Gardening Under the Arch: Homespun Hints and Money-Saving Tips from the Rigorous High Country of Alberta's Chinook Zone. Rev. ed.

Sandy Campbell is a reference librarian in the Science and Technology Library at the University of Alberta.

The “arch” in the title refers to a “chinook,” the warm dry
winds that blow in over the Rockies and can cause dramatic temperature
changes in a few hours. Gardening in this environment presents unique
challenges and this book is dedicated to “all who garden in spite of
Jack Frost and Johnny Chinook.” This guide is an updated and expanded
version of the Millarville Horticultural Club’s 1982 publication.
Millarville is a community nestled in Alberta’s foothills.

The content is a series of essays by club members. Much of the writing
is first-person narrative and personal experience. Individual gardeners
who do particularly well with edible flowers, water gardens, or sweet
peas tell you how they do it. It’s a bit like having your favourite
auntie who has an exceptional green thumb tell you her gardening
secrets.

While each gardener’s knowledge has been gained through experience in
the chinook zone, much of the content is applicable in other harsh
climate areas, as well. For example, Norma Lyall’s four pages on
geraniums is a practical introduction to propagation, growing, storage,
and overwintering that could be applied almost anywhere.

Some of the information is not likely to appear in standard gardening
works. For example, Jerrid Driedger has contributed a section on
“deer-resistant plants,” including a list gleaned mainly from club
members’ knowledge.

Perhaps the most useful information is in the lists of plants that club
members have tested and found to be hardy enough to survive this
environment.

While the content is homespun like the ladies’ auxiliary recipe books
that one finds in rural communities, this product is anything but
homespun. TouchWood Editions has produced a high-quality, professionally
finished volume. The photographs are clear with accurate tones and
colours. The layout, including tables and sidebars, is clean, readable
and easily understood.