Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #163999 in Books
• Published on: 1998-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Synopsis
Gathers information on the characteristics and uses of plants that promote the growth of other varieties, offering descriptions of helpful weeds and insect-repellent plants.

Customer Reviews

Very Good Book for US Gardeners
If you are interested in US pests that can affect your plants then this is the book for you - however here in the UK I don't have a problem with preying mantises or locust and of the suggested companion plants are also unavailable in the UK - I'm not knocking the book it looks very good - but if your interest is in UK Gardening I'd look elsewhere

Good in parts
This book contains a lot of useful information, not just about companion planting but also about other things such as pest control. However, the book is aimed at the american market; also the illustrations are amateur, inaccurate and I find them offputting.

There are also gross inaccuracies in the text, for example the author states that dandelions are not in competition with the grass in your lawn because they take nutrients from a different level of the soil. The illustration clearly contradicts the assertion and anyway the author has omitted to mention that the dandelion kills off grass by excluding light.

That the book is aimed at americans is mostly okay for me as what is grown in Britain is usually grown somewhere in America. However, the american bias means that, under 'pest control' you are told how to cope with raccoons and the odd praying mantis but not about how to stop foxes leaving heaps of dung and digging up your plot.

A terrific gardening resource!
I have Louise Riotte's first book "Roses Love Garlic", and consider this one the better of the two. I have never considered myself an organic gardener, but this book makes it easier to give it a try. Riotte lists many of the more common plants, flowers and herbs in categories, along with many of the pests that find them tasty treats. I have used her book as a guide in planning my garden this year, and so far it has been very successful. The most difficulty I experienced was in setting up my garden and flower beds, trying to remember what plants and herbs would not do well next to each other. Like many other gardeners, I already had perennials within my garden. I had to figure out how to work around, or where to transplant them for maximum benefit. She does give several garden plans (small, herb, handicapped, etc), so they can be used as checkpoints and guides for putting in your own garden. An excellent reference to add to your gardening books.