Midwest Gardener's Handbook, 2nd Edition

Midwest Gardener's Handbook is a reformatted and updated 2nd edition of the midwest gardening guide by Melinda Myers. Originally released in 2013, this edition is due out in March 2022 from Quarto on their Cool Springs imprint. It's 256 pages and will be available in paperback format.

This is an accessibly written information dense regional gardening guide specifically aimed at gardeners in the midwest USA: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas , Michigan, Minnesota , Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin and environs. The information is arranged in a sensible manner with chapters arranged thematically. An introduction about the benefits and challenges midwestern gardeners experience, followed by: annuals, bulbs, groundcovers, perennials, shrubs (& trees), and vegetables & herbs. The chapters are thorough and contain specific recommendations with both specific cultivars as well as general seasonal task lists for each chapter. Cultivars are referred to by botanical (Latin) nomenclature as well as common name to facilitate sourcing and reduce confusion.

The book is -full- of full color photographs for inspiration and clarity. One of the high points for me with this volume were the useful and specific appendices - pruning, building up beds, winter protection, raised beds, zone maps, and other resource information.

Four and a half stars. This would be a good choice for public and school libraries, gardening groups, community/allotment gardens, suburban gardeners, homeowners, etc.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Great overall reference book for the Midwest Gardener. Care tips for plants, shrubs, and trees that grow well in the Midwest. Also has basics on starting seeds, pruning, and soil prep.

The month-by-month guides are great for my Virgo gardening-brain.

~~~ I receive an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ~~~

Midwest Gardener's Handbook is a lovely collection of plants for Midwest gardeners to consider for their gardens. The book is well organized by type (shrubs, annuals, vegetables, etc), with each section is full of different plants and includes tips on planting, harvesting, and caring for each plant featured. The book is full of nice photos and easy to read and reference. I would love to add this book to my garden book collection. I found many worthwhile tips to improve my gardens.

A solid resource for new and intermediate gardeners in the Midwest.

We moved to the Midwest early last year, (after living on the East coast, the PNW, and right outside of Las Vegas, we’re here now and here is a place I never imagined living, and a place I have grown to love). I haven’t had a functioning garden since we lived in WA, and I’m feeling a bit in need of tried and true advice.

I would consider myself a beginner gardener (beginning over at gardening for the first time in 10 years as well as beginning in a new hardiness zone) - I’m planning on gratefully using the knowledge in this book to plant flowers (something I’ve never had an interest in doing before) as well as an elderberry shrub or two (for mead, and syrup) along with our preferred veggies and herbs this upcoming year.