LOWER MIDWEST GARDENING
Techniques for Growing Landscape & Garden Plants in Missouri, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, West Virginia, southern Michigan & southern Ontario
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA
CONTENTS
THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO LOWER MIDWEST GARDENING
| ABOUT THIS BOOK | 7 |
|---|---|
| A GARDEN OF YOUR OWN | 8 |
| THE BASICS | 15 |
| Talking the Talk | 16 |
| Zoning In | 18 |
| Going Underground | 20 |
| Creating a New Garden | 25 |
| The Shady Side of Gardening | 28 |
| Buying Plants | 30 |
| Starting Plants from Seeds | 30 |
| Getting Plants in the Ground | 34 |
| Plants to Avoid | 35 |
| THE PLANNING STAGE | 37 |
| Make It Your Own | 38 |
| Taking Stock | 40 |
| Establishing Structure | 44 |
| Making the Most of Small Space | 50 |
| Gardening Up Front | 52 |
| Going to Pots | 54 |
| FIT TO EAT | 61 |
| Planning and Preparing Your Garden | 62 |
| Deciding What to Grow | 69 |
| Planting Your Garden | 72 |
| Care of Your Vegetable Garden | 78 |
| Reaping the Rewards | 82 |
| Growing Culinary Herbs | 84 |
| JUST FOR FUN | 99 |
|---|---|
| Annuals | 100 |
| Perennials | 106 |
| Bulbs | 116 |
| Groundcovers | 122 |
| Ornamental Grasses | 123 |
| Annuals, Perennials, Bulbs, Groundcovers and Grasses for the Lower Midwest |
128 |
| CREATING STRUCTURE | 159 |
| Selecting Shrubs, Vines & Small Trees | 160 |
| Care of Shrubs | 166 |
| Hedges | 171 |
| Vines | 174 |
| Shrubs, Vines and Small Trees for the Lower Midwest |
176 |
| Choosing the Right Tree | 190 |
|---|---|
| Care of Trees | 194 |
| Trees for the Lower Midwest | 198 |
| TAKING CARE | 205 |
| Watering Your Garden | 206 |
| Controlling Weeds | 206 |
| Mulching | 210 |
| Fertilizing Your Plants | 212 |
| Composting | 214 |
| What Can Go Wrong | 216 |
| Cultural and Environmental Problems | 217 |
| Troubleshooting Guide | 218 |
| Diseases | 221 |
| Insects | 226 |
| Animal Pests | 233 |
| RESOURCES | 236 |
| INDEX | 237 |
About this Book
Just like North America is made up of many different types of people, it is also made up of many different plant-growing regions. And just as you can often tell where a person comes from by the way they dress, speak, or act, you can often tell where a plant comes from by the way it looks and how it grows. This book is all about celebrating the region where you live and enjoying the unique gardening opportunities it has to offer.
You’ll find many benefits to be reaped from tending a home garden. Not only will you add beauty to your landscape and neighborhood, you will increase the value of your property and improve your quality of life.
Gardening allows you to mix relaxation with beneficial outdoor activity while providing an outlet to relieve stress. When you add vegetables and herbs to your garden, you will also reap the additional health benefits you get from growing your own food.
In addition to providing you with a place to relax and spend time with friends and family, your garden can also help preserve part of your region’s plant heritage. When populated with regional plants, your gardens will provide food and habitat for native fauna, especially beneficial insects and birds and butterflies. Native pollinating insects rely on regional plants for food and nectar, and gardens are becoming more and more important in this process as natural plant habitats are lost.
This book is intended for anyone who wants to take a more regional approach to his or her gardening. Maybe you’ve just purchased your first house and you are looking to spruce it up. Maybe you’re finally ready to make the commitment to growing your own food and want to know how to get started. Maybe you’re looking to install your first perennial border. Or maybe you’ve inherited an overgrown landscape and need to know how to get it back in shape.
Whether you garden a tiny city lot or a sprawling country estate, you’ll find this book is just what you need to get started and to sharpen your skills. The pages are packed with practical information and hundreds of step-by-step photos to take you through the basic techniques involved in all major aspects of gardening. The information is designed to help you become a responsible and sustainable gardener so you can complement your natural surroundings. Priority is put on choosing the right plant for the right place so you can reduce or eliminate your need for chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and watering, as well as on choosing plants that are beneficial to native pollinating insects and birds.