1001 Hints & Tips for Your Garden by Reader's Digest (1996)

If you have any question about your yard or garden, then you ll probably find the answer in 1001 Hints & Tips for Your Garden: An Indispensable Guide to Easier and More Effective Gardening by Reader s Digest. Heck, you ll find answers to questions you never even thought to ask like: Which flowers in my yard can I eat?

1001 Hints & Tips is set up like an encyclopedia from A to Z and then cross-referenced in the back with a super index. Since I m thinking about putting in some shrubs in front of the house for privacy, I looked under S for shrubs. I also found information in noise control and when I was looking for red plants (dogwood shrub and dwarf nandini).

With all the photos and diagrams (this is set up kind of like the wonderful DK books for kids or like an online page), this isn t a book I put on the shelf and only pull out when I have a question or problem. I sit down with this book out and flip through to get ideas. Though some of the projects would be pretty difficult like building natural steps for a slope, there are loads of things I can do without a lot of extra expense or effort. They show how to make flower ice cubes, soap with herbs, and give directions for drying onions from the garden for winter use. Most ideas are simple and cost effective. They show how to use a plastic soda bottle to make a wasp trap for example.

There are special sections in the book that are really helpful. One part of the book breaks flowers down by color and then by area of the country. I see from a big map divided into 4 sections in the front that I live in a warm area. Then I look for red flowers and get a year round list of red so that I could have splashes of this bright color from January to December. Near the back, they have a month-by-month section (also divided by sections of the country) with the various garden chores that should be covered each time of year. After I butchered the boxwoods during the wrong season and lived with naked bushes for a long time, I m glad to know when to do specific things like trim.

With so much information in one big coffee-table style book, some portions simply hit the highlights. I wouldn t depend completely on this book if I wanted to grow a rose garden or build an arbor for grapes. Still, I d have the general idea and would know what questions to ask at the local garden shop or Lowe s.

If I could have ONLY one garden book, this would be a wonderful pick. It s packed with great information (though I would note that they say to put red food coloring in the hummingbird juice which isn t a good idea). The data is presented so beatifically that this is a book that can sit out and be enjoyed year-round. I keep mine on the glass porch and can look and dream in the evenings when I take a break and relax.

If you re a new or armchair gardener, then consider this as a starter book. Though the list price is pretty high, there are a lot of used copies available online. I bought mine for $5.00. It s one of the best investments I ve made in a long time.