Scotts Lawns: Your Guide to a Beautiful Yard [Paperback]

Nick Christians (Author), Ashton Ritchie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 15, 2002

Comprehensive guide on lawn-care activities published by the worldÂ’s leading lawn authority.

Explains better ways to mow, weed, fertilize, troubleshoot, and treat for pests.

Includes information on buying or renting lawn-care equipment and other products.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

With this book, you'll find answers and see results.
* Seeding
* Fertilizing
* Mowing
* Watering
* Aerating
* Problem solving
* Equipment Myths
* Techniques

From the first name in lawns comes the last word on lawn care! Scotts Lawns brings you all the experience and insight of the nation's foremost experts on growing the perfect lawn. Here you'll find the secrets of success for your yard -- you'll have fewer weeds and greener grass -- all explained in easy-to-follow steps. You'll be amazed by how uncomplicated it is, and your neighbors will be asking you for your secrets.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Scotts; 1st edition (February 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0696212706
• ISBN-13: 978-0696212703
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #696,694 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nick E. Christians is a University Professor of horticulture at Iowa State University, in Ames, Iowa, where he has taught courses and conducted research on turfgrass management and physiology since 1979. He received his B.S. degree from Colorado State University in 1972, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Ohio State University in 1977 and 1979, respectively. He has published more than 1000 technical papers, popular articles, published research reports, book chapters, and abstracts. He is coauthor of The Mathematics of Turfgrass Maintenance, 4th ed., Weed Control in Turf and Ornamentals by Turgeon, McCarty, and Christians published by Prentice Hall, and of Scotts Lawns: Your Guide to a Beautiful Yard. Dr. Christians has served as an invited speaker at professional conferences around the United States and has delivered invited seminars in Austria, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Spain. He has also presented many seminars nationally as part of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) educational program on both turfgrass management and mathematics. His awards include the Iowa State University Award for Excellence in Academic Advising, promotion to University Professor in 2000, the Outstanding Educator Award from the American Society of Horticultural Science, the Iowa Legislative Teaching Excellence Award, the Iowa Inventor of the Year Award for 1998, R&D 100 Award 1996, and the Louis Thompson Advisor of the Year Award from the Iowa State University College of Agriculture. He was made a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy in 1995 and a Fellow of the Crop Science Society of America in 1996.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The ultimate guide on lawn care., April 19, 2005

By 

M. Blum - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Scotts Lawns: Your Guide to a Beautiful Yard (Paperback)

This is a great book! It is the only book on lawn care you will ever need. I was looking for a book to prepare to install a new lawn in my backyard from scratch, and to learn how to improve the condition of my front yard. It contains any and all information you might ever need to address any lawn issue. It is well-written and very user friendly and well-organized, with excellent full-color pictures, checklists, charts and summaries. I also compared this book to "The Lawn Bible", which I checked out from my local library. I found this book far superior. The large pictures make it easy to identify specific weeds and types of grass as well as various lawn conditions and pest issues to help diagnose your lawn problems. "The Lawn Bible" is a good book, but it has no pictures, only line drawings, and is not as user friendly or as useful as a quick reference. I mention this because I see that book rated a little higher than this book and people might be interested to see the two compared.

Don't let the fact that it is from Scotts throw you. It is not an advertisement for the company, and there is virtually no product pushing in the book. Scotts products are just used in some pictures. I couldn't recommend this book more highly. It is truly the ultimate guide on lawn care.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good reference, May 19, 2003

By 

Reader (Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Scotts Lawns: Your Guide to a Beautiful Yard (Paperback)

Worth the price just for the extensive section on weed indentification and eradication with color pictures. Since they have drastically cut back extension agents and services in our area who used to be able to field lawn questions, this is an invaluable reference for the homeowner.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Probably the Best, December 29, 2005

By 

L. Zajicek "ArtIsLove" (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Scotts Lawns: Your Guide to a Beautiful Yard (Paperback)

"Holy caRRRnations, Mary. Take a look at this!", you might exclaim for seeing this book the first time. "Look at the clever propaganda of Scotts trying to sell us more of their products!" Well, you might think that . . . but you're wrong. You and I have the advantage -- yeap, GREAT advantage -- of living in the Information Age. And in the process of trying "to sell us more of their Scotts products" -- for those of you for who the glass is half-empty -- Messrs. Nick Christians and Ashton Ritchie have provided us not only with probably the best book on lawns, but invaluable information on lawn care from A to Z.

The chapters of "Scotts Lawns: Your Guide to a Beautiful Yard" are: (1) "Your Dream Lawn" (an introduction), (2) "Fertilizing", (3) "Watering", (4) "Mowing", (5) "Managing Thatch", (6) "Troubleshooting" (this just might be the best chapter which describes methods of how to cure a lawn from pests, diseases and weeds), (7) "Reviving your Lawn", (8) "Brand New Lawn", and "Resources & Index." Beautifully laid out and photographed, written in a user-friendly style, and interspersed with excellent tips and advice, Messrs. Christians and Ritchie have produced an accessible yet comprehensive guide for the novice or the professional. I have recommended this book to many friends who have returned to me after having bought it and said, "This IS the best book on lawns! It has EVERYTHING." It really does. And although I, personally, cannot say that this is the best book on lawns for simply not having read any other book on this matter (I feel that I don't need to), I would put it to you this way: you will be hard-pressed to find a better book on lawn care than this one! By following the steps outlined in this book, you will obtain a lawn . . . that even Louis XIV would be proud of.