. It covers all the areas, albeit generally, but it is an excellent
launch pad for any garden topic you may want to go more in depth into. The
book is laid out so clearly and so well; it is a pleasure to page through on
cold wintry days.

~flick
zone 6-7 Long Island

"Floreksa" wrote in message
...
I need some good book recommendations for both vegetable gardening and
general landscape style gardening.

My absolute favorite is the Better Homes and Gardens New Complete Guide to
Gardening. It covers all the areas, albeit generally, but it is an excellent
launch pad for any garden topic you may want to go more in depth into. The
book is laid out so clearly and so well; it is a pleasure to page through on
cold wintry days.

~flick
zone 6-7 Long Island