Trees, Shrubs & Lawns

When I moved here several years ago I was new to the South and to gardening. My husband bought me this book and it has been my constant companion. It is the first book I turn to when I need a tree or shrub for an area, and Mr. Hastings is always the final determinant of whether the choice I made was a good one. I've landscaped two properties, and the book seems to grow with me as I need it.

Don Hastings is a true plantsman of the South. Every gardener in the region knows the Hastings name due to the huge mail-order seed business the family owned for generations. And of course, down South family name is everything! Hastings shares the wealth in his Gardening in the South series. I've read many gardening books. The difference here is that, first, it is written for my part of the country. Others are often written with a Northeast focus that just doesn't apply to our heat and humidity. Second, Hastings is not shy about expressing a definitive opinion. If your new house has a silver maple, "Prune it at the ground with a chainsaw," Don advises. There are other writers you can read twice and still not be sure if they're for it or agin it. Live down South? Got a yard? Better buy this book