Caring for Perennials: What to Do and When to Do It

I bought this book because the subtitle, What to Do and When to Do It, precisely captured my state of confusion as a new gardener. I don't always know how to do a thing and just as often don't know when to do it either! The author takes us through a full year's worth of work, beginning with using a garden diagram and proceeding through finding plants and tools, pruning, weeding, mulching, watering and fertilizing, pest control, maintenance and getting ready for the next season. The book concludes with a chart of instructions for particular species of perennials, an index and a bibliography. The chart, in fitting with the emphasis of the book, instructs in each plant's proper care and is divided into months, April through November. The first chapter, kind of an overview of the year-in-gardening approach, has many color photographs, and the rest of the book contains many line drawings to illustrate techniques. Quite nice and very helpful.

The methodology for tending the garden outlined by the author is superb. We have been tending a large garden for five years now. By using the author's weeding and mulching techniques and schedule, we are able to balance the garden work with our full-time jobs and never be at risk of being overtaken by weeds. The work is more heavily loaded in the spring and fall, but that is a nice time for doing this type of work. Also, I love cruising through the summer with only the lightest maintenance required. Regarding the book itself, the writing style is personable and witty. Also, the explanations are thorough, without being boring or condescending. This is my first resource to consult when I have a question.

For me, an eager, bright, but fairly inexperienced gardener, this book has been a godsend. Here are the steps to take, month by month, to achieve the garden you dream about when you read all the plant catalogues. Macunovich is a friendly voice at your back, pushing you to do those boring chores now rather than later (you'll appreciate it) and reassuring you when things don't quite go as you planned (it happens to the best). This is a step by step how-to book, yet more. My favorite line concerns the inevitability of black labrador retrievers blundering through newly planted parts of the garden to happily greet the gardener.

Janet Macunovich and Steve Nikkila have done a wonderful job of organizing this book. It is a month to month compilation of things to do in the garden. You see the garden before it has been replanted. The author tells the reader what is wrong with the garden and then proceeds through the growing season with lists of things the gardener needs to accomplish. The time spent in the garden is minimal for lasting results. This book is useful and definitely a keeper.