Rodale's Weekend Gardener: Create a Low-Maintenance Landscape to Enjoy Year-Round [Hardcover]

Erin Hynes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1998

From "Making the Least of Garden Care" to "Picking Unpicky Plants", "Rodale's Weekend Gardener" gives homeowners the know-how they need to have a great-looking garden. Attractive projects, from a checkerboard patio to a compost heap, are simple to make and complete the weekend garden look. Includes an encyclopedia of low-maintenance plants and no-nonsense plant care tips. 200 color photos .

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Can home owners create an interesting, satisfying landscape without the support of an army of gardening help and while maintaining a life outside their garden? The answer from Hynes, coauthor of Great Garden Shortcuts (1996), who admits to spending most of her days "earning a living, raising a child, doing volunteer work," is an unequivocal yes. After enumerating the most energy-intensive gardening chores, she suggests solutions for minimizing such tasks as watering, mowing, weeding and fertilizing. Hynes also urges readers to lighten their workload in the section "Picking Unpicky Plants." Her comprehensively annoted list of such plants includes annual, perennial and biennial flowers, ground covers, grasses, trees and shrubs, and some of the less demanding varieties of vegetables. No aspect of gardening is too insignificant for her attention, as in the reminder that mowing a lawn next to a perennial border is easier if the flower bed has curved rather than straight edges. Also included are plans for such weekend building projects as planters and window boxes, trellises, compost bins, walkways and patios. Hynes's chatty, personable prose adds stylistic appeal to her sound and practical advice.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Hynes (Improving the Boil, Rodale, 1994) gives us a straightforward book geared especially for homeowners long on gardening enthusiasm but short on time and resources. The author begins by taking the weekend gardener through the planning stage without the demands of exacting grid drawings. In addition, Hynes gives readers enough gardening essentials for a basic understanding of soil, sod, tools, plant nutrition and care, and disease and pest control. A "Weekend Gardener's Encyclopedia," including descriptions of the easiest plants to grow as well as a chapter on simple and useful construction projects, is included. The author's easygoing, reassuring writing style and the excellent color photographs make this book an ideal purchase for beginner and intermediate gardeners. Recommended for all public and horticultural libraries.?Art Wolk, Camden Cty. Lib., Winslow Twshp., NJ
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 351 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Pr (February 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0875968031
• ISBN-13: 978-0875968032
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,549,921 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book for the busy gardener., October 20, 2002

By 

Sharon Wylie (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rodale's Weekend Gardener: Create a Low-Maintenance Landscape to Enjoy Year-Round (Hardcover)

This is a truly wonderful book that will help you rethink your approach to gardening. The emphasis is on careful planning of your garden design and smart selection of plants, all to save you time and work in the future. The most useful part of the book is undoubtedly the "Picking Unpicky Plants" section, which includes lists of vegetables, herbs, annuals, perennials and biennials, bulbs, trees, shrubs, and ornamental grasses. The last portion of the book is "Easy Projects for the Weekend Gardener," an excellent source for quick ideas for your garden, such as "A Quick Walk," a garden path that can be created in a few hours and won't be overrun by weeds.

Despite its limited availability, this book is a must-have for anyone who enjoys having a garden but doesn't want to spend their every spare moment working on it.