The Calgary Gardener: The Essential Guide to Gardening in Alberta's Chinook Country

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

Every region of the country has its peculiarities when it comes to
gardening, and Calgary is no exception. With its high altitude, its
alkaline soils, and the constant freeze–thaw activity and desiccation
brought about by the chinooks, Calgary presents gardeners with special
challenges. This volume represents the combined wisdom of 10 expert
gardeners who are members of the Calgary Horticultural Society. The book
covers everything that a gardener would likely encounter, from plant
selection and soil conditioning to weeding and pest control. Perhaps the
most useful part of the book is the extensive descriptions of plants
that may be successfully cultivated in Calgary. Both the plants and
their preferred growing conditions are described. Though these
descriptions are not individually illustrated, the photographs that are
supplied are of consistently high quality. No gardener in the Calgary
area will want to be without this book, and others in chinook areas may
also find it useful. Because of its thoroughness and detail, research
libraries with extensive horticultural collections may also want to
acquire this volume.