The New Ontario Gardener. Rev. ed.

Pleasance Crawford is the co-author of The Canadian Landscape and Garden
History Directory and Garden Voices: Two Centuries of Canadian Garden
Writing.

When The Ontario Gardener—as the first edition of this book was
called—appeared in 1991, Trevor Cole was curator of the Dominion
Arboretum in Ottawa and a long-time teacher of adult courses on home
landscaping. Although he has since retired from the Arboretum, he
remains an active home gardener and a well-informed horticulturist. The
1991 book, derived from his course lectures, has become the reference
work of choice for many Ontario gardeners. It is little wonder that
Whitecap decided to issue this new, updated, and expanded edition for a
new generation of beginners.

The nitty-gritty chapters (covering soils, landscaping, lawns, trees,
shrubs, pruning, roses, perennials annuals, bulbs, edible gardens, and
pests) remain, but the lists of other suggested books that follow each
chapter now include post-1990 publications, and the lists of recommended
plants include some good recent introductions. The book now has a
brighter cover design and eight more color plates (40 in all). The
black-and-white diagrams remain but each chapter now has its own small
icon to highlight the sections within. Also new in 2001 (and ideal for
those starting small or downsizing) are chapters on rock gardens and
container gardening.

Cole’s style, although rather dry, is consistently friendly, and his
quiet sense of humor flowers intermittently. His observations come from
many years of personal and professional experience, both in England and
Canada, and his advice is straightforward. He admits that he is not “a
dyed-in-the-wool organic gardener” and recommends composting grass
clippings (rather than leaving them on the lawn, as the City of Toronto
instructs its residents), but he generally acknowledges environmental
concerns and offers a range of options for preventing or treating
problems. His chapter on pruning is worth an annual read. In short,
Cole’s is a solid reference work for those gardening under any of the
conditions experienced by Ontarians, and this new edition is a fine
improvement on the old.