Customer Reviews

Digging in the Dirt: Friendly Tips for the Gardener in All of Us

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
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Like many of us, I want healthy plants and a great looking yard--but I need time to have a life! "Digging in the Dirt" by syndicated garden columnist Ed Hutchison is just the ticket--a user-friendly book with straight-to-the-point advice and solid information. The book's short, yet information-packed chapters are arranged in monthly sequence to make for fast reading and reference throughout the year. At last I know when to fertilize the amaryllis, seed the bare patches in my lawn, mow (not rake) the leaves, and toss that spindly poinsettia from last Christmas. From houseplants to flower gardens, herbs to lawns, this is a garden book to guide me through the seasons. It's ideal for garden dabblers as well as experienced gardeners who want a new perspective or a reminder of the basics. There's an added bonus, too: the best how-to books are those that beg to be read for pleasure, not just pulled off the shelf to serve as reference volumes. I plan to keep "Digging in the Dirt" within easy reach.

What a delight! Horticulturist and nationally syndicated garden writer Ed Hutchison produces a bounty of down to earth yard and garden tips and advice. The book presents a month by month compendium of how to have a lush lawn, bountiful garden, and healthy houseplants. The author has transplanted his newspaper columns into a collection of breezy and informative chapters. It provides the weekend gardener with some great ideas and helpful "how to" advice with tips for practically each week of the year. The author dispenses friendly and useful advice in an over-the-back fence friendly style. He discusses what vegetables to consider for your garden during January's winter landscape; bulb, tree, and shrub feeding (but not lawns!) in April; how to get July's cut flowers to last longer; through how to harvest fresh holiday decorating materials from your yard in December. And the bounty doesn't end. One delightful installment describes how to plant flowers in your window well! This is a welcome and refreshing addition to the weekend gardener's library.

This has got to be the best garden book I have read. Can't beat it and Ed is a awsome guy to meet in person.

I like the way this handbook is organized by month and season, clearly outlining the joys (and chores) associated with keeping a garden and yard in tip-top shape. The articles are short and easy to follow without investing a lot of precious "outdoor time" in study. The details and professional content are appropriate -- not too overwhelming for the novice and/or would-be gardener, but sufficient for accomplishing satisfying success in the yard! I found this book, especially at this price, to be an excellent Mother's Day gift for mom, sisters, aunts and grandmothers.