Weeds: Friend or Foe?

by Sally Roth

Accompanied by informative anecdotes, case studies, and full-color photographs, an authoritative resource provides a wealth of advice and tips for identifying, controlling, and utilizing more than seventy-five types of weeds in the garden.

Genres: Plants, Gardening, Nature

176 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Sally Roth is an award-winning author of 20 or so popular books about birds, nature, and gardening, including the best-selling "Backyard Bird Feeder's Bible," and a contributing editor for "Birds & Blooms" magazine.

Her latest book is "An Eye on the Sparrow: The Bird Lover's Bible," which uses quotes from the Bible as a jumping-off point for examining the natural behavior of the birds behind those Scriptures. It's a bird book, and it's for everyone, religious or not.

Sally's also an enthusiastic public speaker, whether it's grabbing a stranger on the street ("Hey, want to see something cool?") or talking to an audience of hundreds ("Hey, want to see something cool?"). She'll be appearing in the Michiana area (northern Indiana/Michigan) in early spring of 2013, as well as other places.

She and her husband Matt Bartmann share their home in the high Rockies with two dogs, one cat, a family of pine squirrels, a hard-working packrat named Sisyphus, a spotted skunk who lives beneath the house, a well-fed bunch of birds at the feeder, and a stable of old Volvos.

Come visit us at www.sallyroth.com. We'd love to see you!

Reviews

[Liza Lehman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is easy to read in an afternoon and is full of information on several plants we consider weeds. If applicable, herbal, medicinal, and culinary benefits are listed as well as how the weeds benefit nature. There are also several sections on how to get rid of weeds or maintain them if you decide to keep them.

[Christina]

Weeding my gardening books, and here is a book on weeds! I skimmed through this and paused at a few weeds I recognize. There are photos of the weeds, along with information on their uses and how to get rid of them.

Verdict: Useful reference, keep.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely book packed with information on ways to use weeds and ways to remove them. The pictures are not always detailed enough to allow for identification of the plants.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not all weeds are unlovable as garden plants and this book suggests ways to use their feral traits to advantage. Excellent format so it easy to return to for information should a trialed weed become an apparent monster. Ideas for spreading root and seed control are included both in general and specific to the weed.

[Laura Gilfillan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book, and got quite a bit of information from it. I liked the presentation of the potential advantages and disadvantages of naturally growing plants. The photographs are beautiful, but often fail to be the sort of illustrations one can actually use to identify the plant, as a result of which, in many of the entries, I wasn't quite sure which plant was being discussed.

[Dragon · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE THIS BOOK! I go around my yard, town, looking for this little gems that are so eager to grow. I enjoy the positve and negative facts for every plant.

[JL · Rating 4 out of 5]

At least 3 1/2 stars, they could have gone into depth for some things but overall a good starting book.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

pros: I appreciate that the book doesn't treat weeds as evil all the time in all places. But as plants that might have bad habits that don't work out in certain areas of gardening. The friend or foe breakdown has great information on how to use the plants in alternative ways, such as an infusion or wound care. it helped change my opinions of some common weeds in my yard.
cons: the pictures are horrible for identification. they talk about removing seedlings to get a head start and stop spread, but they don't show you a picture of a seedling. A lot of the pictures are close ups and blurry. Please change out the photos for nice shots of weeds at various growth stages.