The Complete Flower Gardener
Book review of this new book on organically growing flowers
The Complete Flower Gardener: A Comprehensive Guide to Growing Flowers Organically.
This book was published earlier this year (2007) and shows how to grow an amazing number of plants. What is different about this book though, is that it shows how to grow the flowers organically. We are accustomed to growing vegetables organically because many people like to control the chemicals that go into their body, but the idea of growing flowers organically is possible too.
The start of any good garden of course is with the preparation of the ground, and this book aptly recommends a soil test before you begin. Apart from the paragraph that describes the age-old back-breaking task of double digging, something I have managed to avoid successfully over the years, the importance of thorough preparation of the ground is rightly stressed. Organic amendments to soil are described in terms of food for the plants and other essentials for good growth are well described. I particularly like the chapter on different gardens that describes which flowers are suitable for a child’s garden or a Pathway garden; a Dyer’s garden or a hillside garden. They are all laid out with flower lists that would be suitable for that use. For instance the Children’s garden uses Lunaria (Money plant), snapdragons (Antirrhinum) and vines to crawl over fences or trellises.
Obviously, as with any garden there comes a time when sprays are needed. These do not always need to be chemical sprays as there are many organic remedies as well. There are plenty of good bugs in the garden to feast on the bad bugs, but key to knowing what to do, is learning about the pest itself. Just in case you are in doubt about which are the good guys, the book gives you a list of them along with what nasty critters they enjoy. For instance, leafhoppers eat many ornamental plants, all which are listed, but they can be controlled using a variety of organic options such as insecticidal soaps, a strong stream of water and the introduction of assassin bugs.
Possibly the best part of the book is the plant list and how to grow everything from Achillea to Zinnia. Each plant profile gives directions how to grow them and where to put them in your garden, along with stunning photography of all the entries. Many of the selections give ideas for combining that specific plant with other complementary ones in your garden. Other less common choices that are similar in some way to the selection are also shown. Sometimes the alternates are lesser known members of the same botanical species, other times they are similar flowers but from a different species. For instance Roman chamomile is a suggested alternate to Golden Marguerite, and Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia) is discussed as an alternate to true sunflowers (Helianthus).
Although this book may not be essential to your library if you already have books on plants and organic methods it is certainly a wonderful book for those looking for a comprehensive book on how to grow many flowering plants. The organic methods discussed will also translate beautifully and easily to the vegetable plot as well. For those who are just starting out with their first garden, this is an admirable book to start out with, and will give you plenty of information for many successful seasons.
The Complete Flower Gardener: The Comprehensive Guide to Growing Flowers Organically: Karan Davis Cutler and Barbara W Ellis.
Publisher: John Wiley & Son, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-7645-4324-1
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