Successful Southern Gardening: A Practical Guide for Year-round Beauty [Paperback]

Sandra F. Ladendorf (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1989

In this practical, how-to book on the problems and possibilities of gardening in the tricky environments officially known as zones 7 and 8, Ladendorf draws on her own experience, interviews and research for her weekly newspaper column, and visits to hundreds of public and private gardens. Although this book will be particularly helpful to novice gardeners and newcomers to the area, it also offers a vast amount of current information for the seasoned gardener.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ladendorf, garden columnist for the News and Observer in Raleigh, N.C., has grown "lilacs and asters in Connecticut, raphiolepsis, calochortus, and ceonothus in California, and hardy rhododendrons and sweet peas in Michigan," and is now "luxuriating in the beauty of azaleas, lycoris, crinums, and numerous southeastern native plants" in Chapel Hill. Her experience gardening in such wide-ranging climates has helped her screen hundreds of species for their adaptability to her North Carolina home. Making no attempt to recommend plants for the far reaches of thevast and varied area called the South, Ladendorf restricts her counsel to zones 7 and 8--but knowledgeable gardeners in other parts of the South can apply her advice to their own turf. She counts on and quotes from a superb network of amateur and professional horticulturists, including those associated with the North Carolina Botanical Garden. Her book is accurate and delightful to read, though meant for gardeners with a greener-than-average thumb; beginners will have to grow into it. Illustrations.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

As a Northerner [Ladendorf] brings special insights to her book.

Christian Science Monitor

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press (March 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807842419
• ISBN-13: 978-0807842416
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,174,806 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Helpful for beginners...., August 19, 2000

By 

Dianne Foster "Di" (USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Successful Southern Gardening: A Practical Guide for Year-round Beauty (Paperback)

Sandra Ladendorf has written a guide for "Southern Gardeners" which she defines as gardens in a land area stretching from southern Long Island New York to the far Southwest -- Zone 7 and Zone 8 on the USDA map.

This is a helpful book for garden beginners. Ladendorf covers the many flowers, perennial and annual, one might try with some success. One chapter covers lawn care (which I don't do as it's destructive to the environment), and another covers shrubs. She has a separate section on Azaleas and Rhododendrons.

The paperback version is printed on semi-gloss paper so it can withstand some moisture if you haul it outside on the deck. I am not investing in the hardcover version as I will give this book away to a new gardener. There are many nice illustrations and decent color photographs that will help one identify the more common plants. Ladendorf includes more text than photographs, often a good sign in a "how-to" book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love it!, January 21, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Successful Southern Gardening: A Practical Guide for Year-round Beauty (Paperback)

Great book, I use it as my bible for all outdoor spaces.