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A garden encyclopedia is as essential to the home gardener as a cook book is to a cook, and as useful. This is especially true in this do-it-yourself age, when skilled professional advice and help is hard to come by and costly.

Without a source of reliable information at hand, the amateur gardener is likely to make serious and costly mistakes. Valuable trees, shrubs, evergreens, lawns and other landscape plantings may be damaged beyond repair as a result of errors of omission as well as commission. House plants, patio plants and greenhouse plants fail to prosper unless they receive care based on sound knowledge. Scientific and practical know-how are necessary to grow fine fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers. The only successful gardeners are informed gardeners.

And upon what a wide range of subjects the modern gardener needs information! He (or she) must be familiar with the names (either common or scientific) of the plants in the garden as well as of at least some of those not at the moment there, but which tempt one in nurseries, garden centers and online catalogs.

Gardeners need to know the peculiarities, characteristics and cultural needs of their plants – trees, shrubs, evergreens, vines, ground covers, fruits, perennials, annuals, lawn grasses and others. They must understand soils and their management, the art of maintaining fertility and a desirable soil acidity and alkalinity. When to water and when not to water, and how to prepare soil mixes for plants that are to be grown indoors, also fall within the scope of knowledge needed by the gardener.

Raising plants from seeds, and all the many other ways of increasing them (such as cuttings, leaf cuttings, layering, air layering, grafting and budding) are fascinating procedures, but they are only successful when undertaken with reliable knowledge. These are basic skills that can be put to profitable use by all amateur gardeners.

Such arts as pruning, staking and tying, mulching, winter-protection, air layering and the management of greenhouses, hot beds and cold frames demand specialized knowledge. To plan and carry out successful warfare against those three chief enemies of the gardener – weeds, pests, and diseases – demands accurate knowledge and understanding.

That is where a good garden encyclopedia and reference website is an especially valuable work because it was written and edited by experts for amateurs. The horticulturists who produced it are thoroughly familiar with the problems and needs of beginner gardeners. In clear language they tell just what every home gardener needs to know in order to plan, develop and maintain a successful garden. An important feature of this encyclopedia is the large number of visuals of plants, gardens; landscape plans, pests and diseases and of how-to-do-it, step-by-step gardening procedures. These illustrations supplement and complement a very clear, easy-to-understand text.

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The tools required for a modest gardening operation are surprisingly few. They should be of good quality however, if you want to save time, trouble and labor. Needless to repeat they should be cared for and kept conveniently arranged in the tool area or garden shed or in whatever manner your ingenuity contrives.

A good strong yet light spade is a “muse” and so is a good strong spading fork. One that has four fiat steel prongs will prove satisfactory. A hoe is needed for making hills, for chopping out weeds and for making seed drills. And a rake. Well, you just have to get a rake. Buy a good one. You and it are going to get real chummy. Then there is the garden line. Purchase a strong one and attach it onto two pointed stakes. It’s not necessary to spend money on some new-fangled fancy gadget. All you will be concerned about is making straight lines, and this will be your guide.

Measuring rods are used for marking out the distances between rows. They can be made at home. Use strips of wood 6 to 8 feet long, 1-1/2 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick. Paint the strips white and mark them carefully at intervals of one foot, indicating also the 1/2 foot and 1/4 foot marks. You should have two at least but you might as well make three or four when you are at it. A wheelbarrow is a labor saving necessity. Don’t kid yourself. You’ll need one even in a small garden.

Now there are ways of getting around it, but who wants to, so you will need a watering can and you certainly will require a length of hose just like watering an orchid. Without a trowel you will be lost, so buy a good strong one. Just in case you are now a bit worried that the listing of garden implements like watering plant is becoming somewhat more than expected, be assured that you are nearing its completion.

For the lawn you will require a lawn mower. You will need a really good knife, a hand-sprayer, a five-tooth cultivator and a couple of pails.

A drill marker you can make yourself. Cut a V-shaped notch in the end of a five-foot wooden stake that measures about 1-1/2 inches thick. The drill marker is used for making shallow drills for seed sowing. For setting bulbs into the soil and for transplanting young plants a home made dibble or dibber will do nicely.

An old spade or fork handle sharpened to a blunt point is quite good enough. It should be about 15 inches long. Whilst other tools could be mentioned here, it is hardly necessary as those now suggested are principal requirements. Be kind to them and they will last longer. Keep them clean and when not in use, wipe over all metal parts with an oily rag to prevent rust.

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