Customer Reviews

A Garden Book for Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a terrific all-around gardening book for the Houston/East Texas Gardener written by the premier Houston gardening club. It is probably good for the whole Gulf Coast too, since the climates are similar. As an ex-northeasterner and novice gardener, I can say that if you are gardening in Houston and can only buy one book, this is it.

The text covers everything from herbs to flowers to trees, as well as potting, lawns, ground covers, vines, shrubs and vegetables. Special sections concentrate on Azaleas, Camellias and Roses, as well as soil improvement, watering, drainage, diseases and insects. In each section, tables list best planting times, blooming times, light and wattering requirements and other comments for each type of plant.

I found the book great for brain-storming, as well as for carrying to the garden store to determine if the great-looking flower or vine was really suitable for planting in my backyard.

My only regret: that it's not 50 pages longer...

I have employed this book for over twenty-five years and attribute my lovely gardens to it's advice. I will be ordering the new edition as I have relocated to the Gulf area once again after many years on the Eastern seaboard,but now I am in Florida. Still, the month by month instruction for garden maintenance, plantings, pruning, fertilizing etc. will work in my area of Florida. I highly recommend this to any gardener along the Gulf Coast.

The version I ordered used was very old, I can't remember if the publishing date was listed. Regardless, it is useful. Varieties change so quickly, and nurseries often change their supplier. The overall layout is not updated and easy to read (numbered steps and lists, more whitespace). The content is very applicable to Houston in my almost 2 years of experience and use of several other Texas gardening books that have been too broad in scope (the climate varies here!).

A Garden Book for Houston and the Gulf Coast was first printed in l927! It was reprinted in 1959, 1962, and 1975.When the copy I bought on Amazon arrived May 12, 2010, it was printed in l975.

The book is terribly outdated. Many of the plants are not available or are so old they aren't used anymore. Did you ever hear of a plant named a "Clarkia?" Or a "Clitoria?" It's in this book. And some of the info is wrong. For example, Barbados Cherry, a small flowering shrub, is listed as evergreen. I have never seen it evergreen, all I have seen are decidious and lose their leaves in the winter. And I had several in my yard for eight years until a freeze killed them. All and all a very boring book. And this old book was not in such good condition.

And I was charged more than the price that was shown on Amazon.

Be very careful what you order if you have not seen the book.

I own both the third and fourth edition of the book. The fourth is 3x the size of the third includes more color photos and plant profile charts. This book is a must have for every type of garden in Texas. I highly recommend it.

A Garden Book for Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast is perfect for anyone living along the Gulf Coast. I bought two copies to give to my children. My 30-year old copy has traveled with me to many nurseries. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to become a better informed gardener. I just wish that the River Oaks Garden Club would come out with a new edition.

I've had the 4th edition for 20 years and it is my garden bible - at least for plant information. I took it to the garden center this weekend and it was immensely helpful. The only way to improve it would be to add more pictures. Be sure you get the 4th edition (white cover); I had the original (blue-green cover) and it is very thin. The 4th edition was a huge improvement on the original. It does have some basic information on plant care such as pruning, watering, soil improvement, etc. The chapters on roses, camelias and azaleas are very good.

I grew up in Houston, referring to this book for each month of the year and my gardening options and planning. It is really great for most of the Gulf Coast area from Texas to Florida with exceptions for your yards soil conditions. It advises you monthly and tells how to prepare beds for annuals, perennials, as well as shrubs. It describes in detail each plant condusive to the area. How to trim, when to trim, needs and protections. I left my copy with a relative when transferred out of Houston to the Northeast early in my career. Now, back in the gulf coast area in Florida, I went online and found a copy, used, but in great condition. It does not matter the age of the book, if you live in the area mentioned, get it. Marc