Gardening 101

The Best of Martha Stewart Living

by Martha Stewart

Learn how to become a skilled, successful gardener one step at a time. Easy to follow illustrated lessons give you all the information you need to grow your favorite vegetables, flowers, trees, and shrubs.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Reference, Plants

144 pages, Paperback

First published March 28, 2000

About the author

Martha Helen Stewart is an American retail businesswoman, writer, and television personality. As the founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, focusing on home and hospitality, she gained success through a variety of business ventures, encompassing publishing, broadcasting, merchandising and e-commerce. She has written numerous bestselling books, was the publisher of Martha Stewart Living magazine and hosted two syndicated television programs: Martha Stewart Living, which ran from 1993 to 2004, and The Martha Stewart Show, which ran from 2005 to 2012.
In 2004, Stewart was convicted of felony charges related to the ImClone stock trading case; she served five months in federal prison for fraud and was released in March 2005. There was speculation that the incident would effectively end her media empire, but in 2005 Stewart began a comeback campaign and her company returned to profitability in 2006. Stewart rejoined the board of directors of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia in 2011 and became chairwoman of her namesake company again in 2012. The company was acquired by Sequential Brands in 2015. Sequential Brands Group agreed in April 2019 to sell Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, including the Emeril brand, to Marquee Brands for $175 million with benchmarked additional payments.

Reviews

[Jessica Brusven · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great intro to gardening for those interested in cultivating a garden. There’s lots of detailed information that’s presented in an accessible way.

[Gail Richmond · Rating 3 out of 5]

General information; best thing for me was description, plan and photos of parts for a drip watering system.

[NatalyaVqs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great general intro to basics

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty basic. Goes into depth about some things (like varieties of shrubs and how to make a concrete trough planter) but not others.

[Cass County Public Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

The snow is melting and the first day of spring is just one week away! Soon we will be seeing little bits of green sprouting up in the yard, reminding us of the warmth to come. And then come the flowers! Every color you can imagine painted perfectly on their delicate petals. Don’t forget the fruits and vegetables that will be growing over the coming months and how tasty (and nutritious!) they will be when grown.

Why not take some time this spring to start your own garden? Whether you have space in the yard, decide to take the growing indoors, or lighten things up in your work place, growing plants of every kind is a fun and rewarding hobby. Don’t think you need a green thumb to help little seedlings turn into fully-grown plants; anyone can do it! And it always helps to get some starting points at the library, of course!

Gardening 101, a collection from The Best of Martha Stewart Living, is a good all-in-one resource to start off with. It covers the basics – from picking out your plants to knowing your tools – in a simple, down-to-earth way. Whether you choose to plant edibles, flowers, shrubs, or some of each, this book gives you the know-how to become the pride of the neighborhood! Invite your friends to help, start a club, or simply enjoy the peace it brings you as you tend to the earth and all that grows in it.

Feel free to pick up a copy of this fantastic book and browse through a myriad of others found at any of our library locations. You, and your new-found garden, will be glad you did.

- Josh Kreuer, library courier

[reading is my hustle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love to shelve the 600s- cookbooks & gardening books are the very definition of eye candy. This particular Martha book is a beauty and helpful to boot. It has all the info you need to grow veggies, flowers, trees, and shrubs. Page 79 has a picture of a vegetable patch that makes me swoon. And then there are the pictures of the perfectly tended gardens with sentences such as:

The only thing more appealing than the homegrown flavor is the colors- from rich purple-black, brilliant orange, full red, and streaked scarlet to exquisite cream white.

Sigh. I'm off to design my kitchen garden...

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, I wish I owned this book rather than just checking it out from the library. Thanks to this, I will now have produce all summer long next year rather than for a few frantic weeks. Say what you will about Martha Stewart, she does know her stuff when it comes to gardening (or at least her editors do).

[Noelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even Martha can't help with all the gardening I need to do on this house... the weeds are 40 years old.

[Bren Haas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful detailed images and directions for basic gardening. I refer to the spring veggie planting chapters often.

[Martha Dyck · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read, quite helpful.