Backyard Secrets of the Garden Experts: Discover the Pro's Tricks for Great Gardens

Backyard Secrets of the Garden Experts starts with the supposition that the best way to learn about gardening is over the backyard fence with an exchange of expertise between experienced gardeners. That tone of casual advice, of sharing ideas and solutions, contributes to the charm of this book, along with plentiful color photographs and a simple-to-use, color-coded arrangement. Turn to the pages edged with purple for tips on starting your garden, green for soil-building secrets, or pink for pest and disease control (all organic, of course--this is Rodale, after all).

Beginning gardeners will dip into the book when confronted with gardening problems or when searching for inspiration; more experienced gardeners will benefit, too, in areas that are new to them. Information is detailed and practical, in sections on saving and storing seed, propagation, building a water garden, and terracing a slope. A useful chapter is on flower gardening, which contains a clear and complete discussion on companion planting, proving this title may be basic, but it's not simplistic. The author goes beyond coordination of flower color to emphasize harmony of shape, texture, and form, all of which are far more important in the long run than matching bloom color for a few weeks.

At the back of the book is a chart, divided by regions of the country, that will appeal to gardeners of all levels: the expert's month-by-month list of garden chores. Check here to see what you should be doing in your garden this month--oops, haven't yet mulched tender plants or gotten bulbs in the ground yet? Such charts serve as excellent reminders of how to care for the garden year-round. --Valerie Easton