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THE JOY OF A SMALL GARDEN by Janet Gillespie

THE JOY OF A SMALL GARDEN

By

Pub Date: March 18th, 1963
Publisher: Dodd, Mead

In her introductory chapter Mrs. Gillespie explains that this is written by an amateur for amateurs. And to a major extent this is true- though perhaps for the parts rather than the whole, since by the time the Gillespies have inaugurated irtually every garden project for a small householder, they are more efficient -- and productive- than most professionals. Fortunately, however, she has not forgotten the periods of trial and error; she begins with fundamentals, assuming the other beginners need to know these; she traces each phase of her gardening from recorded first hand experience, the information as they learned it, even to examples of the mistakes they made. There are the lawn problems, facts about pruning, the tools needed- and not needed (when, why, how -- and the selection and elimination of the superfluous). There are bulbs, large ones and small, and how to read the garden catalogues behind the alluring pictures and descriptions; how to prepare the beds- or plan for naturalization; where and how to plant; what to do about the beguiling little bulbs. There is the woodland garden- and later on the ravine, the ry stream and the pool, all as they came, with the help of gathering native plants and the joy of scavenging. There are the heartaches and rewards of the perennial border, the vegetable garden and the herb garden, the extension to a window greenhouse, a cold frame, and starting seeds in pots or under hot-caps. And then retrenchment- cutting down of maintenance- and aid to a goal by adapting the design theories of Japanese gardens to a New Hampshire area. This is a delightful blend of practical information and human interest, personal experience.