The Money-Saving Garden Year: A Month-by-Month Guide to a Great Garden That Costs Less

Self-taught gardener Lautenbach (The Money-Saving Gardener), with 35 years of gardening experience, shares her ideas on growing an ecofriendly garden. Arranged by month, beginning in January, her book covers what’s in bloom, mentions mindful moments and wildlife one might experience, lists what to grow and propagate, and offers maintenance tips. There are also money-saving ideas and favorite cultivars. A small sampling of the detailed instructions includes sowing perennials from seed, taking softwood cuttings, dividing bulbs, and growing amaryllises. The book also includes projects such as a hanging basket containing mixed herbs. Lautenbach concludes with an extensive plant propagation guide in table format, arranged by scientific name, including the best ways to propagate each plant and the time to do so, referring readers to a page where the method is explained in detail. The book is illustrated with lovely color photos, but it doesn’t list USDA hardiness zones, and recommendations are tied to the author’s Buckinghamshire, UK, garden climate, so readers elsewhere will have to determine that information for themselves.