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Gardening Books
ORDINARY GARDENING BOOKS MELT IN OUR HEAT!
By Rebecca Slater, Information Specialist,
Clemson Extension Home & Garden Information Center
CLEMSON – Whether you’re an experienced gardener or still suffering from a black thumb, education is the key to a beautiful garden.
In our often challenging climate, gardening can be tricky to say the least. We have to deal with long, hot, humid summers, late frosts and nasty ice storms.
Garden books written in other areas may not be relevant here. Luckily, there are some excellent books written for our climate by people who have actually gardened here. The authors of the books listed below have many years of experience gardening in either South Carolina or nearby southern states, so you know you’re getting good, solid advice.
An Encyclopedia of Shade Perennials, by W. George Schmid. This is a marvelous new book, just published last year, but already one of my favorites. The author has lived and gardened in northern Georgia for more than thirty years, so he really knows his stuff. Detailed growing instructions accompany each well-written plant description. If you garden in the shade (as a lot of us do), this book is a real treasure.
Armitage’s Garden Perennials: A Color Encyclopedia, by Allan M. Armitage. This is an excellent book on perennials for both beginning and experienced gardeners. Beginners will love all the photographs; seasoned gardeners will appreciate the entries on more unusual plants.
Dirr’s Trees and Shrubs for Warm Climates, by Michael Dirr. This book was published as a companion volume to Dirr’s Hardy Trees and Shrubs (which is also wonderful and surprisingly useful to South Carolina gardeners), and focuses on woody plants that grow in hardiness zones 7-11. It has great photos and covers all the basics for beginners, while also profiling more unusual plants for experienced gardeners.
Gardening With Native Plants of the South, by Sally and Andy Wasowski. This is one of the few books about native plant gardening in our region. With several detailed garden designs and a plant encyclopedia with more than 200 entries, this book will get you excited about natives!
Home Vegetable Gardening, EC 570, by Clemson Extension. In this information packed book, you’ll find everything you need to know about vegetable gardening in South Carolina. Newly revised, it contains important information like planting dates for the piedmont, central and coastal areas as well as sections on individual crops, Integrated Pest Management and major diseases and insects. It is available from your local extension office.
Month By Month Gardening In the Carolinas, by Bob Polomski. Want to know when to fertilize your lawn? How about when to plant tomatoes? You’ll find the answers in this book, organized by plant type and month of the year.
Passalong Plants, by Steve Bender and Felder Rushing. For sheer entertainment value, this book fits the bill. I bought this book after hearing Mr. Rushing speak, and read it cover to cover - something I rarely do with gardening books. I just couldn’t put it down! This book is loaded with fantastic horticultural advice on many old-fashioned plants.
South Carolina Gardener’s Guide, by Jim Wilson. With Jim Wilson’s warm and friendly writing style, this book is a real pleasure to use. Sections on the history of gardening in South Carolina, understanding our climate, and improving our soils are especially good. The bulk of the book includes chapters on individual groups of plants (Annuals, bulbs, vines, roses, turfgrasses and trees, among others) with individual plant descriptions.
Southern Living Annuals and Perennials. This is a great choice for a beginner. It covers, with photos, flower bed preparation, plant selection, and some design concepts. The remaining sections cover both annuals and perennials, with photos and brief descriptions on how to grow them.
The Southern Living Garden Book, edited by Steve Bender. This book is about as comprehensive as it gets. It divides the south into five climate zones and lists the zones in the plant descriptions, so you know instantly if a plant might grow in your area. Another section sorts plants into lists. Examples include: plants with showy flowers, autumn foliage color, colorful fruits and berries, fragrant plants, plants that attract butterflies, plants that tolerate drought, carefree plants, ground covers, hedges, and natives, just to name a few. The bulk of the book is an A to Z plant encyclopedia, covering more than 5,000 plants.
With so many wonderful books available, it would be impossible to mention them all. This list is merely a sampling. This information is supplied with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by the Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service is implied.
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For answers to your gardening, pest and food safety questions, visit the Clemson Extension Home & Garden Information Center website at http://hgic.clemson.edu call us toll-free at 1-888-656-9988or write to PSA Media Relations, 120 Lehotsky Hall, Clemson University, Clemson, S.C. 29634-0129.
Last update4/24/2008
This website is maintained by Marion County Extension.
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