This book could easily be worth $50 and it would be worth the investment. I've been a gardener for a number of years, and out of the entire bookshelf of gardening books that i own, this book, hands down, is far more comprehensive than all of them put together. The first section of the book, a complete book in intself, will teach you just about everything you ever wanted to know about almost every aspect of gardening, and is comprehensive enough that if you learned it all you would be well on your way to becoming a master gardener. The second section, the plant portraits, gives you more information about each vegatable and herb in your garden than you could ever dream of knowing about, and more information than you would even be able to find. Like tomatoes? there are almost eight pages dedicated to them alone. The entire book is filled with beautiful color photographs, and it is packed with tons of hard-core information. Not like the "fluff" and tons of meaningless words without any content that practically all the other books are filled with. Recently i have moved to all hydroponics, and most of the rest of my gardening books are now about worthless to me, however this book is still prooving to be an invaluable source of information. The only thing this book does not cover very well is insects and plant diseases, although it still does quite a bit better than most gardening books do. Of course, if it did, this book would probably be over 700 pages long, "complete vegatable and herb gardener" style. The book "The organic gardeners handbook of natural insect and disease control" is a very good book on this subject. Spend the money and get both of these books. You wont need anything else.

Burpee's "The Complete Vegetable and Herb Gardener: A Guide to Growing Your Garden Organically" is fantastic. In addition to what Burpee lists on the back cover of what is inside the book, there are also many easy-reading tables that contain excellent information such as the vitamin(s) that each vegetable contains, different cultivars, plant PH needs, watering needs per week, crop yields, etc. Many interesting tidbits.

The layout is so wonderful, one does not feel overwhelmed with all of the information that is in the book!

This was my first gardening book purchase and 40+ gardening books later, I still LOVE it. Ever since I my first Burpee catalog came in the mail I've fallen in love with the company and their product. This book will help the novice to the experienced gardener care and harvest a complete range of vegetables. I feel guilty if I drag it out to the garden since this almost a "coffee table" book. The descriptions and pictures give great hope to what your garden can and will be with guidence from this book.

Gardening and Landscaping On and Around Your Deck. How to surround your deck with spring flowers & fall berries, & fill it with flowers that will attract birds & butterflies, as well as create an edible landscape for yourself.

Time to turn your deck into a place worth living in? Want to add a little Eden into your life?

Barbara Ellis has the book for you!

With gorgeous photographs & elegant drawings; lists of flowers that will attract wildlife; comparisons of different kinds of containers & trellises, & simple instructions on how to do almost anything with plants, DECKSCAPING is a must for anyone wanting to change that drab outdoor area into a welcoming haven for yourself & your wild life!

This book is an excellent addition to my collection of gardening books. The author did a great job of outlining projects and listing the plants used in the projects. The pictures are a great guide to anyone desiring to either duplicate her projects or simply get ideas. Since I work fulltime and have only the weekend to indulge my love of gardening, I look for ideas in books and gardening magazines--this book is a great source. With the current focus on extending our living space to the outdors, I like to maximize what little spare time I have by utilizing the results of someone else's vision and labor. I hope they don't mind.

This book thoroughly intriqued me because often when we think of decks, we think of some elaborate, expensive project. In this case building a deck can mean little more than building a simple platform and from there, expanding on your idea to whatever extent one chooses. How far one goes with design will likely depend to a certain degree on space, lifestyle and financial resources. There are some great ideas here for furniture, planters, etc. and the photography is quite appealing. Wondering what to plant around your deck and where? This book offers some really great suggestions. Now, if I could just find my existing deck under all this snow....

Of all my gardening library, this one is the most used. Very good basic gardening information source.

This is, without a doubt, one the BEST gardening & landscaping how-to books on the market. Easy to find topics, including: The Basics, Flowers, Food Gardens, Lawn & Groundcovers, Trees and Shrubs, Houseplants and Container Gardens and much more! Hundreds of easy to follow illustrations! This book is PACKED with useful tips, directions and wonderful projects! A HIGHLY recommended book!

From "abaxial" to "zygote", this book contains just about every gardening-related term you can think of. The definitions are written in real English: not scientific jargon that you need another dictionary to decipher. It's clear that the author is a gardener herself! I also liked the extensive index with drawings to illustrate various leaf shapes, flower forms, insects, and other things that are easier to show than define. Best of all, the written entries are in clear, easy-to-read type; they're not crammed in or set in tiny type that's hard to read. This handy reference belongs on every gardener's bookshelf!

If you have a sunny, shady, wet, sloped or dry location this book has plans for them all. It is useful in designing your own garden or simply use one of the many plans provided. The color photographs are extensive and include complete gardens so you can see how different plants look together. This book takes the guess work out by providing the size, color(s), bloom time and growing zones for each plant reviewed. There is also some information on annuals, bulbs and shrubs that work well in a prennial garden. There are even tips on attracting butterflies to your garden. Overall, this book is full of great ideas for any type of garden you may be planning.

For new homeowners or experienced gardeners, this book is filled with simple, ingenious techniques for landscaping with a minimum of sweat, time, and natural resouces. In addition to covering flowers, vegetables, shrubs, trees, and other plant types, the book has a most useful section on lawns and groundcovers. It also includes information on pruning and other techniques. The layout is user-friendly, and the illustrations are plentiful and easy to follow. Nearly everyone who comes to my house asks to borrow this book!

This is a great book and the first I grab when I need to get information or to solve a problem. If I could only have one book on organic solutions I'd pick this one hands down.

I have lots of organic gardening books and this is one of the best overall. It is detailed, informative and written in an easy to understand manner. Great as a first book for the budding organic gardener.

I find this book to be quite user-friendly and helpful in identifying different diseases and pests that are affecting my garden. It is also helpful as I plan what to grow because I can decide which varieties are most likely to be successful with relatively little pest and disease control effort on my part.

I have poked through endless shelves of gardening books, seeking the one, complete gardening book that I could use as a reference for everything! I was looking for one that would tell not only how to plant and grow things, but also how to harvest and prepare the products. How should you cut your asparagus so as not to damage the crowns? How do you dry your herbs? This was one of the few gardening books that addressed this aspect.

This was not its only outstanding characteristic. Not only does this book address the vegetable garden, it also tackles anything the home gardener is likely to face. Houseplants, trees and shrubs, ornamental plants as well as productive plants. It covers general topics, such as crop rotation, in addition to specific plants. And it is all arranged alphabetically, and nicely cross-indexed, so that you can nearly always find what you need.

The first and second time I bought this book, it was as a gift. I finally had to get it for myself as well. It is the best I have found so far.

It is indeed the indispensable resource for every gardener! I've had mine for a couple of years now and I'm constantly referencing it for organic and gardening information. Rodale is one of the best publishers on gardening and I always look for books printed by them first. It has diagrams on how to make a compost bin and thourghly explains how to build, maintain, and the process of compost making. It is a terrific cross-reference guide to every gardener for botoical names and common names of trees, plants, shrubs, fruits, and vegetables. I highly recommend this book to all beginning and expert gardeners.

"The organization of this book reflects the way you garden," says this encyclopedia's introduction, under the sub-heading "How to Use This Book". "We've grouped information into useful, complete entries that will provide all you need to know about a particular topic, rather than spreading out facts in thousands of short entries." A simple statement, it is not fully appreciated until you go searching for something in this book and find what you're looking for in a matter of seconds. Since topics are arranged alphabetically, if you can spell it, you can find it. Want to know how and when (among other things) to plant your corn? You'll find it between Coreopsis and Cornus. Need help with organic pest management? Look for it after Organic Matter.

The editors feel that 26 of the entries form the core of this extensive resource and can be divided into four categories: Gardening Technique, Organic Garden Management, Food Crops and Ornamental Plants. For a beginner such as myself, I found these fundamentals extremely helpful in outlining the basics of gardening. I was easily able to apply the knowledge gained in these fundamentals to particular entries, such as roses or radishes.

Sidebars offered with many of the entries spark ideas that the average gardener may not already be taking advantage of. For example, when I was reading the Bean topic, I found an interesting inset on growing fresh sprouts right in your kitchen. And under Herbs are several helpful side entries including herbs commonly used as home health remedies.

Illustrated for clarity in all the right places, this book is sure to become one of my favorite year-round reference guides.