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Growing the Northeast Garden
Plant selection and garden style are deeply influenced by where we are gardening. To successfully grow a range of beautiful ornamental plants, every gardener has to know the specifics of the region’s climate, soil, and geography.
Gardeners in the northeast are lucky—the regular summer rain, gorgeous summer blooms, and stunning fall color make it an ideal place to garden. But there are drawbacks, like hot and humid summers, bitterly cold winters, and mosquitos. TThe practical and beautiful Growing the Northeast Garden starts with a comprehensive overview of the weather and geography of the area, along with regionally specific advice on zones, microclimates, soil, pests, and maintenance. Profiles of the best trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, and bulbs offer hundreds of plant suggestions, along with complete information on growth and care.
Gardeners in the northeast are lucky—the regular summer rain, gorgeous summer blooms, and stunning fall color make it an ideal place to garden. But there are drawbacks, like hot and humid summers, bitterly cold winters, and mosquitos. TThe practical and beautiful Growing the Northeast Garden starts with a comprehensive overview of the weather and geography of the area, along with regionally specific advice on zones, microclimates, soil, pests, and maintenance. Profiles of the best trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, and bulbs offer hundreds of plant suggestions, along with complete information on growth and care.
303 pages, Hardcover
First published February 21, 2015
10 people are currently reading
30 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Keys
6 books10 followersAndrew Keys is a writer, plantsman, and lifelong gardener. His first book, Why Grow That When You Can Grow This?: 255 Extraordinary Alternatives to Everyday Problem Plants, was published by Timber Press in 2012. His second book, Growing the Northeast Garden, also published by Timber, in partnership with photographer Kerry Michaels, is out now, as of January 2015. In his everyday, I work as the web manager for the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.
Andrew produced podcasts for both Fine Gardening and Horticulture magazines, and my features and other written work have appeared in This Old House magazine, Fine Gardening, and on Houzz.com.
Andrew produced podcasts for both Fine Gardening and Horticulture magazines, and my features and other written work have appeared in This Old House magazine, Fine Gardening, and on Houzz.com.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 12, 2020
Great gardening ideas and beautiful pictures of gardens from different states. Plants are divided according to bloom time which is really helpful to me since I'm looking for flowers and shrubs that bloom in summer, fall and winter.
May 20, 2017
This book is divided into sections: Elements, Palette, Design, and Practice. Elements is essentially an introduction, touching on the climate and site types of the Northeast.
By far the most useful is Palette, which is a listing of plants by their season of interest (spring, early- to midsummer, late summer to fall, and winter). Each plant gets a little summary in adorably effusive language ("In the alphabet of the garden, it's a happy accident that "V" is for "versatile" as well as "viburnum." or "The first name in silver is artemesia for certain. Most elegant and least delicate, this group is the foam of the garden cappuccino."), as well as icons indicating whether it is deciduous, herbaceous, or evergreen; does well in sun or shade; tolerates wet or dry soil; and has a species in the genus that is native to the Northeast. I love this last feature; it's fairly easy to tell if a plant is native to the Americas but harder to tell if it's native to your particular area.
The Design section is interesting in that it has photos of seven varied gardens; but the utility is limited by the lack of diagrams and the vague descriptions. The photo captions focus on line and form but without discussion of the garden sites themselves.
The Practice section is pretty basic: zones, soil types, composting. Since this is more of a design-oriented book, I would have rather had a section on laying out the garden--a how-to for getting to the gardens in the preceding chapter.
If you're looking for plants for your Northeast garden, definitely pick this up, but don't expect much guidance in how to put together the plants presented into a garden, despite the theme of line and form that runs throughout.
By far the most useful is Palette, which is a listing of plants by their season of interest (spring, early- to midsummer, late summer to fall, and winter). Each plant gets a little summary in adorably effusive language ("In the alphabet of the garden, it's a happy accident that "V" is for "versatile" as well as "viburnum." or "The first name in silver is artemesia for certain. Most elegant and least delicate, this group is the foam of the garden cappuccino."), as well as icons indicating whether it is deciduous, herbaceous, or evergreen; does well in sun or shade; tolerates wet or dry soil; and has a species in the genus that is native to the Northeast. I love this last feature; it's fairly easy to tell if a plant is native to the Americas but harder to tell if it's native to your particular area.
The Design section is interesting in that it has photos of seven varied gardens; but the utility is limited by the lack of diagrams and the vague descriptions. The photo captions focus on line and form but without discussion of the garden sites themselves.
The Practice section is pretty basic: zones, soil types, composting. Since this is more of a design-oriented book, I would have rather had a section on laying out the garden--a how-to for getting to the gardens in the preceding chapter.
If you're looking for plants for your Northeast garden, definitely pick this up, but don't expect much guidance in how to put together the plants presented into a garden, despite the theme of line and form that runs throughout.
July 15, 2017
This book does a very good job at presenting the perennials, grasses, groundcovers, shrubs, and trees that are hardy and grow well in the Northeast. It is divided up by season although it includes other sections like "Year-Round Landscape Backbone" and "Cool Season Annuals". Beautiful photographs of each plant highlight it's features. Symbols for each plant identify its growing requirements as in sun light, moisture, zone, etc. Generally I recommend this book highly. While it does not include every plant you might see, it provides a reliable list of outstanding plants you should consider.
October 7, 2018
Very helpful and informative. I've taken a lot of notes and am sure I will refer to it again in the future.
April 23, 2016
This book is a great combination of plant lists and advice. It covers placement, mulch choices, and garden ecosystems. The photos are beautiful and the information is informed.
September 10, 2019
2019 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge: A book about a hobby
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews