It’s January, and that means that most gardeners have visions of seeds and seedlings dancing in their heads.
Naturally, this makes for an ideal time to host a garden book giveaway, right?
I’m going with a personal favorite this month, a new-ish book by William C. Welch and Greg Grant called Heirloom Gardening in the South: Yesterday’s Plants for Today’s Gardens published by Texas A&M University Consortium Press. I say “new-ish” because it’s actually an expanded version of an older text by Welch.
According to the press website, here’s what’s included in the revised edition:
- New essays on naturalizing daffodils, slips and starts, and growing fruit;
- A completely updated and expanded heirloom plant encyclopedia;
- Revised plant lists (bulbs, cemetery plants, etc.);
- New material on the creation of two of the authors’ personal gardens.
Building on the popularity of the original edition, this lively, entertaining, and informative new book from two proven experts will be enthusiastically welcomed by gardeners and horticulturists throughout Texas and the South.
The TAMU folks were gracious enough to send me a review copy.
And let me tell you that I wish that I’d had this book years ago, in its current form. It would have saved a lot of trial and error. With the rising interest in heirloom varieties that are suitable to our region, this revision couldn’t have come along at a better time. If you’re seeking to create an environmentally conscious garden filled with plants evoking Southern homes of old, this is really the book for you.
Note that I found the sections on the author’s creations of their personal gardens especially interesting. In fact, if you come back tomorrow, Greg Grant will fill you in on his special “homestead” project in an exclusive interview.
The details:
• The contest deadline is 5:00 PM on Friday, January 27, 2012.
• To enter, FIRST leave a brief note in the comments section of this post. THEN you can also:
Each of the above actions by you counts as a separate entry. That’s right, you can register up to THREE times for this contest.
• The winner must be a resident of the continental U.S. (Sorry, Canadian and Australian friends!) Yes, you can live north of the Mason-Dixon line and still be eligible.
• I’ll announce the winner in an update to this post and on my Facebook page during the week of January 30. The winner will be selected by a random drawing.
Best of luck!
Image source
