In a Southern Garden: Twelve Months of Plants and Observations [Hardcover]

Carol Bishop Hipps (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1995

Here southern gardeners will learn where to find the plants that will thrive in their region, and how to treat the plants that share the colder climates. Organized by month, the book leads the reader through the seasons with detailed advice on what to plant, and when and where to plant it. 30 full-color illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Reading Hipps is like visiting on the veranda with a good friend who's articulate, funny and an expert gardener to boot. Her elegant prose ("Only in March may one glimpse a frothy white pear tree sporting a single perfect cardinal like a boutonniere") has often graced the pages of Horticulture magazine. This, her first book, is equally well informed and witty: she describes the spiny yucca as "a wicked plant. Just the thing to mass beneath a wayward teenage daughter's window." Although written from her vantage point in Huntsville, Ala., this volume is definitely not just for Southern gardeners; enthusiasts in every region will find much to enjoy and profit from here. Organized around the calendar year, the chapters examine seasonal highlights of Hipps's own garden, share information on subjects ranging from propagation to slug control and bolster everything with expansive, eclectic plant lists. An index would have been helpful, but the pleasures of this book make that a faint complaint.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

A gracious spirit enhances the authoritative horticultural counsel Hipps provides in a journal focusing attention on the particular foibles and triumphs one may expect to contend with in gardens of this country's southern regions. A month-by-month format finds Hipps musing on trees, shrubs, and perennials of all kinds, with detailed information on an eye-opening array of native species, varieties, and cultivars. It makes for good reading and should stir the interest of experienced gardeners hungry for new ideas. Although many of these plants may be grown in the North, the rhythm of the growth cycle that Hipps describes is characteristic of southern climes. A delightful, informative book, displaying a good number of full-color illustrations. Alice Joyce

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Macmillan General Reference (February 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067187151X
• ISBN-13: 978-0671871512
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,385,081 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A delightful visit with a gardener, March 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: In a Southern Garden: Twelve Months of Plants and Observations (Hardcover)

I recieved this book as a gift several years ago, and since then I have bought many copies to give to gardening friends. I have gleaned a lot of useful information from this book for my own southern garden, but even more importantly, I always feel like I have read a letter from a friend when I read a chapter.

This book is not meant to be an encyclopedia. It is a garden conversation, casual, amusing, and utterly unpretentious. I read this book the way I read a novel, and I find something to love in every page. This is a perfect book for a cold or rainy day when I can't get into the garden.

If you want an detailed garden encyclopedia, there are plenty on the market. If you want to wander through a wonderful garden with a smart, funny woman, read In A Southern Garden.

4.0 out of 5 stars Not quite the classic that is advertised to be, September 13, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: In a Southern Garden: Twelve Months of Plants and Observations (Hardcover)

This is a good gardening book for Southern gardeners to read but I do have reservations. I have had this book on my shelf for over a year and when I am researching a plant, I usually look to see if it is discussed. If it is, there will be good useful information, sometimes. Most often, however, the plant in question will not be listed.
The book is better used as a narrative about the joys of plants and growing particular plants. More photographs would have been most welcome and would have added greatly to the content. Overall, an enjoyable read with some useful information, but not a classic as in the Elizabeth Lawrence category.