Best landscape-books according to redditors
We found 65 Reddit comments discussing the best landscape-books. We ranked the 28 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 65 Reddit comments discussing the best landscape-books. We ranked the 28 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
Manual of Woody Landscape Plants Their Identification, Ornamental Characteristics, Culture, Propogation and Uses Unabridged. Dirr
https://www.amazon.com/Landscape-Identification-Ornamental-Characteristics-Propogation/dp/1588748685
I would really recommend reading online resources as compared to buying books. With wikipedia and google you can learn about:
My program is structured very open ended and my professors rarely referenced their books but two that I find interesting are related to propagation.
[Manual of Woody Landscape Plants](http://www.amazon.com /dp/1588748685/ref=asc_df_15887486851809347?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=asn&creative=395093&creativeASIN=1588748685) has an introductory chapter that explains a lot of general plant information as well as listing tons of common woody landscape plants and techniques to care for them and propagate them.
American Horticultural Society Plant Propagation focuses more on overviews of various propagation techniques in a 'simplified' way with lots of pictures. Good light reading that is also very informative and may be easier to delve into than the Manual of Woody Landscape Plants. It is also much cheaper.
I am sure you will find some topics that are more interesting than others, the list is certainly not all inclusive but does cover most of the basic stuff I was learning last year. As with learning anything I encourage you to dive deep and get some good google-fu and wikipedia crawling under your belt. Lots of knowledge to be had!
First get rid of all the random concrete that's lying around. Leave anything that resembles a wall for the time being.
Next, get out there and weed whack. Rake everything up and dispose of it. Dig out any bushes you don't want to keep.
You could plant a xeriscape garden-one you don't have to water after the initial planting phase.
Check out [Las Pilitas Nursery] (http://www.laspilitas.com/) for California natives to fill in on your hillside.
There are also many books on how to xeriscape your yard. Check out your local library for a good selection you can borrow. There are ebooks available from Amazon, too:
[Top 50 Shrubs for Drought Tolerant Residential Landscapes] (https://www.amazon.com/Drought-Tolerant-Shrubs-Residential-Landscapes-ebook/dp/B0109C8R5I/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1536759875&sr=1-10&keywords=xeriscape)
Snakes are out there keeping down the population of rats, mice, gophers and moles which is a big advantage for you and your neighbors. Unless they are rattlesnakes you have nothing to worry about.
Find a site like this for your area: https://animals.mom.me/types-snakes-northern-california-4350.html
Identify which snakes you have in your yard so that you can be sure they're not poisonous.
The most common snake in California is the gopher snake.
Dirr is a god among men.
He's written lots of stuff.
Get the grass healthy and cut it weekly. It should help choke out the weeds. I did have to bust out the round up last week for some creeping in from the neighbors yard along the property line, this coming weekend I will pull out the dead weeds and their roots. In reverse order, fertilizer, proper irrigation and weekly mowing since January has kept my St. Augustine in the clear. I did one bagged low cut mowing with weed n feed, followed by mulching high cuts, 4in or as high as your mower will go, starter fertilizer then Milorganite about a week between each, then Milorganite/Ringer monthly until we get the nitrogen ban for the summer. Water just before sunrise to prevent fungus.
You will always have some weeds to deal with, it’s just a matter of getting them minimized.
The low cut and bagging gets emergent weeds off the lawn, no weed seeds to germinate. Keeping the grass tall after you’ve cut them once chokes out sunlight for new seeds to grow. Tall grass also holds more water, less frequent irrigation needed only 1-2 times per week, weeds dry out and can’t keep up, while the grass thrives. “Organic” fertilizer with slow release prevents artificially rapid growth that attracts bugs and over grows the leaf with insufficient root structure to outcompete the weeds. Milorganite has a smell to it, the dog likes to roll in it, pet safe, but he stinks, so I keep the pet areas going with mostly Ringer which he doesn’t like to roll in. It’s also a little different NPK mix so I can promote different behaviors of plant growth alternating which one I go with, to maintain a small scale balanced eco system. The neighbor with weed struggles has dry grass that he cut for the first time all year 4 days ago. Not irrigating and not mowing means the grass is loosing out. Across the street from him there’s a lady who irrigates but doesn’t mow, she’s got green grass that’s full of weeds. Mowing and watering make the biggest difference, gotta put the work into it to see the results, product application isn’t a substitute even if it’s big business.
Check out the Lawn Care Nut. He has tips on this very thing in recent videos.
https://www.youtube.com/user/LawnCareMidwest
If you prefer books, I have and recommend “the lawn care bible.”
The Lawn Bible: How to Keep It Green, Groomed, and Growing Every Season of the Year https://www.amazon.com/dp/0786888423/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_fhfXAbRWEFQNE
My goal this year was just to establish our new sod so the long term would be easier and the HOA wouldn’t bug us. I started research around New Years, and did much better than local folklore and tips. But the simple system of cut high, water 2x per week and feed it once a month has made our yard the standard for the street to hope for and has the neighbors asking how my grass is so green. And the literal curb appeal adds a sense of pride. I used to always hate “that guy” but now I am “that guy” with the groomed lawn.
Planting native does help especially if everyone does it. You can even find a lot of native plants at Lowe's and other box stores nowadays. There could be more, but it's better than it was a few years ago. This is a great book if you're interested in helping native insects http://www.amazon.com/Bringing-Nature-Home-Wildlife-Expanded/dp/0881929921
Pruning is a big subject, and what you should be doing is dependent on the species. This plant is too crispy for me to identify.
But, this plant looks like it was trimmed to bring down the size (doesn't work). That lead it to sending up those tall branches and a rat's nest of weakly attached growth, which would have been a problem if the tree had lived long enough to put some girth on them.
If you are interested in learning about pruning, here's a great book: https://www.amazon.com/Cass-Turnbulls-Guide-Pruning-3rd/dp/1570617511/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468817296&sr=1-1&keywords=cass+turnbull%27s+guide+to+pruning. The author also has a series of youtube videos, but the book really explains in more detail.
Watch this video: https://youtu.be/8DEfIqIrYpY
Its a pretty great exploration of the relevant ecology here.
Then, plant native plants in as many places as you can. This can support a huge range of organisms, even if done in a city.
>(For those that don't watch, the argument is basically: native plants can house thousands of types of insects. Insects are specialists in what they eat, and so plants that have a natural history in a place ("native") can support far more insects than can a recently introduced one. 96% of bird species that aren't devoted to fish or large animal meat are 100% insectivorous during the time in which they raise their young. The ones that are not are dependent upon things which eat insects for almost all their diet, such as fish, small mammals, or other birds. Thus, there is a direct line from native plants -> insects -> all species of bird. Furthermore, not only birds, but nearly all animals depend on insects in this way. They form ~25% of the diet of bears, foxes, etc. When, in florida, a city began reincorporating a native plant all through their city, they found a large increase in the number of butterflies that were associated with that plant, which were almost extinct. The speaker in the video wrote a book on how and why to plant native plants in your surroundings, and all the good it can do).
Here's the book he wrote on the subject: Bringing Nature Home: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0881929921/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Vi3RCb3XR9QK3
Other than that, learn as much as possible about ecology. Learn to identify the plants and animals around you. Learn about disturbance and succession in forests, it'll give you an infinite number of interesting things to ponder. Or if you live where there are plains/prairies, start thinking about and researching all the soil dynamics at play. Near an ocean, start researching coastal ecology. Give yourself a full on ecological education. Not only is it very satisfying, it'll empower you to be able to forward good decision making, and honestly for me it gives me some hope as well as I study more and more.
Not a govt program but look up Brad Lancaster. I took a class with him once at UofA. He builds rainwater harvesting systems and has worked with the city on a lot of stuff improving neighborhoods to be more sustainable. My class did a tour of his little eco home around university that runs 100% off rainwater and solar year-round. Guy had a rainwater shower and a full washing machine in his front yard that ran off into the garden haha.
I still refer back to the textbook from class, amazing resource
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0977246434/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_yIHjDbPWDWVXD
Apparently mine involves plants.. Red maples, at that. I swear I'm not a dendrophiliac.
That's news to me, but I never asked many questions about it from the folks I knew that did Peace Corps.
One alternative is the Student Conservation Association. You can join a backcountry trail crew. You don't really need any skills, but it can be an opportunity to develop some skills. I believe it's a 9 month commitment on a ten day rotation, of which 7 days will be on the trail, usually in the backcountry, but sometimes in the front country.
If you wanted to learn basic skills to be comfy and healthy out there, it'd be to learn how to pitch a tent taught using all guy lines, backcountry sanitation, water purification and how to protect your filter in freezing temperatures, and how to keep your gear and especially down insulation dry. Those are the shortcomings I observed when working alongside their crews.
Since it's so long, I'd get a few books to learn from while you're out there. I like some of the ultralight backpacking books to teach you how to apply skills when you need to cover some serious ground, which is very helpful when you have to walk far into the backcountry, and even more so when you have to carry tools in addition to your personal gear and a weeks worth of food. Add a couple survival books, nature field guides, a knot book and a fencing book, and I think you'll be in very good shape.
What kind of backyard have you always dreamed of? A good place to start is your local library, or buy a good basic book like this:https://www.amazon.com/Midwest-Home-Landscaping-Roger-Holmes/dp/1580114970/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492267899&sr=8-1&keywords=midwest+gardening
Pick up this book. It's very imformative.
Either the frame to put a European license plate on my US Audi or maybe the Organic Lawn Care book, which isn't that strange until you see just how bad I am at taking care of my lawn.
..but perhaps the semi-creepy guitar mount is the strangest of all!
[The definitive guide](https://smile.amazon.com/Manual-Woody-Landscape-Plants-Characteristics/dp/0875637957?sa-no-redirect=1
)
I couldn't recommend The Bee Book enough. It is incredibly informative and a blast to read. One of my favorite books of any genre.
It's definitely a challenge gardening in the desert and it's what I do for a living! Lots of trial and error still to this day and I've lived in the desert for 10 years now.
Here are some books that I have found very helpful:
Perennials for the Southwest
Native Plants for Southwest Landscapes
Arid Plants for Dry Regions
I used to work in a desert botanic garden nursery and these 3 books were our go to books for reference. Bear in mind that your area can get much colder than the low desert but all these books have plant temperature requirements.
But most importantly have fun getting to know the desert and after time you'll see what a magical place it is. If you have the time I recommend exploring the natural areas by hiking, camping or just doing a bit of road tripping. You'll get lots of inspiration and come to an understanding of how unique all the animals and plants are that have had to adapt to such harsh conditions. Winter is great time to explore. No bugs and all the snakes are sleeping! =)
Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond
Permaculture: A Designer's Manual is considered the bible for permaculture because of how comprehensive it is and how much information is packed into that book. It won't explain all of the effective strategies for different climates that we've developed over the last 30 years but I would definitely start there for the foundation. Then move on to books on topics that are specific to a particular topic within permaculture design.
​
My Recommendations:
Recommended reading
Great book with lots of picture references to weeds, etc... http://www.amazon.com/Scotts-Lawns-Your-Guide-Beautiful/dp/0696229692
Check your local university websites. Most universities have good resources like these.
http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ldplants/
http://hortsense.cahnrs.wsu.edu/Home/HortsenseHome.aspx
Also Dirr manuals are great for plant information. They can be a little technical but are great resources.
https://www.amazon.com/Landscape-Identification-Ornamental-Characteristics-Propogation/dp/1588748685
here are the 3 i ordered, with #1 being the best:
Scotts Lawns: Your Guide to a Beautiful Yard Your Guide to a Beautiful Yard
Lawn Problem Solver (Waterproof Books) Identify, Treat, Prevent Waterproof Books
The Lawn Bible: How to Keep It Green, Groomed, and Growing Every Season of the Year
I’m not saying it’s going to kill the grass, and it can’t look nice. I’m just saying, ideally, there should be rotation for the health of the lawn. I’m not making it up man, a quick google search, or an in depth investigation will provide some sound evidence. Also if it’s a career, I’d highly recommend a few books..
https://www.amazon.com/Scotts-Lawns-Your-Guide-Beautiful/dp/0696229692
This ones actually great to keep in the truck
Hello! I don't know whether you're new up in the PNW or not, but this is completely normal up here in the summer. Our grasses are lovely and green all winter long but without a LOT of summer water, they turn brown and look dead in the summer.
If your yard is full of weeds and you have your heart set on a carpet of grass, then yanking it all out and seeding and babying a new lawn isn't a bad way to go.
I can recommend this book too:
http://www.amazon.com/Organic-Lawn-Care-Manual-Low-Maintenance/dp/1580176496
Lots of practical information about types of grass that grow in particular soils, and how to care for it and when to perform certain maintenance chores.
Your lawn will be FAR healthier if you eschew the weed-and-feed and chemical fertilizers and instead grow the right grass for this area and let it grow deep roots. Lawn chemicals are bad for you and especially bad for pets and small children, so if you can pull your weeds by hand or tolerate some as part of the green rug and not mind, you're doing the land and your health a favor. (The grass won't look as perfect, of course, but it comes down to what you prefer and whether we yay-natural hippies an win you over.)
Other advice that I found sound - when moving to a new house, do very little in the first year. You don't know yet where your wet spots are going to be in the winter or in a storm, or what parts of your yard will be sunny or shady in which season. We get a LOT of movement with the sun this far north. You will be able to better understand whether you plan for wet or dry, shade or sun, once you've observed a year's cycle in place. (If you can't wait, there's shade-and-sun mixes of grass seed - just plant everything and let what wants to grow grow!).
TLDR - brown yard is normal this time of year in the PNW, wait for fall to see what it REALLY looks like, read a great book about lawn care, and please consider going without the lawn care chemical section of bigbox stores.
Enjoy your new home in any case!!!!!
The plantsman's bible is Dirr's Manual. It has a very horticultural slant, but is invaluable for someone truly dedicated to plants. It is 1300 pages of comprehensive plant knowledge and will tell you exactly how to germinate seeds of Trochodendron aralioides. The problem for most is that it has no pictures - only line drawings of leaf shapes. This is probably not the book you need, but is a tremendous resource for someone with a thirst for knowledge.
http://www.amazon.com/Manual-Woody-Landscape-Plants-Characteristics/dp/1588748685/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1408405815&sr=8-4&keywords=dirr%27s+encyclopedia+of+trees+and+shrubs
My favorite plant book for casual reading is Dirr's Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs. It has color photos of seemingly every tree and shrub in existence, as well as discussions of their landscape value.
http://www.amazon.com/Dirrs-Encyclopedia-Trees-Shrubs-Michael/dp/0881929018/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408405815&sr=8-1&keywords=dirr%27s+encyclopedia+of+trees+and+shrubs
When I was a budding plantsman, my father gave me a very useful book which I still refer to today. This National Arboretum publication gives a broad overview of all different types of plants(vines, annuals, perennials, evergreens, aquatic plants, shade trees, etc) and is a great way to come up with ideas of what to plant.
http://www.amazon.com/National-Arboretum-Outstanding-Garden-Plants/dp/0671669575
If you are more interested in just selecting plants online, Monrovia has an excellent website that lets you narrow down plants by requirements.
http://www.monrovia.com/plant-catalog/
I fenced 1.7 acres two years ago. I don't know what your budget is but anything more than a "field fence" made of 14 gauge wire was going to be prohibitively expensive. A field fence consists of h-braces on the corners and between the runs depending on the distance. These are made of 8" diameter pressure treated posts. Between the h-braces, t-posts keep the wire running along the contour of the ground and your fence line. The fence wire will keep small animals enclosed but not chickens. For grown goats you'll need a single electric wire on top, which will be easy to place on top of the field fence.
For 1.7 acres, it was about $4,000 for all the materials. I live in Hawaii, which complicates things because you have to drill/jack-hammer almost every post hole. To pay someone to do it would have brought the cost up to ~9-13,000. Considering the rock and jungle I had to deal with, I would think that's a worst-case scenario cost.
I found this book to be invaluable in choosing a fence type and building it. I highly recommend you get started by reading it cover to cover.
https://www.amazon.com/Fences-Pasture-Garden-Gail-Damerow/dp/088266753X
[Edit] This is what my wire looks like: https://www.ruralking.com/red-brand-field-fence-1047-12-11-47-x330-monarch-knot-70038.html
Get a good pruning book! I have this one and it's great.
Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:
amazon.co.uk
amazon.ca
amazon.com.au
amazon.in
amazon.com.mx
amazon.de
amazon.it
amazon.es
amazon.com.br
amazon.nl
amazon.co.jp
amazon.fr
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Many songbirds are insectivores, so consider "growing" a birdfeeder -- no, don't grow bugs (!!) but grow native species that support bugs. These could be any plants that attract insect pollinators, spiders, or other kinds of delicious bird grub. (Insect larvae is arguably the most important protein source for birds and comprise most of what bird parents feed to their young.)
For example: oak trees have been shown to support over 400 species of Lepidoptera (butterflies/moths) and consequently are extremely important for migrating birds (who get energy from eating the larvae supported by the oak leaves).
I would check out Doug Tallamy's great book Bringing Nature Home to learn more about the benefits of native plants to birds and other native wildlife.
You can also grow "berry birdfeeders" (cherry trees, cedar trees, raspberry bushes, wild strawberries, etc) to attract berry-eating birds like thrushes and cedar waxwings.
If you plant berry-growing woody plants or trees, these double as shelter for the birds -- making your backyard a more suitable habitat overall!
Good luck!!
Edit: Added the line about the importance of insect larvae
Edit 2:
More about native plants that attract birds (Midwest US)
For a second it looked like Dr. Dirr's manual of woody landscape plants.
Learning about invasive species vs. native species and how the environment is affected by them. It's particularly poignant in the book Bringing Nature Home by Doug Tallamy
Also, learning about product packaging. Why is there so much of it around a tiny toy or beauty product? I think my professor had said Germany is known for having very little packaging and it's well designed.
Sorry this response is way late but hopefully these are still worth thinking about. What did you write about anyway?
ok guys, this comment kinda blew up while i'm traveling and not checking here regularly, plus i'm a kinda Reddit dummy so responding to my own comment is likely the dumbest way to do this but i do want to respond to all the PMs and replies here without going bananas.
i can't claim a spot-on diagnosis of what's going on with OP's lawn but that amount of re-work year after year indicates something is going on. this is not normal. grass should be low maintenance green space, not an annual ritual of a total do-over.
at minimum, take a soil sample and get it to your local co-op extension office, where they'll examine it and make recommendations for necessary amendments to grow the plants you desire (grass, in this case).
all the comments about contractor's blend grass mix are on point. its function is a quick hit, then it's gone. you want to grow perennial grasses that are hardy for your growing zone. the co-op extension office can also help you determine this, if you like. i'm in Maine, so cool-season grasses like perennial rye and fescues (creeping, red, sheep, etc.) and Kentucky bluegrass do really well.
Scott's products suck because Scotts is a petrochemical fertilizer company, full-stop. they are like drug-dealers who want to get your lawn hooked on their product because then that's the only way it's going to "be its best". meanwhile, dumping petrochemicals and synthetics on the ground to grow grass is completely stupid because growing grass isn't that hard to do and lends itself to organic practices stupid easily.
some quick points:
for more info check out The Organic Lawn Care Manual by Paul Tukey, which is a great primer on this stuff. https://www.amazon.com/Organic-Lawn-Care-Manual-Low-Maintenance/dp/1580176496
a lawn should be fun, low maintenance green space, not repetitive, backbreaking labor or a dumping ground for totally unnecessary synthetic chemicals that just keep your lawn hooked on drugs and prop up big business that doesn't give a shit about you, your family, and the planet we share.
Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs http://www.neebo.com/Textbook/dirrs-hardy-trees-and-shrubsb9780881924046/ISBN-9780881924046?kpid=0-88192-404-0&gclid=CPWWmbu9yMICFQ4S7AoddVAA0A
Dirr's Manual of Woody Landscape Plants
http://www.amazon.com/Manual-Woody-Landscape-Plants-Characteristics/dp/1588748685
Both are awesome.