Monroe County Master Gardener Association

Michele Buberniak send me the following book reviews to post. She will have a couple more soon for our Newsletter as well. Enjoy

Now that the holidays are over and the new year has begun many of us begin to look to the future with hope and anticipation. These feelings may apply to goals for life in general as well as to our plans for our yards and gardens. The growing season is not far away, soon it will be March and we can start some of our spring yard work. For many of us, our memories are selective, we may forget the challenges we had with a project or particular plant and we are ready to get outside and try again.

Here are some new book titles that you may enjoy while counting off the days until Spring!

Seeing flowers : discover the hidden life of flowers photography by Robert Llewellyn ; text by Teri Dunn Chace 2013
Botanical drawings from the past are truly amazing, talented artists drew and painted flowers and other plants with incredible detail , their eyes and hands doing what cameras do for us today. Although there has been a renewed interest in botanical illustration in the past few decades, the majority of work is done with photos .In this book, photographer Robert Llewellyn has produced stunning images of some flowers in twenty- eight of the most common plant families using a variety of techniques. The photos have a white, backlit appearance reminiscent of botanical drawings and are quite striking .In many cases, this lighting makes the petals appear translucent, and it enhances the beauty of the blooms in a way we cannot visualize in a garden setting.
Teri Dunn Chase provided the text that accompanies the photos in each plant family section As a writer and editor, she has contributed to many publications such as Horticulture and North American Gardener , and books including How to Eradicate Invasive Plants and The Anxious Gardener’s Book of Answers to name a few.
Beautiful as well as informative, the inclusion of the plant family names will educate those that may have forgotten or not known the scientific categories of some of their favorite plants. The Buttercup Family (Ranunculaceae) section was especially intriguing and surprising. Take time to enjoy it all!

Garden rescue : first aid for plants and flowers by Jo Whittingham DK publishers American edition 2013.
As with all DK (Dorling Kindersley) publications, this book has great photos and clear large text that helps the reader or browser gather information at a glance. Written for those new to gardening and the problems that can come with it, this book may also serve as a refresher for experienced growers. The book is divided into sections that include vegetables and fruits as well as ornamental plants, with information on trees, shrubs, climbers, perennials bulbs and bedding plants as well as the lawn. The very first section is entitled “Know Your Garden”, and it explains how plants work , and the importance of the right site and soil. Especially helpful within this heading are the two page spreads that explain what is normal for the plant categories. The “Don’t Panic” pages will make you smile and may even teach you something you don’t already know. Although more academic diagnostic books have been published , this book is helpful with charts useful in identifying problems and info “bites”. You may want to recommend it to a beginner and supplement it with an MSU publication. The photos of the pests could have been larger for identification purposes but it is a start for further research. The author, Jo Whittingham is a garden writer with a postgraduate degree in horticulture, and was educated in the United Kingdom. She has also written two other books under this publisher for the Royal Horticultural Society. DK also publishes many gardening titles with the American Horticultural Society in the United States market.