The Ann Lovejoy Handbook of Northwest Gardening: Natural-Sustainable-Organic [Paperback]

Ann Lovejoy (Author), Janet Loughrey (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 28, 2003

In her latest book, Ann Lovejoy covers every corner of natural gardening in the Pacific Northwest. All the steps are here in detail, from landscaping and design to soil prep and planting beds. She explains organic approaches to ground covers, lawns, shrubs, trees, and more, all with an eye to building a beautiful and sustainable garden that’s friendly to people, pets, and wildlife, and that flourishes without chemical fertilizers and pest controls. 100 color photographs enhance this complete and practical manual of ornamental gardening.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Reviews from original edition: "If you’ve always dreamed of composing a beautiful landscape with layers of plant materials then this thick handbook will provide more than just streams of information, it is also a fountain of inspiration." —The Seattl --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Ann Lovejoy is a weekly garden columnist for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and the author of 18 books. She lives on Bainbridge Island, WA. Photographer Janet Loughrey lives in Portland, OR. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Sasquatch Books (October 28, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157061198X
• ISBN-13: 978-1570611988
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,517,743 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy, natural gardening, February 6, 2004

By 

Valerie Adolph "Coast Journal" (Pacific Northwest) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Ann Lovejoy Handbook of Northwest Gardening: Natural-Sustainable-Organic (Paperback)

I always look forward to a new gardening book from Ann Lovejoy and this one did not disappoint. Beautifully illustrated with Janet Loughrey's color photographs, this book is full of practical ideas for creating a Northwest garden that is both beautiful and easy to care for.

The writer's mantra "Natural, sustainable, organic" pervades the whole book - fourteen densely packed chapters covering topics from "Sustainable Garden Design" to selecting different types of plants. In the chapter on garden design she outlines what she considers to be the ten issues of good garden design. They are good, basic common sense, but so easy to ignore or forget. In just a couple of pages the writer addresses them briefly but vividly, then goes on to suggest how you might start your garden planning from an assessment of your garden's assets and liabilities.

One of Ann Lovejoy's strengths is her knowledge of and commitment to all aspects of sustainable natural gardening. She presents this thoroughly without being wordy (quite a trick in itself) and points out that natural gardening - working with nature - is far easier and more satisfying than trying to control nature.

In the chapters on plant selection the reader is guided in the choice of trees, shrubs, perennials etc that are not just pretty, or fashionable this year, but that will really work well in a specific place in your garden. Careful plant choices mean a minimum of stress for the plant and a minimum of effort for the gardener.

This writer's particular talent is her ability to combine practicality with vision. Her books, while primarily written for the gardener in the Pacific Northwest, contain much that is of value to gardeners elsewhere.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful information and enjoyable read., March 23, 2008

By 

L. Payne - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Ann Lovejoy Handbook of Northwest Gardening, Revised Edition: Natural : Sustainable : Organic (Paperback)

I usually do not buy what I call "How To" books as I can skim what I want in the book store. I purchased this book as a skim read too, hoping only to get some good info for my PNW area.
Once I started the book though, I couldn't put it down. It was a great read and full on information. There was no dryness or boredom at all. Ann is great at entertaining you while educating you and keeping you interested. One of those teachers that makes you enjoy the class.
I would recommend having your highlighter ready. I did highlight certain things I came across that I wanted to be able to flip to easy.
I definetly recommend this book to any gardener beginner and already educated. It is full of ggod information on how to make your garden grow and work for you.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the essential book for the northwest, December 29, 2007

By 

slug bait (PDX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ann Lovejoy Handbook of Northwest Gardening, Revised Edition: Natural : Sustainable : Organic (Paperback)

I love all of Ann Lovejoy's books for her straight forward style of writing and gardening and the photography is always wonderful too. I checked this book out several times (after long waiting lists) from the library and finally decided i didn't want to share it anymore! If you live in our amazing Pac.N.W. and love to garden, this is the only book you really need.