Publisher: B.B. Mackey Books
Authors: Joyce Fingerut Rex Murfitt
List Price: $21.00
Amazon Price: $21.00
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Reviews:
Summary: Too focused on plants instead of troughs
I was disappointed in this book for many reasons. I was looking for a resource on how to create different shapes, depths and sizes of hypertufa troughs. This book focused on fairly shallow, square troughs. Because most of the trough photographs were in black and white, it was difficult for a beginner to visualize how a finished product should look. Too much of the book was focused on the type of plants you can grow in troughs. I feel a trough is just a container with unique characteristics and was hoping for information on the kinds of problems trough gardners face and how to deal with those problems. I gave the book a 3 rating because chapter 2 - 'Constructing A Hypertufa Trough' was well done. Even with the lack of color photographs in this chapter, you will know how to create a small, square trough. If you are looking for creative trough ideas this is not the book.
Summary: Great resource for this niche gardening style
Stone agricultural troughs, either as a theme or an accent, can add a special look to a garden. Of course you don't have to use a real stone these days as cement can be used to create the troughs. But, whether stone or cement it still ends up extremely heavy. One way to get around this is to mix peat moss with the cement. This produces a much lighter weight, porous trough that looks like stone. That is the focus of this particular gardening book - how to make these "hypertufa" troughs, what plants do well in them, and some basic plan layouts for using them in a garden design. Pictures of the troughs created by these techniques show troughs and stones that appear very old with lichens and mosses growing on the sides. They remind me very much of pictures of ancient Mayan or Indonesian stone ruins. For anyone who wants to add this type of accent or wants to create a garden that has the appearance of ancient stone structures this is a book you will want to have.
Summary: Practical workbook....
CREATING AND PLANTING GARDEN TROUGHS by Joyce Fingerut and Rex Murfitt is a pragmatic and down-to-earth (or hypertufa) work book with 164 jam-packed detailed pages printed on non-gloss heavy paper. The book contains about 10 pages of color photos, so if you're looking for a "look-book" as opposed to a "work-book" don't stop here. TROUGHS won an American Horticultural Society Book Award, and like AHS publications and U.S.D.A. government publications this publication is filled with good, solid information. (Reminds me of the Girl Scout Handbook.)
Fingerut and Martin begin with an overview of the history and background of troughs (originally carved from solid stone and used to hold water for livestock). Even though most of the photos are in black and white, you obtain a clear idea of the beauty various shapes and sizes can add to your garden. The older troughs covered with moss are to die for.
A section on "Hypertufa" explains what it is and why it is useful for making incredibly lightweight and strong facsimiles of real stone troughs. Next, the reader is supplied a shopping list of ingredients, utensils and other supplies (rubber gloves, polystyrene foam, duct tape, etc.) needed for the trough-making project. Exact quantities and amounts are not provided, but ratios are given instead. This lack of exactness might prove frustrating to the new trough maker.
A good part of the book is devoted to the design and installation of plants in troughs. There are many excellent photos and an informative text describing plant choices, plant care, recommendations, etc.). If you aren't inclined to take on the obviously dirty and labor-intensive work of making your own troughs, you can check to see if your local garden supply store or nursery sells ready-made troughs and then use this book as a guide to filling them with plants.
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