We recently bought our first free standing home on 1/4 acre in the Maryland suburbs of Washington. My original plan was to 'garden every inch', but I soon realized that was not a 'plan'. After going through several volumes and magazines in the library, I came across this book.
Its beauty lies in the fact that it helps the begginer to PLAN. The gorgeous pictures helped me decide which plants I like visually; the icons let me know immediately which plants do well in shade, sun or both; which are drought tolerant, which attract bees, which are scented, which are native; the list seemed endless. I also like the fact that the book includes water plants, trees, grasses and shrubs with the usual fare because we are fortunate enough to have dogwoods in our yards and now I know how to take care of them.
The reference guide includes contact information for area garden centers, including one about 15 minutes from where we live.
I hope readers can find a guide like this specific to the areas in which they live.
The best recommendation of all: after 3 renewals from the library, I finally decided to BUY the book - I'm definitely going to use it this spring and always.