I read this book ages ago. It’s not too bad. Maybe more emphasis on using native plants, and avoiding invasive plants would be helpful. The only bad thing was I took forever to read it and had to turn it into my library before I really wanted to. It does have a great section on meadow gardens, and lots of great step by step instructions. For instance, the meadow garden goes something like this (as a horrible paraphrase, because the book is at the library):
- Get rid of whatever is in the spot you want to put your meadow.
- Let all the weeds sprout, and get rid of them.
- Wait a few weeks and get rid of all the weeds again.
- Seed in the stuff you want for a meadow.
- Weed some more.
- Mow to about six inches high in late winter.
- Add/modify plants as needed.
She takes a realistic view on things, because she’s done it. So a meadow isn’t presented as a maintenance free wonderland. There’s obvious advice, like leaving water out for birds, but also less often thought of advice like planting a ‘dead’ tree for shelter. Natural landscaping is a different way to garden, and it is presented very nicely in this book. It’s also a timely read, due to the desire to reduce lawn usage and garden more sustainably.
Liz Braithwaite 