Booklist Review

This compassionate, forward-thinking, wholly practical guide works for anyone even entertaining the idea of a backyard garden, whatever their square footage or skill level. The author's opening advice--start small!--is carried through in these seven incremental steps, the first step being to simply plant one or two small beds (four by eight feet), which will allow the gardener time to discern the contours of the yard, available light, soil quality, and labor required to work the space. The second step expands the growing space to a more bountiful 400 square feet. The remaining five steps--fruit trees and shrubs, edible and flowering perennials, four-season growing, larger-scale storage crops (winter squash, potatoes, etc.), and chickens--are interchangeable, depending on the gardener's inclinations and space limitations. Webb everywhere enriches this practical approach with wonderfully granular specifics, aided by spot-on illustrations: how to sheet mulch (huge when developing soil), design a layout, select annuals and perennials, create proper spacing for trees and shrubs, build a trellis, prune, build cold frames and greenhouses, and plan and build a coop, among many other instructions. A superb guide for virtually all seasons, landscapes, and gardeners.