Customer Reviews

Gardening in the South: Trees, Shrubs, & Lawns (Gardening in the South with Don Hastings)

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

 

 

Don Hastings is a true plantsman of the South. Every gardener in the region knows the Hastings name due to the huge mail-order seed business the family owned for generations. And of course, down South family name is everything! Hastings shares the wealth in his Gardening in the South series. I've read many gardening books. The difference here is that, first, it is written for my part of the country. Others are often written with a Northeast focus that just doesn't apply to our heat and humidity. Second, Hastings is not shy about expressing a definitive opinion. If your new house has a silver maple, "Prune it at the ground with a chainsaw," Don advises. There are other writers you can read twice and still not be sure if they're for it or agin it. Live down South? Got a yard? Better buy this book

I was very disappointed with this book. It carries almost no usable data, just vague language. It seems that Mr. Hastings used this book as a tax right off to travel to England and other countries for research. I do not care of the lush lawn of England, nor do I care of the beauty of an oasis in the Middle East. I especially do care to read phrases, as "there is no perfect grass for the South, just make do with what you have". I rated this book 2 stars due solely to the pictures. If you were looking for a book that offers real usable data, I'd recommend looking elsewhere.

This is the sort of regional gardening book that might have been marketed in 1965. The information is very basic, poorly explained, poorly illustrated, and dated. I doubt if the book was good for much when it was first published in the late 80's, but now with the revolution in Southern gardening carried on by the likes of J. C. Raulston, Tony Avent, William Welch and a host of others, the book seems stale and joyless.

When I moved here several years ago I was new to the South and to gardening. My husband bought me this book and it has been my constant companion. It is the first book I turn to when I need a tree or shrub for an area, and Mr. Hastings is always the final determinant of whether the choice I made was a good one. I've landscaped two properties, and the book seems to grow with me as I need it.