Jan Williams Review of

            “Month-By-Month Gardening in Tennessee & Kentucky”

by Judy Lowe

I am always on the look out for gardening books that are specific to our region of the country.  While reviewing the Humphreys County Library’s selection of books in the gardening section I came across a book by Judy Lowe that I think would be of particular interest to Dickson GP Members.  It is titled “Month-BY-Month Gardening in Tennessee & Kentucky” by Judy Lowe.  This book is well laid out and very informative and highly “readable”.  It begins with some basic horticultural information on soil and climate factors for Tennessee, like average dates for last and first frost, precipitation averages, etc.

From there the book is divided into 11 different chapter categories, starting with annuals and ending with water gardens.  Then under each category, i.e. Perennials and Ornamental Grasses, information is given on a month by month schedule for planning, planting, care, watering, fertilizing, grooming and problems.  A sample, in Chapter Three, Herbs & Vegetables, under Care in November, part of one paragraph reads:  “Lightly mulch all perennial and biennial herbs (see page 91 if you don’t know which are annuals and which perennials).”  Then when you turn to page 91 there is a listing of which herbs are annuals and which perennials.  At the beginning of each chapter there is a great overview of each plant division covered in that chapter, and then proceeds to the month by month care for that division of plants.

I think this book would be of special interest to our GP members who have moved to Tennessee from another part of the country, and will help in their successful gardening in their new adopted state.  Any experienced gardener will also find this a handy reference and reminder of what needs to be done this month, as well as looking ahead to what we need to prepare for a couple of months down the road.

The author, Judy Lowe, is probably familiar to a great many of our long-time members, but she is a newly discovered author for me and I am excited to recommend this book, as well as others by her (see my next review of another Judy Lowe book).

A quote about Judy Lowe:

“has had a life-long fascination with gardening … lived in several different regions of Tennessee, and has experienced gardening in everything from sunny sites with hard red clay to dry, shady spots with soil so rocky it ruined numerous shovels.”

I certainly enjoyed this book and hope you all do, too.

                                    ~Jan Williams