Worst book on Rain Gardens
596887
I was appalled by the plants recommended by this book for inclusion in a rain garden. Numerous plants identified as invasive plants  by the USDA  were included in the plant recommendations. This book is grossly out of date and does not provide any unique information useful to the southern climate or geography. There many better and more current publications on rain gardens. Do not rely on this book.
690244
I liked "and I shall have some peace there," so I ordered "the backyard parables" (use of lower case her own, or the editor's). I was so disappointed with "parables"--in content, design, and organization. It's heading straight to the donate pile. Inserting numerous (I almost said "endless") sidebars of information--which, by the way, aren't really sidebars when they ramble on for pages and pages, is ugly (they're all printed on a dingy gray background) and senseless (they interrupt the flow of the book, and they often have little or nothing to do with the text they interrupt). What in the world happened? Who designed this book?? It's a sad thing, as this perhaps could have been another beautiful book. My hunch: they rushed it.
2761876
This book is not devoid of any information.  A good start for beginners. Although it is really a blank ledger to keep notes on as one gardens. I would not reccomend this book to anyone who has gardened before. There are  some hints and ideas within the book, but unfortunately they are obvious.  Due to how the book is laid out, one has to wait untill the apropriate  month to gain the tip. Not enjoyable reading. As someone who has read his  share of garden books I can honestly say that I was really let down by this  one. Try Another.
4306677
I hate to disagree with all the glowing reviews, but... Maybe I've read too many of these books, but not only was there nothing new here, it also didn't seem like any of the information was in-depth enough to be useful to a beginner.

If you are looking for an overview of the possibilities and a place to start, I'd highly recommend skipping this and getting Mini-Farming: Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre (by Brett Markham) instead, which has MUCH more useful information on most of the topics--enough to enable you to actually get started growing your own food, unlike this book.

The Gardening section of Backyard Farming lacks even a basic chart of when to plant crops relative to frost dates. Yes, this information is easily available from your local Extension service and other online sources, but it is one of the first things a beginning gardener needs to learn, so I would think it should be included in a book on Backyard Farming!

Also, this book has about 75 pages about "Animals for a Backyard Farm." I would hate for anyone to read this and think they have enough information to try to keep chickens, rabbits, sheep, goats, or bees. More valuable, though certainly not worth buying the book, is the resource page. It points the reader to a couple of intro to beekeeping books (I'd recommend--despite the title--The Complete Idiot's Guide to Beekeeping), and Storey Guides on Beekeeping, Raising Dairy Goats, Raising Sheep, and Raising Meat Goats--but for some reason not Raising Rabbits, nor any other book about rabbits--and does not mention any books about chickens, such as the excellent The Small-Scale Poultry Flock by Harvey Ussery, another book I'd highly recommend.

I really wanted to like this book, but there is nothing new here for anyone who has any knowledge of these subjects, and I don't think there's enough information to empower a beginner to get started, either.
2940323
God, where to begin. In a nutshell, one of the worst books I've read in years. In addition to being simply bad prose, it is also racist, condescending, and full of factual mistakes.

This is written in 1991 by a conservative Brit who travels to then-Soviet Uzbekistan looking to experience it as the region where his fellow British gentlemen adventured throughout the 1800's. As such, he is dismissive of the current culture and politics, does not like to try the local food, passes judgement on the locals, and waxes nostalgic for the British Empire.

During one telling moment, the author notices hungry and tired people standing in breadlines (food shortages were common in the early 1990s), and calls them, inexplicably, "crocodiles". I'm not even sure what to make if this, other than that long lines of poorly dressed people waiting to buy food don't look aesthetically pleasing to a European traveler's eye.

Apart from its culturally insensitive tone, the book is also badly edited, with place names, names of historical figures, and ethnic group names wildly misspelled. Other times, old-style names coined during the British Empire days are condescendingly used. Sometimes multiple spelling variations are used throughout (such as Uzbeg versus Uzbek).

In short, absolutely the worst book on the area you will ever read. Uzbekistan has a lot to offer to someone interested in Central Asian history, and there is sadly a dearth of good books on the subject. This is why this book is especially disappointing: it could have provided real insight and information, but does nothing of the sort. If you want to read poorly written and very badly researched travel notes by someone who is condescending and not really interested in the region apart from the role it played in the formation of the British empire, go ahead and read this.
4374074
I have rarely written reviews on Amazon but I absolutely must write one for this book.  I resisted the urge because I have very little that is good to say but I would be doing a disservice to other potential readers if I did not.

This is one of the most poorly-written books that I have ever read. The author's misuse of prepositions is rampant.  There is no flow - even within paragraphs.  The paragraph that is currently open on my KindleFire discusses containers for container gardening.  The author begins by recommending plastic for areas with low humidity.  He then addresses decorating plastic buckets (adding that he,personally, has not done so "by any means").  Then he suggests mixing organic matter into the soil for container gardens (that should be a general recommendation for any kind of gardening).  The remainder of the paragraph details what kind of organic matter to use and which to avoid and then briefly addresses drainage issues as a result of the type  of organic matter used.

Oh, I just glanced at the next paragraph.  He recommends getting a hygrometer then admits that he doesn't have one himself.  Then he explains how a hygrometer with a temperature feature would be helpful for letting you know if a pot is too hot for a plant.  If it is, then moving the pot is fairly easy according to the author, who apparently hasn't had the pleasure of moving s mature plant bearing fruit in a well-watered five-gallon container.

The next paragraph recommends using thread-bare sheets to cover plants during the day!!!!!  I'm sorry.  That makes no sense to me and is a rather ugly solution to a problem that should not exist if proper care concerning plant choices and siting one's garden has been taken.

The NEXT paragraph returns to hygrometers - this time telling us they really aren't necessary since plants will tell us when they are thirsty.  Personally, io think if you wait until the plant is dropping leaves to water it, you have no business gardening or writing a book about gardening.  At that point, the plant is stressed and fighting to survive.  The quantity and quality of produce from a plant that is dropping leaves will be impacted negatively.

There are far better books on the subject of urban gardening.  This book, apparently, should have been titled "mobile home gardening" since that is where the author lives and where he has his gardening experience.  I think most people looking for advice about urban gardening are expecting something else than what the author has provided.  Anybody buying this book with the hopes of gaining solid information about gardening in an urban environment will be quite disappointed.
1056177
When I read this book, the first thing I thought was "Why I bought it". So I checked the reviews and noted it must had been because of the stars it had. So it is time to help other people to save their money.
I think the only good thing this book has is its nice cover, that invites you to read it. But when you open it, you get very dissapointed. It is like an average student's school homework about greenhouses, in a very poor edition with horrible drawings. It has more questions than answers, more personal feelings about greenhouses than usefull information and more recommended web sites than recommended tips.
I bet you could get good quality information in a simple search in internet. Save your time and money.
2190130
I have read many books on the subject and this is by far the worst one.  The author thinks he knows everything and that his book is the definitive work on the subject.  That is a bad combo.  When you have that attitude, then you are no longer open to new methods or opinions.  Any book, in this day and age, that has 4 chapters on soil and only one on hydro is better used as kindling.  Setups are poorly explained, there are few pictures, and it yields more frustration than crops.
1860051
It seems this book was written by someone who doesn't speak English.  I doubt they have experience gardening either.  I noticed most of the five star reviews are written with terrible grammar.  Coincidence?  I doubt it.  Here is an example from the book:

--
historical designing models: Naming these models differ depending on the circumstances and the periods in which they arose like the Japanese-style and other styles. There is no doubt that the study of gardening design cannot be completed without the experience and because of the many problems but as days go by, one can gain experience and over the days it often helps in overcoming those problems.

Styles, Juliet (2016-02-03). Secrets of Gardening: How to Have a Successful Garden (Kindle Locations 122-126).  . Kindle Edition.

--

This book is not worth buying even for free.
3376635
I'm interested in the concept of permaculture and I absolutely love the way my backyard has popped over the course of the past three chemical-free gardening years (my suburban neighbors hate me and my new found love of "weeds").  I thought that "The Permaculture Handbook: Garden Farming for Town and Country" would be a great addition to my gardening library and could teach me more about the intertwining ideas and scientific reasoning involved in permaculture design.  I've decided that I don't like this book at all.  I tolerated the first 41 pages, where the book presents a left-wing socio-political discussion about the collapse of modern society and our impending return to ox-plowed farming and horse+cart transportation (technology = bad! & this seems to be a recurring theme throughout the book).  But, on page 42 the author encourages people to merge into a "dream consciousness" to respond to "subtle influences" and feel "psychic footprints" in your garden... (what???).  Inclusion of this pseudo-science babble has completely lost my interest in this book.
4481236
This book is so boring and uninformative that it actually makes me angry.  I remember when Lonely Planet books used to impart interesting information to you.  This book has nothing in it. Nothing! really!  THIS BOOK DOES NOT HAVE places to sleep in it.  THIS BOOK DOES NOT HAVE Lovina Beach or Batur Lake which is inside the crater of Mount Batur where there are hot springs and a small live volcano.  Why would a "guidebook" to Bali leave that out.  THIS BOOK DOES NOT HAVE information about local busses, only tourist busses.  This book basically tells you places where you can be a tourist with other tourists.  THIS BOOK IS VERY BORING!  Even the photographs are bad!  Color me unimpressed!
4620754
I purchased this book to guide me in gardening at our coastal Northern California home.  I'm very disappointed.  The information is generic and I can't find specific gardening for coastal climate. The information includes suggestions that are clearly not specific for coastal climate, like fruit trees... which will not grow in the foggy summer conditions, and marmots.  Marmots? Really? They aren't located on the west coast at all.  What a waste of my money.
4082509
A very disappointing read about an unlikable, spoiled rich lady who spends most time farming put her child to "kids club". This book will leave you frustrated trying to figure out all the designer labels named in the book. This was quite shallow and a waste of time.
822221
I own hundreds of books, some good, some not so good, but I've never returned one of them. I'm returning this one.

I'm a Mississippi Master Gardner. I know plants, but when I learned about the amazing benefits of raising earthworms, (vermiculture) I started looking for some professional material on the subject. I am not a traditional gardener. I don't plant in long rows, and spend countless hours hoeing weeds and crawling around on the ground. I plant in raised beds in a companion-planting style, and self-watering containers called EarthBuckets. I look for new thoughts and ideas, and am willing to try the ones that make sense. This atypical outlook on gardening is what first interested me in this book.

The words "Beyond Compost" were intriguing, but the book itself, in my opinion, is a failure. Red flags immediately went off in my mind, when the first sentence of the book is how it was "self-published" on the internet. Made me wonder why a "real" publisher wouldn't touch it...then I figured out why. The information is weak and vague, very unprofessionally presented, with the words, "...but that's outside the scope of this book" taking the place of useful information, and that doesn't include all the spelling and grammatical errors. I'm not usually this critical, but I feel let down by this book in a big way.

I will give you the synopsis of the book in a few short sentences: 1. steal you some bread/bakery trays. 2.pack them full of perfectly good compost. 3. add worms. 4. stack 6-7 trays high. 5. keep watered. 6. repeat before worms die.

I gave this a 1-star rating because 0-stars wasn't an option. Sorry Mr. Wilkinson, but read a book before you try to write a book.
2008160
In the very first chapter Jo gets a dustpan and scoops up some living baby mice and literally throws them out into the yard.  This mind you is a woman who is an extreme environmentalist and more importantly who lives according to God's word.  Guess she missed the part about harming God's creatures.  What a hypocrate!!!  The story lacks imagination (except for the treatment of the mice) and is the same as a lot of boring books out there.  Of the hundreds of books I've read in my life this one rates in the top 10 of most unlikeable.  .
534756
I love the hills. and I admire Lauren on the show, so that's why I wanted to read her book. When I got it, I thought it was going to have the same drama, that love- tranglie, friendship feeling you see on the show, but it wasn't! When I read the first 10 pages, it lacked a story, the whole story was run-on, there was no "drama" in the book.  There was so much profanity in the book, the whole story fell apart. It lacked creavity, and reading that book was like reading a bad movie you don't like. DO NOT BE FOOLED BY THE AUTHERS NAME, THIS BOOK IS TRASH AND NOT WORTH READING!
1894414
This book is not a good self teaching book, since there are little projects that you can follow and do by yourself. The landscapes are messy and unclean works of Mr. Szabo, that I didn't like at all!!
I wouldn't recommend this book to anybody and I feel lucky that I borrowed the book from Public Library and didn't pay for it!