Green Gardener’s Guide

This review is for The Green Gardener’s Guide by Joe Lamp’L. This book is published by Cool Springs Press. It is available from Amazon.com and from your local bookseller through Shop Indie Bookstores.

Joe Lamp’l is a nationally recognized garden writer and host of PBS and DIY Network gardening series GardenSmart and Fresh from the Garden.

Things to Like about The Green Gardener’s Guide

A comprehensive and readable guide to greening all aspects of your garden, whatever type of garden you have, with lots of resources. It is printed on 100% recycled paper.

What You Will Not Find

This is not a garden design book with pretty pictures. There are NO garden photos. It does contain a few lists of plants, but this is a small part of the book. Neither is it a guide to growing food in your garden. Rather it’s a guide to greening whichever kind of garden you are interested in.

What is in The Green Gardener’s Guide?

With 8 chapters and 363 pages The Green Gardener’s Guide is a comprehensive guide to why and how to green your gardening. The chapters are as follows:

Chapter 1 – Gardening to Make a Difference – “By changing a few small habits, gardeners can save billions of gallons of water… all while making the world a more beautiful place!”
Chapter 2 – Conserving Water in the Garden – watering the right amount and at the right times. Lots of ways to save water in the garden.
Chapter 3 – Reducing Garden Chemicals – choosing plants, catching problems early, beneficial insects, biological controls, mulching, worms, solarizing, corn gluten, soil testing, treated woods, de-icers.
Chapter 4 – Landscaping to Control Run-off – protecting topsoil during construction, using perennials, trees and shrubs, porous paving, grading, drainage, terracing, swales, rain gardens, seasonal water features.
Chapter 5 – Turning Waste into Gardening Gold – composting garden and household waste (food scraps, grass, garden trimmings from trees and shrubs), recycling garden and planting stuff like pots, creating garden art out of found objects.
Chapter 6 – Consuming Less Energy – landscaping to reduce cooling and heating needs, trees to purify air, green roofs, prairie and meadow gardens, eco-friendly paving, passive solar design, locally grown materials, grow food, reduce lawn, reduce fuel use, low energy lighting, saving with your swimming pool.
Chapter 7 – Gardening to Protect the Ecosystem – what not to plant, insect traps, responsible wood, water for wildlife, supporting butterflies, NWF Wildlife Habitat Program.
Chapter 8 – Taking it Over the Fence – working with local garden centers, educating neighbors, sharing with neighbors, eco-friendly neighborhood and school gardens, tree preservation and planting, parks and green spaces, bird habitat programs, get political.

Following the chapters are notes with website links for each chapter then there’s a list of actions to take.

Who Should Buy This Book

I recommend this book for any level of gardener who wants to garden responsibly for a green Earth. Even experienced gardeners will be prompted to consider greening aspects of gardening they may not have considered.

The Green Gardener’s Guide is available from Amazon.com and from your local bookseller through Shop Indie Bookstores.

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