In this introduction to sustainable landscaping practices, Linda Chalker-Scott addresses the most common myths and misconceptions that plague home ...
read full description
reviews
Jun 07, 2011
jess
rated it: 
One of my biggest scientific pet peeves is the misuse of "common sense" where people rationalize something completely irrational by "common sense-ing" their way down the completely wrong path. I think I'm guilty of it sometimes. We probably all are. But when you do that in the plant world, you can kill plants, waste money and time, create dangerous or unhealthy landscapes, and provide your own personal non-point pollution sources! Linda Chalker-Scott takes on many "commo
More...
Sep 13, 2011
Joy
rated it:
I like this book a lot. For one thing, it single-handedly explained why voles are attacking my garden--it's because of sheet mulching. Once I understood why the vole infestation was happening, I was able to correct the situation. (Knock wood.) In a lot of ways, this book simplifies gardening and explains problems that trendy techniques, such as sheet mulching, can bring. I'm curious to try her methods of mulching and root pruning too.
But while this book reinforced many common-sense More...
But while this book reinforced many common-sense More...
May 09, 2010
penny
rated it: 
Several websites (which ones, I don't remember) cited this book as a much read for the home gardener, despite those glowing recommendations I found Chalker-Scott's slim and informative book difficult to get through. I don't deny that it is important to cut through both the biased hype found in many garden centers or the waste-of-time folk-lore that is out there, but her style implying that dot-com as evil and everything peer-reviewed or dot-edu as the holy writ really turned me off. I know there
More...
Jan 31, 2010
Tony
rated it:
Very informative book where the author confronts many garden myths with scientific backed reality checks and bottom-line recommendations. This is the first book in the author's series. Both books would be especially useful to master gardeners for the purpose of giving home gardeners logical advice counter to a lot of advertising hype. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys gardening and is looking for way to be more productive without spending money on commercial products that more times tha
More...
Jan 15, 2009
Elaine
rated it:
Even more Science! I love her hard-nosed tone, too. As a bonus, she's at the WSU Extension in Puyallup, practically right up the road. (I even went to a retreat there at a former job.) And nice to know that the Neighborwoods folks are giving the most up-to-date scientific advice about planting and maintaining trees! Shallow holes, good; staking & topping, bad.
Jun 08, 2010
Jen
rated it:
A gift from my loving husband, this book had a good collection of short columns debunking some common gardening myth and practice. Each article was short - two pages or so with associated scientific and peer-reviewed supporting biblio. Good stuff, some common sense, but not a "how to" guide - generally useful for re-examining basics.
Jul 20, 2009
Sarah
rated it:
This is a collection of myth/reality exposes on gardening. The author is obviously very experienced and well-informed, my only issue with the book is that its focus is on permanent landscape plants and my interest is primarily annual vegetables and other edibles. However, it was a good reminder to question the popular "wisdom".
Mar 11, 2009
P
rated it: 
This book is a compilation of newspaper columns. It contains some good, solid, scientific advice. Excellent chapter endnotes. It is a very quick read, but after reading the book, I felt that a lot of the information was superficial and the writing style was quite terse and unfriendly. I felt like the author was talking down to me. Jeff Gilman's books written better and give you more bang for your buck.
This book could have been so much better if it was divided into topical chapte More...
This book could have been so much better if it was divided into topical chapte More...
Feb 06, 2012
Jan 30, 2012
Jan 25, 2012
Dec 21, 2011
Nov 15, 2011
Nov 04, 2011
Aug 03, 2011
Jun 10, 2011
Jun 08, 2011
Jul 26, 2010
May 08, 2010
May 04, 2010
