Book review

September 14, 2026 In Book review, Newsletter Articles, Newsletters

Book Review: Vibrant Harvest by Sandra Mao

Reviewed by Master Gardener Florence Carey

It was a chilly Gardening Saturday at the Millennium Library when I first spotted this book. It was “New and Noted” on a shelf of gardening books the thoughtful library staff had put on display for the many gardeners milling about the library, chatting gardens and exchanging seeds. The bright cover featuring a selection of both vegetables and flowers, drew me in. There’s nothing like some beautiful and artistic photographs of vibrant heirloom tomatoes, squash and multi-coloured cauliflower to make a gardener dream of planting, growing, harvesting, and eating the rainbow.

 

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April 30, 2025 In Book review, Newsletter Articles, Newsletters

The Light Eaters – Book Review

By: Darlene Belton, Master Gardener

So, you think you know something about plants? I thought I did too, until I read Zoё Schlanger’s The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth.

The concept of plant intelligence is controversial, even paradigm shattering, yet the research of this new branch of botany reported on by Schlanger is robust, though its scientists are cautious of strong skepticism from the mainstream. “Rarely,” Schlanger writes, “does one get a glimpse of a field in true turmoil”.READ MORE

October 1, 2020 In Book review, Sustainable Gardening

Gardening, Naturally

Gardening Naturally – Book Review
By Liz Sellors, Master Gardener

Gardening, Naturally is a chemical-free handbook for the prairie gardener, co-authored by Hugh Skinner and Sara Williams. The book was written in 2011 and was published by Coteau Books of Regina, Saskatchewan. Gardening Naturally is a well written and easy-to-use guide specifically intended for Canadian prairie gardeners who are interested in effective ways of eradicating pests and diseases from the garden without resorting to chemicals. The book addresses alternatives to the use of chemical pesticides, insecticides and herbicides. READ MORE