Book Description

From the original TAYLOR'S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF GARDENING, published in 1936, to the current best-selling Taylor's Master Guide to Gardening, the Taylor name has stood for the very best information available to American gardeners. Now this all-new series extends the market to new gardeners (and new garden-book buyers). Like the other best-selling members of the Taylor's Guide family, Taylor's Weekend Gardening Guides including: Safe and Easy Lawn Care; Window Boxes; Organic Pest and Disease Control; and Birds and Butterflies; offer the exceptionally high standards of excellence that gardeners have come to rely on. The Weekend Gardening Guides are designed for gardeners who are looking for practical information on specific topics from a source they can trust. Attractively priced and beautifully illustrated with more than 50 full-color photos and helpful color drawings, each Taylor's Weekend Gardening Guide is written by a popular, respected, and nationally known gardening expert. ... Read more

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GRASSES AND HOW TO IDENTIFY THEM
THIS BOOK ON GRASS IS A REAL GOOD BOOK FOR PEOPLE INTERESTED IN LEARNING A LOT OVER IDENTIFICATION OF GRASSES. ... Read more

Book Description

To see an unimproved meadow in bloom is a great delight – the community of flowers and grasses is rich and colourful as are the butterflies, moths and other fauna that go with it. No wonder, then, with the biodiversity of our countryside fast disappearing, that meadow gardening has become fashionable and a book on the subject is so timely. No one could tackle the subject of wild gardening in grass like Christopher Lloyd, whose celebrated garden at Great Dixter includes the flower-studded lawns and orchards admired by countless visitors and television viewers. In Meadows, he explores the development and management of established meadow areas, ways of starting from scratch in a garden setting and the hundreds of beautiful grasses, bulbs and colourful perennials that thrive in different conditions.

Lloyd’s own experimental prairie is a springboard to discussing North American prairies and the plants that provide swathes of color in late summer and interest into winter. He also explores wider issues --- roadsides and the enrichment of green areas in the urban landscape.

Only Lloyd has the depth of knowledge to unravel such an intriguing aspect of gardening, to convey the excitement and rewards of these grasslands. Filled with hundreds of specially commissioned photographs show-casing the variety and beauty of meadows, this book provides a captivating guide for anyone wishing to preserve pasturelands, cultivate native species and attract wildlife to their gardens. ... Read more

Book Description

¥ Step-by-step guide to prairie restoration from site selection through burning¥ 20 color photographs ¥ Conservation guidelines from The Nature Conservancy ¥ Reference list of Midwest seed sources and services and books on prairie plant restoration and identiÞcation ... Read more

Book Description

Here are two new competitively priced, compact, full-color guides that focus on a specific gardening topic, solve an array of gardening problems, and present every important plant group.

Combining the authority of the American Horticultural Society with the visual magic of DK design, these practical handbooks are the ultimate quick-reference guides for gardeners. The AHS Practical Guides address particular needs and solve specific problems. With this wide range of small, affordable titles gardeners can build a customized mini-reference library that enables them to solve problems, acquire skills, and further develop their passion for the soil. ... Read more

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Superb photos of bamboo. Could use more of Crouzet's text.
The photos are excellent. They are the way collectors view bamboo. There is a close examination of the details that make bamboos lovely horticultural subjects. Crouzet's text is fine and offers much practical quidance and advice on the choice and culture of bamboo. The person new to bamboo will need a bit more. ... Read more

Book Description

Ornamental grasses surpass all other garden plants in their luminous qualities. Their colors are softly sophisticated, varied, and subtle. They include a striking array of textures, forms, sizes, and flowering times and have appeal in the garden throughout the year. Grasses' ethereal quality, sound, and movement make them ideal choices for gardeners and landscape designers alike. Timber Press Pocket Guide to Ornamental Grasses provides an accessible and comprehensive reference to the wide range of grasses available to the gardener. Building on Darke's bestselling The Color Encyclopedia of Ornamental Grasses, the guide describes many new species and cultivars, includes dozens of new photographs, and presents cultivation information and descriptions in a handy, compact format. Covering 530 species and cultivars and illustrated with 320 color photographs, Timber Press Pocket Guide to Ornamental Grasses is a valuable complement to Darke's Color Encyclopedia. Its convenient format makes it an ideal reference to take to the nursery or garden center. ... Read more

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The Exact Type of Gardening Book I Needed!
I was so pleased to find this book. I am a beginning gardener, and I wanted to find out about all kinds of landscaping ideas and plants. This book has beautiful color photos of different ornamental grasses and groundcovers, one area I am interested in. It also includes a detailed description of each, and important information about climate, growing guidelines, height, and spread. Armed with the information in this book, I can now visit my local garden center knowing exactly what I want for my yard.

This book is especially attractive to me because of the way in which the material is presented. It is easy to browse and appealing to the eye. I found myself sitting for hours looking through the book to determine what types of grasses and groundcovers appealed to me the most. I have not found any other garden books which present their material in such a user-friendly manner. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in starting or enhancing their garden and landscape. ... Read more

Book Description

This book is a valuable reference to turfgrass consultants and representatives of a variety of agribusinesses that serve the turfgrass industry. It contains both the technical and practical information necessary for decision-making and the day-to-day operation in all areas of turfgrass culture and management. Coverage is provided on maintenance of turfgrasses. other pertinent topics include biology and management of weeds in turfgrasses biology and management of diseases in turfgrasses as well as biology and control of insects and related pests in turfgrass. coverage is also included on the application of equipment and the safe use of pesticides.For Turf Managers, Landscapers, Lawn Care Managers, and Golf Course Superintendents. ... Read more

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A great book for understanding lawn care thoroughly.
This book hit all the aspects of lawn care.The best part about this book was it gave good instrucitons on how to cure disease, weeds, and fungusproblems without chemicals.I highly recommend this book for lawn careprofessionals interested in learning about the industry.This book is wellworth the money. ... Read more

Book Description

Grasslands take up approximately one-quarter of the world's vegetative cover. Turfgrasses protect the land from erosion, stabilize the soil, moderate the temperature and provide low cost safe surfacing for many sporting and leisure activities. Amenity grasslands - and turf in particular - do more than form a significant part of the global landscape. They make up the basis of a multimillion dollar industry. International Turf Management Handbook covers the establishment, maintenance, and management of natural turfgrass surfaces. This handbook is arranged in four sections. The first section details the identification and selection of turfgrasses, how they grow, and their maintenance. The second section focuses on the management and administration of the turfgrass business. The third section addresses current standards and their use to effectively manage different surfaces such as bowling, croquet and golf greens, grass tennis courts, cricket tables, football and athletic fields, racetracks, and golf fairways. The final section discusses important environmental issues in turf management, including water resources, pesticides and fertilizers. Developed in association with more than 20 leading turf management authorities, the International Turf Management Handbook details the how the natural turfgrass surface functions. It explores strategies that blend biodiveristy and sustainability with the business of maintaining turf. It is essential reading for agriculture, horticulture, and natural resource professionals, and land managers. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Not what you'd think
This one is definitely not for beginners. It is far too detailed in terms of minute structure of the grasses and is not organized in such a way as to help the amateur in the identification of a particular grass type.

a botany student's dream come true
As a first-year botany student, I was overwhelmed by the confusing tables and cryptic systems when trying to identify certain plants. I am so relieved to find a guide like Agnes Chase's First Book of Grasses, where identification methods are made simple, yet remain as factual and dependable as the volumes on horticulture and botany for advanced students. The book is a classic in the world of botany, however the updated fourth edition makes it all the more useful in relation to the ever-changing world of scientific knowledge. This guide is a must-have for any beginner in botany as it opens the doors to the world of agrostology in such a clear and dependable manner.

Outstanding
Although my botanical interests lie mainly in mycology and dendrology, I was truly delighted to find this little book. It is simply the best way to get a conceptual understanding of the structure of grasses and the main genera in a way that will definitely aid your ability to identify them in the field using more traditional taxonomic keys. Normally, such keys lead you from the specific characters to the taxon/concept itself, but with this book, you learn the more powerful concepts that unify and differentiate the various genera. This was a tremendous aid to me in my field identification of this important group, because after reading this book several times, I basically knew what was going on, instead of just "cookbooking" it using the typical botanical key.

I have sort of an amusing story associated with this book. By the time I had memorized this book I could basically identify any grass at least to the genus level by sight, and then I could consult a more detailed taxonomic key from there for the species. I was once sitting around a fire with my fellow mycologists, who were somewhat amused I had somehow learned how to identify the grasses, which, even for a botanist, are an esoteric group. So when they asked what I was doing, I said that once you understood the grasses, even an apparently desolate, boring, sand lot down the block can provide hours of fun. Mycologists are used to spending hours tramping through the woods in search of interesting mushrooms, so they found this quite funny and everybody laughed at the thought.

Anway, Agnes Chase loved the grasses and this book is filled with that enthusiasm in this clear and concise book, helping to make one of the most difficult areas of plant identification easier to deal with.

A gentle introduction to a challenging subject
Highly recommended for "wannabe" botanists and plant lovers, this book divides the complexity of grasses into twelve relatively simple lessons. It is perfect for quickly gaining a basic understanding of the taxonomy of grasses, and, of course, impressing your friends at parties with lines like "hey check out the florets on this pedicellate spikelet." (Lesson 3)

This book is a primer not a field guide, check out Knobel/Faust for a good companion volume.

An excellent book on grasses...
Agnes Chase loved botany as a hobby and she wrote this book in that vein. There are lots of excellent illustrations of plant parts that are clear and easy to understand - a must for grass identification. This edition has an excellent preface, going into the history of Chase's life. It's a must buy for the hobbiest and the professional alike. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A must-read for any homeowner!
This book's title is very appropriate. You will have no questions about how houses all came to be surrounded by lawns after reading this. It explains how agriculture, chemical companies, the garden industry, golfing, housing developments, world wars, etc... and the advent of new inventions have come together to result in an entire lifestyle revolving around 'the lawn.' The writing is smooth and it goes down easy, from cover to cover. Written in language anyone can understand, yet factual enough to hold the interest of those with some existing knowledge. There are about 20 pictures of vintage advertisements for lawn products, which I enjoyed seeing very much. There is also a good bit of detail about what used to grow on the property surrounding most homes before lawns.

Please also see, "Redesigning the American Lawn; A search for Environmental Harmony," by F. Herbert Bormann, Diana Balmori, Gordon T. Geballe. This book takes up where we leave off. What is the impact of millions of monoculture lawns on the lifestyles and wallets of those who tend them, and on the environment? How can I change my yard to look better, and spend less time and money tending it (and to have less of a negative impact on the environment.)

A book to read while lying in your hammock
This book describes the history of how lawns were first introduced to American, became popular, and then became a necessity. Jenkins traces the early history of lawns as importations of the English country garden concept, as found in Jefferson's gardens in Monticello. She also explains the influences that garden clubs, the golf industry, and the USDA had on the popularization of lawns. The book is not just about lawns, however. It also provides a very interesting analysis of how advertising was used to create demand for completely unnecessary products, and how those products, such as lawn mowers and weed whackers, later came to be thought of as indispensable. This book will be of interest to historians of landscape architecture as well as to researchers of material culture.

Academic Obsession
I thought Ms. Jenkins' historical research was thorough enough (Would you expect less from a Smithsonian publication?), but her book reads like (and quite possibly is) a doctoral dissertation. Don't let the pink and green cover with the flamingo fool you.

But if your an American lawn history junkie like me, it's required reading.

great look at the history of the so-called "green" industry
a fun insightful look at the western fascination with the lawn

Grass as an American cultural obsession
Before you go purchase that big bag o' Kentucky Bluegrass seed, read this book. It's a comprehensive history, cultural and ecological critique of something we usually don't think twice about-- the lush, green, overfertilized and ultimately sterile front lawn. Jenkins has a sense of humor about her subject, but doesn't let it mask the very real implications of what happens when all that fertilizer and insecticide almost every suburbanite pours onto their lawns gets into the larger ecosystem. If you are into American pop culture, environmentalism, class history or even just a good non-fiction read, this book is for you. ... Read more

Book Description

A beautiful lawn is possible; this clear and concise manual offers tips for growing and caring for one's lawn, including information on treating diseased grass.

Manual que le ayudará a conocer el césped y también sus enfermedades y plagas. Con consejos practicos para el cultivo y la renovación. ... Read more