3 comments about The Backyard Bird-Lover's Guide: Attracting, Nesting, Feeding.

1. This is one of those books that you pick up intending to find a quick answer to a specific question and, before you know what's happened, you've become wrapped up in reading several pages. The book is beautifully done, useful, and very pleasant to read.

   The first section provides general information about feeding, housing and gardening for the birds. In the second section, we learn about courtship, baby birds, territory, and migration. The third section gives specific data on individual bird species, and finally, a small appendix provides lists of favorite foods, egg identification, and habitat requirements.

   Here are a few bird facts that I thought were particularly interesting: Mourning Doves mate for life and are excellent parents. - The Kildeer is very unusual because they often make their nests on unpaved driveways which is confusing because the eggs look like small pieces of gravel. - The beautiful Indigo Bunting frequently uses the same nest by just making yearly repairs. - One very unpopular bird is the Brown-Headed Cowbird. They like to lay their eggs in the nests of other birds and leave all of the work and rearing to another mother. - The Winter Wren builds several nests which he shows to a possible mate for approval. The female then picks her favorite nest. Unwilling to let the other nests go to waste, he shows the remaining nests to a second female and ends up with two families.

   If you enjoy feeding the birds, you'll love this book.




2. This book is a great guide to backyard birding. It's 320 pages long and the last 100 or so pages is an extensive identification chapter featuring full color drawings of each bird, a description of its range and a lengthy description of its eating habits, courtship, housing and habitat preferences. The Appendix is one of the most useful parts of the book - it includes charts listing each bird's egg color and size, housing each bird will accept, migration patterns and food preferences for the birds. This book ensures you will get the birds you want, when you want - it even tells which birds may interbreed and how to avoid quarreling among feisty songbirds. It includes low-budget solutions to most of the "high-cost" bird expenses, and explains in great detail the proper storage of food. This book is undoubtedly the best resource birders have for attracting yard birds. Although the females in each species could be shown in better detail - only in the cases in which the sexes are drastically different are the females shown, - it is still an excellent resource from experienced "backyard birders". If you plan on attracting, feeding and nesting birds, get this book. Your success is assured.



3. Fun and exciting - this book will show you the 3 essentials your yard needs to become a favorite with as wide a variety of birds that is possible for your area. I especially liked it's format, simple and easy to follow, it takes you through planning/planting, feeding stations, the best food for each bird - and you're ready to sit back and enjoy your backyard habitat! An updated replacement for my old standby book, The Backyard Bird Watcher by George Harrison.

2 comments about Gardens of Russell Page, The.

1. No words to describe this genius!.How as a landscape gardener,could I have taken ten years to discover his works!!.He is obviously and sadly unknown for his contribution to timeless gardening.This is the "Bible" of landscape gardening,and he is the Van Gogh of gardeners.How can such a valuble and essential book be unavailable!?



2. I hadn't even heard of Russell page until I perchanced upon this book in my local bookstore some 5 years ago. I was moved to tears by some of the photographs, and that doesn't happen easily to me. The man was a genius, clear and simple, and his designs reached out and spoke to me in a way very few designers ever have. In my own landscapes, I have been immensely influenced by Russell Page, both through this wonderful book, and his own 'Education of a gardener'. This book is superbly illustrated with colour photographs throughout. The photography is excellent, and the written descriptions are well penned, informative, decriptive but not too long-winded. My copy of this book would be on my list of my top ten material possessions.

5 comments about Native Plants for Southwestern Landscapes.

1. Great pictures and write-ups on southwestern native plants ... what each prefers and how to use in landscaping. Highly recommend.



2. The information in this book on many of the plants listed in it is incorrect. If you try to use the names given you will not be able to find them. Cross referece is a must if you intend to use this book in the buisness.



3. Lots of useful detail about native habitats of hundreds of plants. Many, many photographs. Suggestions for landscape use.



4. Living in the higher elevations of the Western Mojave Desert presents unique opportunities (read: problems)in landscaping. The full color photos, the environmental requirements, and, especially, the cold tolerance of each plant helped us choose plants which would not only survive, but prosper in our area. Many thanks to the author.



5. This book is outstanding for including a color photo of a full-grown specimin of each plant described. Entries include plant culture and details of its natural range. The listing of native plant sources at the back is pretty comprehensive, at least for Arizona. In addition to the plant listing, there are some short chapters on growing natives, and a chapter on wildflowers.

1 comments about Landscapes and Gardens for Historic Buildings: A Handbook for Reproducing and Creating Authentic Landscape Settings: A Handbook for Reproducing and Creating ... for State and Local History Book Series).

1. This is an excellent starting point for the beginner. It builds a proper base in a very practical, hands on way. Favretti is a well-known expert in Southern historic garden circles. He's created historic landscapes himself and comes at his subject with a great deal of experience.

5 comments about Philadelphia Then and Now (Then & Now).

1. This is the second book I have ordered in this series that arrived and a little dinky book about 1/3rd the size of the regular coffee table book. How can you even see the details? I won't have this happen again, I will check dimetions before I buy.



2. This was an interesting book but a little disappointing. I have a book on Charleston,SC. The photos of "then and now" were set up where the site is exact of "then and now". The Philadelphia book takes different angles and misses the true change of the "then and now". It does contain interesting and unusual facts. It is a good coffe table book.



3. A must have for anyone of Philadelphia Origin. Makes for interesting reading and a great conversational coffee table book.



4. I sat down on a Sunday morning to casually glance through what I thought was just another coffee table photography book. Several hours later, thoroughly relaxed and enlightened, I closed Philadelphia Then and Now, having deliberately devoured every word, every image, every comparison-both visual and written, cover to cover. What fun it was to go back and forth. The effort taken to capture identical images was evident page after page. The attention to obscure and amusing snippets of historical detail tied the "then" black and white photos and the "now" colorful photos together perfectly.

   Treat yourself to a Sunday morning journey to Philadelphia-Then and Now.




5. This is a really unique collection of photos from the last 150 years in Center City Philadelphia with recent photos taken at the same location. Would make a great gift for someone with Philadelphia ties.

   It was interesting to see how things have changed - in many places for the better. Center City towards the Ben Franklin Parkway was a dirty grimy place at the turn of the century. The Parkway was a stroke of genius. The Art Museum used to be a water holding area.

1 comments about THE GEOPOLITICS READER.

1. I order this book based on its requirement for my Geo-Spatial Intelligence course through Penn State's online world campus. Great insight on geo-politics and global perspectives.

No comments about The Great Edwardian Gardens of Harold Peto: From the Archives of Country Life.

3 comments about Arboriculture: Integrated Management of Landscape Trees, Shrubs, and Vines (4th Edition).

1. Very complete and up to date information on Arboriculture. Chapters are well organized, highlighting what you need to know. Does a great job of covering the basics, but also gets into details and is fairly technical, without becoming unreadable. A must have reference book for the Landscaper.



2. Arboriculture is a science and art that is made up of many different contributing factors. This book does a very good job of covering them all. Any one of the chapters could be expanded into a book in itself. This thoroughly researched and written book is for the person who wants all of their information in one place. It is a textbook for the technically minded arborist, tree surgeon, tree farmer, or hobbyist. Don't look for this book to be entertaining or philosophical. Instead, buy this book for the knowledge held within. There is a lot to be learned from it. Every single page is filled with facts, figures, methods, and recommendations. You will find yourself reading every page a second or third time in order to catch it all. I refer back to this book on a regular basis, because there is no way I can remember it all. If you have any questions about the management of trees or shrubs, you will likely find it in this book.



3. Harris wrote the first edition of this book when trees were "trimmed" by the same people who patched asphalt and repaired park benches. It was a breath of rationality in a field that relied mostly on anecdotal information.

   The new edition reinforces this work as the compendium of current thinking about how to care for trees. Clark and Matheny build eloquently on Harris's solid foundation.

   The public participates actively in caring for trees and demands to know information found in this book. Why not plant the biggest caliper tree you can find? Can't you do something about the tree roots "breaking" up my sewer? Open the book and show them the brief but definitive answer that is easily found here.

   I wish more citizen tree advocates would read this book. For that matter, I wish more arborists would too.

2 comments about Turf Management for Golf Courses, 2nd Edition.

1. I use this book at school for a class called "golf course organization and maintenace." It is geared directly to golf courses. The fact of the matter is that it covers every imaginable aspect of golf course maintenance and operations, and I do mean everything. In my opinion there is no other book more valuable for persons training to be golf course superintendents. If your already a superintendent I'm sure it would still be a wise decision to purchase this book.



2. this book will heip even the greats turf managers around the world,

2 comments about A Handbook for Garden Designers (Handbook For...).

1. I found that this book is a GOOD Reference book for college and also for work



2. I bought this book after meeting Rosemary Alexander at The English Gardening School. Explains each stage of design process, clearly written and even as an amateur I picked up some good tips. Now studying by distance learning!