The Gardening Shelf
MWBOOKREVW
THE GARDENING SHELF
Rosa Rugosa
Suzanne Verrier & Charles Steinhacker
Capability's Books
2379 Hwy 46, Deer Park, WI 54007
0-913643-07-6 $22.95 1-800-247-8154
Suzanne Verrier's Rosa Rugosa is for the gardening wanting to grow
chemical-free roses that are fragrant repeat-blooms and able to thrive
despite frigid winters,. Rugosas are the perfect choice for the upper
Midwest climate. They also succeed in areas with wind and/or salt! Rosa
Rugosa is the first gardener's guide devoted solely to these cold-hardy,
almost pest-free shrub roses and describes 200 varieties with their
respective pros and cons. Organic how-to-grow advice is clearly
articulated for the beginning gardener and holds much of value for even
the experienced
horticulturist. Rosarians will find details of parentage and descriptions
of historic rugosas as well. Beautiful photographs by Charles Steinhacker
are to be found throughout. Not to be missed is Suzanne Verrier's Rosa
Gallica (FR225X $29.50) as well. Gardeners are encouraged to call and
request Capability's Books free catalog for a complete listing of their
gardening books.
Lotusland: A Photographic Odyssey
William B. Dewey, et al.
Allen A. Knoll, Publishers
200 W. Victoria, Santa Barbara CA 93101
0-9627297-5-2 $59.50 1-800-777-7623
Lotusland is a photographic odyssey celebrating a unique and exclusive
garden adjacent to Santa Barbara, California. The massed plantings in
operatic settings offers a rare exploration of floral beauty in all
seasons, light moods and weather conditions. Ganna Walska (former opera
performer, six times married) spent more than forty years and millions of
dollars developing an eclectic garden and accomplished a superlative work
of "living art". Lotusland is a testament to that art with more than 280
beautiful photographs (233 of them in color) taken over a period of one
hundred years! Lotusland is a floral browser's delight and a flower
gardener's inspiration.
Gardens of Paradise
John Brookes
New Amsterdam Books
PO Box C, Franklin, NY 13775
0-941533-07-7 $36.00 1-800-944-4040
The garden is the image of Paradise in the Quaran. John Brookes traces its
physical origins to age-old methods of irrigation, and charts its spread
with the spread of Islam in India, Persia, Turkey, Egypt, Sicily, North
Africa and Muslim Spain. Gardens Of Paradise: The History And Design of
the Great Islamic Gardens is a vivid evocation of the Islamic contribution
to garden design and development from the Moorish kings of Seville in
Muslim Spain to the sultan's gardens of Granada, the Persian imperial
gardens of Samarkand to the palace and shrine gardens of the Mughal
emperors of India. Notable gardens are described in regional chapters, and
illustrated with photographs, miniatures, engravings, and plans. Brookes
ends with invaluable instructions for designing and maintaining an Islamic
garden. Gardens Of Paradise is a delight for the eye, a wonder for the
mind, and a "must have" for the library gardening collection.
Landscape Architect
Softkey International Inc.
One Athenaeum Street
Cambridge, MA 02139
$50.00 1-617-494-1200
Landscape Architect is a multimedia CD-ROM for Windows that is an
essential tool for every gardener from installing a new flower bed to
landscaping an entire property. Landscape Architect allows the exploration
of landscaping ideas and plan creating in 3-D before digging the first
hole. Intuitive tools, simple navigation, and an extensive library of
realistic drag and drop symbols and textures provides everything a novice
or expert needs to create a perfect image of what their gardening proposal
would like like when finished. By altering at will any part of portion of
the design, the gardener can see the impact and effect year round and in
every season. users can
customize their designs through texture mapping to add brick, stone, tile,
concrete, mulch, decking and more! Within the 3-D "picture" the garden can
examine the garden design from every angle and visual perspective
Landscape Architect requires an IBM or compatible computer with a hard
disk; CD-ROM drive; mouse; 486 processor or better, Windows 95 with 16 MB
RAM (although 8 will do in a pinch); and a VGA monitor. Landscape
Architect is completely "user friendly" and constitutes a technological
wonder for the aspiring home gardener or professional
landscaper.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
The Midwest Book Review is an organization dedicated to the encouragement
of literacy and the promotion of community library useage. All MBR
reviewers are volunteers. No funding is accepted from any publisher or
author. Most of the books receiving our recommendation are available
through your local public library, either directly or through the
inter-library loan service.
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Midwest Book Review
James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Diane C. Donovan, Editor
278 Orchard Drive, Oregon, WI 53575
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