Complete Book Of Edible Landscaping: Home Landscaping [Paperback]

 

 

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I have a couple of minor criticisms about this book, so let me begin with those. Firstly, it is showing its age. It makes frequent reference in the early chapters to the water shortages and environmental disasters that were widely expected to occur by the end of the century. As you know by now, those never really materialised. There is still plenty of reason to be concerned about the way American society (mis)uses resources, but the threat is neither as immediate or as dire as the author makes out.

Secondly, in the suggestions on building planters, and retaining walls, the author fails to note the potential dangers of CCA treated lumber (now being phased out) and railroad ties treated with creosote.

Lastly, more color illustrations would have been nice. Those that are there are very good. The b&w drawings are nice, but not as good as photos.

Those criticisms out of the way, the book is excellent. The first few chapters provide the rationale for edible landscaping, then introduces the principles of landscaping, giving numerous examples of applying different themes to different climates. The chapters on techniques, especially in relation to trees (the basics of pruning, and plenty of advice on espaliering) are particularly good. An entire chapter is devoted to identifying insects and dealing with the undesirables.

The second half of the book is a plant encylopedia. Handy to have in one volume, but if you already have a good plant encyclopedia, it is probably redundant.

I grew up in a garden designed using this book, and now I am working on designing my own. It is a teriffic book with a lot of information about different edible plants and how to design an edible landscape. The only drawbacks are (1) it's a bit dated (new smaller rootstalks let you have smaller trees than you could in '82) and (2) it's a little bit california-centric.

I love this book. I'm not a professional gardener, just a homeowner with a passion for gardening, and an interest in more sustainable and environmentally inclined gardening ideas and techniques. I believe this book has information that would be of benefit to almost any level of gardener. The author covers every aspect of gardening and landscape design in a very in thorough manner that is as informative as it is easy to read. For those who want to delve into related subjects she makes suggestions for additional reading that I found very helpful. Her encyclopedia of plants is extensive. The astounding list of plant and seed suppliers she has compiled is a great benefit. If there be any fault in the book, it is that it is somewhat dated with the most recent edition being 1982. Her coverage of drip irrigation reflects this. Otherwise it is superb book!

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