The Ortho Home Gardener's Problem Solver Smith, Cheryl

Even beautiful gardens have a few problems. With descriptions of problem-solving techniques, as well as solutions for hundreds of specific problems, this book helps home gardeners identify and solve problems both indoors and outdoors. A wide range of possible solutions is represented. You choose the method that suits you best -- from hand picking to spraying. Hundreds of full-color illustrations.

Surveying more than 600 problems typically encountered by home gardeners, the Ortho staff explains what to do about them. For example, weeds: their persistence in a lawn indicates that "conditions are not optimal for grass," and the gardener should fight back by addressing the needs of the soil that sustains (or does not) the grass, i.e., needs regarding drainage, fertilizer, light, water, mowing, pests and more. Or, what about flowers and leaves that show signs of marauding beetles? Spray the plant with Orthene or Sevin insectide, Ortho says. As a casual browse will show, this is no organic gardening manual, and some readers will object to the chemical curative methods proposed. That said, the book is laid out clearly and concisely in a two- or three-column tabular format; is well-illustrated with color photos of afflicted trees, flowers, fruits, vines, lawns and shrubs; and gets right to the point of what ails them and how to cope.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Good pictures and clear, uncomplicated text highlight plant problems and their solutions--mostly chemical, a few organic. But even for libraries serving mainly organic gardeners, this is a worthwhile purchase for the wonderful disease and pest identification it provides and for the appendix, which has very good information on plant selection.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.