I have to share with those who are wondering what gardening book would be the absolute best one (inexperienced as well as sage and experienced gardeners) and there on my shelves, not appreciated was my brown covered, hard back American Horticultural Society edition of "ENCYCLOPEDIA of GARDENING". this tome is 647 pages thick. Covers everything from just how to use the book, garden planning and design, ornamental shrubs, topiary, climbing plants, rose garden, perennials, rock gardens, bulbous plants, water gardens, cacti and other succulents, lawns, the herb garden, vegetable gardens, fruit gardens, indoor gardens, tools and equipment, greenhouses and frames, structures and surfaces, climates and soils and principles of propagation, plant problems and basic botany........this thing is awesome! I had gotten mine full price a couple of years ago because I had purchased my other gardening bible, the American Horticultural Society A-Z Garden Plants book, that sucker was over 1000 pages and a wonderous tome in itself. But when I discovered the brown edition of gardening, I had to have it. Last year at a little book store in eastern Knoxville, I came across a used edition of the Encyclopedia of Gardening and purchased it for "Ethyl" my gardening buddy for her own. Tonight, whilst we were talking Spring planting and I was poring over seed catalogs and reading descriptions of veggies I sooo wanted to plant (no sunny spaces, but I have a plan, oh yes I does!), she asked me a pertinent question concerning patio fruit trees. I couldn't answer her honestly, so I reached into the vast shelves of my gardening book collection and pulled out our duplicate books and hunted the index for fruit trees. The chapter blew me away. I'm now taking this book to the bedroom to read further and eat this more thoroughly. The fact that despite that I am considered a "master gardener" with certificate from UT from YEARS ago, I NEVER learn enough, and this showed me that I am behind and slipping in my knowledge of things horticultural. I now have the Spring disease really bad, and a book to re-discover. And my solution for my rabid desire to grow my veggies (I would have already planted my radishes and spinach by now, believe me.....and snow peas! gotta have snow peas! LOL) I'll do what Ethyl suggested and gather huge containers to put upon the deck outside the kitchen and plant those up, and then hit my landscaping friend, Karol up for a piece of her garden that has all the sunshine exposure one would ever want and something I DON'T have........a level plot. She has recently gotten a house with SIX ACRES and turned her garden up already for her food garden. I'm more than sure she'd share a spot with me........now it's a matter of time before she and I and Ethyl form our plans for the little nursery selling select perennials for the fall......give us time and you'll hear adventures of horticultural proportions, endeavors of sticky pots, regales of hilarious and misadventures........and oh yeah, did I mention? I can't contain myself any longer (I've been writing an early "madgardener ramble" and just can't finish it to share with you all) I'm gonna be published!! Ethyl convinced someone at the print shop she works at to let me write a spring/summer piece and after much angst and agony, I turned out a piece on container gardening for them. It was really hard, considering I could only have three pages.....LOL But eventually I did it just in time for the deadline, and come the Spring/Summer issue of a new magazine for our region called Tennessee East of 75 (which is interstate 75, by the way) there will be a piece by yours truly! Quite a trowel in me bucket! It matters not that this publication is only twice a year. I'll ask if they need another article from me. Encourages me no end to really try harder to write, I've been away too long..........
Soooo, howdy all my gardening buddies out there. It's been way too long, and I've missed every one of you. I'm back!! LOL I have things up way too soon, and it looks like March has come in up here in Fairy Holler like a lion. I'll post me first ramble soon, I promise., Thanks for the share,
always......... madgardener, up on the ridge, back in Fairy Holler, overlooking a blustery and wet English Mountain in Eastern Tennessee, zone 7, Sunset zone 36