Blue thumb Guide to Raingardens by Rusty Schmidt, Dan Shaw and David Dods

It may not be a good time to build a rain garden, but it is a good time to think about and plan for one at your home next summer. This new book at $17.95 also would be a nice gift for any homeowner interested in doing something about water quality in their community.

Recent public policy initiatives to improve the water quality in our rivers and lakes have been emphasizing control of water running off of our properties. This book helps in this effort and is the first book written specifically for homeowners and gardeners on the subject. Whether your home site is sandy or clay, sunny or shady, the authors have provided the information you need to build your rain garden. It is spiral bound to lay flat. With easy to understand instructions the book includes the design ideas and plant recommendations you need. I counted 115 plants with a color photo and descriptions of their growing requirements. Native plant perennials, grasses, shrubs and ferns along with non- invasive cultivars are recommended to satisfy the planting pallet for any design need.

The book is concise, at 81 pages, but complete with everything you need to know. It even gives you approximations of cost of installation, the materials needed and how to choose the location in your yard. The information regarding hardiness and range for plants is confusing. I wish a better explanation of these terms had been provided. The distribution maps shown for each plant may lead to confusion in some cases.

This book is written for people living in planting zones 3,4 and 5 in the north central portion of the United States. Minnesota is in zones 3 and 4. Our recommendation is buy it soon. The printing run was limited, but good demand will encourage another printing of the badly needed book.

Kent Petterson
Terrace Horticultural Books

- Buy This Book -