Handmade Garden Projects by Lorene Edwards Forkner

Story: 9
Presentation: 9
Total: 18
Publisher: Timber Press
Non-Fiction
To Purchase

Blurb: You can transform your garden into a handmade, personality-infused oasis. Author Lorene Edwards Forkner — part eco-friendly non-traditionalist, part crafty creative — will show you how.

Projects run the gamut from eye-catching structures, like a pergola made from plumbing pipes, to imaginative details, like a tree-hung chandelier for nighttime ambiance. You'll also find helpful plant guides to accompany projects: delectable herbs to fill a stacking container tower, stellar succulents for a vertical gutter garden, glorious flowering vines to climb a bamboo obelisk, and so much more.

Ready to get started? All you need are refreshingly simple, inexpensive materials — hardware store basics, salvaged goods, repurposed castoffs from cluttered basements — along with a little do-it-yourself spirit. With clear instructions and inspiring variations on every theme, this book is easy to follow and easy to love. Your journey to a made-from-scratch outdoor space starts here.

Review: Colorful images with easy to follow instructions made this DIY guide a winner for me :) Like most gardeners, I want my pace to be inviting and comfortable...but I also want it to be beautiful. And sometime just a little help to get it that way :) I am SOOOOOO glad I got to review this book :f ideas for my garden space and some girlfriends who are rushing out to buy their own copies :)

A MUST READ for gardeners :)

Waterwise Plants for Sustainable Gardens by Scott Ogden and Lauren Springer Ogden

Story: 10
Presentation: 10
Total: 20
Publisher: Timber Press
Gardening
To Purchase

Blurb: People everywhere are facing the realities of restricted water availability. Yet sustainable gardens and landscapes that use less water don't have to be boring. The key to keeping your garden beautiful and waterwise is intelligent plant choice.

This practical and inspiring guide includes all kinds of plants — from trees to succulents, from perennials to bulbs — selected for their wide adaptability and ornamental value. And whereas most books on drought-tolerant plants focus on southwestern, high desert, or Mediterranean climates, the Ogdens cover both humid and arid parts of zones 4 to 10 and offer choices for gardens from coast to coast.

Each of the 200 entries states where the plant is best adapted, along with its light needs, soil preference, and mature size. Well over 100 related waterwise plants are also mentioned, expanding your options even further. What's more, the authors tell why each plant deserves to be in gardens and suggest creative design ideas and good companion plants.

Review: A very informative guide for those of use who live in the middle of water strapped states, but still love to garden. While many of these plants were not new to me I did come across several that gained my interest and respect. I have to say hats off to the authors. I was well pleased with this collection and plan on making it a permanent addition to my library.