THE BEGINNING GARDENER

The publishers are doing this book a disservice in listing it as an adult book. Definitely and exclusively, it is a book for young gardeners, and the style- which often tends to talk down- would further limit it to younger potential gardeners than teen-agers. There is a good deal of very essential basic information on how to prepare and grow your own garden, and it would be a better book had she held to that line. The introductory chapters are beginning botany rather than gardening- and the tie-in is not always clearly defined. And the last part scatters too much- and too superficially- over a wide range of types of gardens, - bird gardens, box gardens, dish gardens, herb gardens, rock gardens, terrariums, wild flower gardens, etc. In between is the heartof the matter:- gauging the type of soil, choosing the garden site, planning in advance, starting seeds, tools and their care, the successive steps of digging, planting, caring for the garden- and ultimately the harvesting and the exhibiting of the produce. But at no point is Miss Cutler detailed enough to provide a how-to without the need for other and supplementary instruction. A disappointing book.