Gardening Basics For Dummies [Paperback]

Steven A. Frowine (Author), The National Gardening Association (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 5, 2007

You’re now officially out of excuses for not planting the garden of your dreams. Even if you’ve never sowed a seed nor pulled a weed, Gardening Basics For Dummies contains everything you need to know about flowers, beds, borders, trees, shrubs, and lawns to create your own private paradise. This friendly and informative guide also covers all of the tools and additives available to make gardening easier. You’ll discover:

• Clear definitions and descriptions of the different types of plants
• Tips on choosing the type of garden you want
• How to create a garden plan
• Easy-to-follow instructions for soil preparation
• Advice on planting, growing and caring for annuals and perennials
• Step-by-step plans for organic and edible gardens
• Plans for butterfly and children's gardens

Packed with helpful tips on controlling pests safely, managing weeds, and correcting common gardening problems, Gardening for Dummies turns your brown thumb green in a hurry.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Packed with fun and useful tips to help you plan your garden!

Create the garden of your dreams with the right plants and equipment

Want a green thumb? This handy guide gives beginning gardeners tips, plans, and insider know-how for getting started with flower beds, borders, vegetables, trees, shrubs, lawns, and more. Packed with step-by-step advice, illustrations, resources, and suggested plantings, this friendly guide covers all the tools that make gardening today easier than ever before!

Discover how to

• Pick the best plants for your climate
• Plan and prep your garden
• Keep your plants healthy
• Use compost, fertilizer, and safe pesticides
• Troubleshoot common problems
• Locate garden supplies

About the Author

Steven A. Frowine is a noted professional horticulturist and a longtime avid gardener and communicator.

The National Gardening Association is the leading garden-based educational nonprofit in the USA. Visit www.garden.org.

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 3 edition (February 5, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470037490
• ISBN-13: 978-0470037492
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 0.9 x 9.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #104,074 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am a professional horticulturist, a consultant to the green industry, and an active garden writer and speaker. I have passionately grown 100's of orchids in my various homes throughout the US for almost 40 years and now live in Ajijic, Mexico with my wife, Sascha, and three dogs, Zoe, Tallulah, and Ben. I greatly enjoy growing orchids and other tropical plants year around outdoors in this frost-free climate.
I hold B.S. and M.S. degrees in horticulture from Ohio State University and Cornell University respectively.
More more info about me and my background go to: http://members.authorsguild.net/stevefrow/bio.htm

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gardening Basics for Dummies, February 22, 2007

By 

Charlie Nardozzi "Charlie" (Shelburne, Vermont) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gardening Basics For Dummies (Paperback)

If you're looking to start gardening or to update your current knowledge about gardening, this book is the place to start. Steve Frowine makes the gardening information accessible, practical and fun. Like all the ...for Dummies books, I particularly like the no-nonsense way he describes some fundamental gardening tasks like planting a tree or creating a flower bed. This book covers all the basics such as vegetable and fruit gardening, herb gardening, flower gardening, landscaping with trees and shrubs, growing bulbs, container gardening and even gardening projects with kids.

But it's also good for a more experienced gardener. There's a detailed chapter on building and water gardens and raising fish and some quick, handy gardening projects to do.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very helpful, July 30, 2007

By 

J. Hennessy "alaska72" (Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gardening Basics For Dummies (Paperback)

I really enjoyed this book and can't wait till next spring to start my first garden. This book is full of helpful information and tips for the first time gardener.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars so far so good, March 29, 2009

By 

hajeh (jordan, the middle east) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Gardening Basics For Dummies (Paperback)

i have a little garden and i wanted to learn how to manage it. this book really helped me learn many things that i honestly didn't know before.( i have never gardened and usually had someone come in weekly to plant and clean it up) slowly i'm doing little thing the book suggests and i'm enjoying it.