Customer Reviews

Taylor's Weekend Gardening Guide to the Winter Garden: Plants That Offer Color and Beauty in Every Season of the Year (Taylor's Weekend Gardening Guides (Houghton Mifflin))

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For those who live in cold climates, or those who want to be assured of some year-round interest from their plantings, this is a good source of ideas. The Winter Garden lists (with many color photographs) plants of all types and sizes which remain interesting in winter for their color, shape, berries, or texture. It's a good book to read for gardeners who are suffering from let down when the blooming season passes. I found this bit of advice useful: plan any landscape as if it were a winter landscape. Then you will be assured of some beauty all year, and even more so when the flowers do finally pop up. Also, plant an evergreen shrub and maybe some ornamental grass (or Christmas ferns) in the center of a garden bed; colorful annuals and perennials can surround this when weather permits.

The author suggests that you plan your garden with winter in mind. She explains which plants need special care and how to care for them. She shows how to improve plant survival, where and how to plant more sensitive species to avoid damage from snow or frost, how to protect plants from frozen soil, etc.

Buchanan organizes her book by plants that stay green over winter (evergreens), have showy bark or twigs, bear fruits or berries, and by grasses and first flowers. Within each group, she suggests several plants and describes them (look, height, light requirements, growing zone, and attraction points). About a quarter of the plants are shown in photographs. The book is a great reference for anyone interested in creating a year-round attractive garden.