Customer Reviews

The Big Book of Gardening Secrets

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A wonderful book full of solid gardening secrets that everyone who has a desire to grow anything can benefit from. Written in down to earth layman's language The Big Book of Gardening has something for everyone: warm-season, cold-season, vegetable gardens, flower gardens, herb gardens.

In our spinning world today drops much that was good and proven behind in order to grasp the ever frenzied world of commerce and technology. Yet, many today desire to regain what was left behind, once such touchstone is nature. The natural world holds out secrets to those with eyes to see. The unfolding of a seed in to a plant that declares with flowers its eternal triumph over death is one such enlightenment.

If you are going to get one garden book this year get The Big Book of Gardening Secrets by Charles W.G. Smith; you will be wonderful pleased at the new insights that Smith give you and your garden will sing your praises in higher yields of both herbs, flowers and vegetables. Highly recommended.

This book contains very little in the form of gardening secrets. It does tell you all about various plants, what their characteristics are, and gives guidelines with regards to zoning and such, but I've yet to find an answer to a gardening question or dilemma when consulting this book. For example, here's an excerpt from a supposed "troubleshooting" table for vegetable problems: "Peppers -- problem: sunscald of fruit. cause: inadequate shading of fruit by leaves, often noticed after defoliation of plant during hot, dry weather." Great, so where's the troubleshooting? What should I do to prevent this? What's the practical solution? Where's the 'secret'?

Overall, very unimpressed with this informational book. It's fine if you want to learn about various plants, but not very practical for the gardener trying to yield a successful harvest.