Living in the southern United States, there is one gardening book that I’ve found indispensible, the “Southern Living Garden Book.” This garden manual, which lists Southern Living as its senior writer, has been a staple in the library of many a rose gardener. A copy can be located in just about any large garden supply store or book store.

The "Southern Living Garden" book covers roughly all states south of the Ohio river and east of New Mexico. This book is of the utmost assistance if you want to know whether a particular plant will survive the winter in your area as well as the heat of the summers. Every southern garden plant, as well as most northern plants, I’ve ever looked up has been in this book. I haven’t found a single plant that grows in my area which hasn’t been included. The plants are listed alphabetically according to their scientific names throughout the body of the book and alphabetically by their common names in the index.

Once you select your perfect plant at the nursery the “Southern Living Garden Book” will be able to tell you how much sun the plant needs, how much water it likes as well as when to prune. If you unsure when to trim your clematis or hydrangea the “Southern Living Garden Book” will tell you. If you’re constantly planting your shrubs and perennials too close you can use this book to double check the mature size that each plant will become.

As far as rose gardening there is a nine page section that is specific to roses only. These pages cover climate, purchasing roses, finding the ideal location and then planting your rose, general rose care, pests and diseases, pruning practices, cold protection, and it then goes on to discuss the different varieties of roses in detail.

Whether your garden only includes roses or you have a large variety of plants in your garden you’ll greatly benefit from the information at the back of the book. The back section of the “Southern Living Garden Book” covers all sorts of topics from rooting cuttings, composting, pruning, planting bare root and potted plants, diseases, beneficial insects, soil management, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. All of these topics are explained with color diagrams so that you thoroughly understand what the book is teaching you, and you can then replicate it in your own yard. You’ll especially enjoy the full color photos of the various diseases common to roses with solutions for controlling and treating these problems.

This is the only gardening book I’ve ever owned that I can’t do without. I’ve had my copy for six years now and I’ve used it so much the binding has come loose and the pages are falling out. Needless to say I’m debating whether to purchase a new copy or to just keep shoving the old one back together.

This book can be purchased at any book store, both Barnes and Noble and Amazon carry it in soft and hard cover. If you don’t already own this wonderful treasure of knowledge, why not purchase it today? You won’t be sorry. The “Southern Living Garden Book” also makes an excellent gift for the green thumb in your life.

Just the other day I was at a big box chain garden center and guess what book they had right next to all their registers? It was filthy, torn, dog eared and obviously well used on a daily basis, the “Southern Living Garden Book.” It brought a smile to my face.

If you would like to see the book at Amazon.com click this link:
The Southern Living Garden Book