cover image The Self-Taught Gardener: Lessons from a Country Garden

The Self-Taught Gardener: Lessons from a Country Garden

Sydney Eddison. Viking Books, $24.95 (256pp) ISBN 978-0-670-86071-5

Rookie gardeners meet their coach in this neighborly, over-the-fence guide. ""I am here to egg you on,"" announces Eddison (A Patchwork Garden), who follows a beginner's inclinations: flowers first, theory second. Backed up with the dependable perennials and annuals that make her shortlist, the author coaxes readers directly into their prospective gardens. She offers valuable advice by the spadeful on such topics as soil (make it good), weeding (don't!), pruning and staking (""graceful"" not ""rigid""), real tools (crowbars and others that ""resemble medieval weapons"") and design considerations (watch your edges and pay attention to foliage). Eddison encourages beginners to thrust in their trowels and trust in the laws of gardening: ""one action leads to another""; ""gardens and gardeners are created by increments."" Never presuming, she generously explains distinctions that are often taken for granted: borders vs. beds, spades vs. shovels, deciduous vs. evergreen, sun vs. partial shade. The result is superior common sense that is both a sideline pep-talk for the novice and a back-to-basics retreat for the informationally glutted. Line drawings by Steve Buchanan lend additional charm. (Mar.)