Landscaping and gardening resources

Here we share our recommendations for excellent landscaping and gardening resources. Also, see which gardening book an Issaquah homeowner prefers.

In this blog, we are sharing a few of our favorite books and websites where you can find landscaping and gardening information and inspiration.

What is your favorite landscaping and gardening book?
Send us your recommendation for
best landscaping and gardening resource.
Tell us what resource you use and why you like it.
We want to share your suggestion and comments in an upcoming blog.

Here is a sneak peek at a few landscaping and gardening resources we recommend:

The Pacific Northwest Gardener's Book of Lists by Ray & Jan McNeilan is a great book full of plant lists. Trees with unusual foliage and color, shrubs that can bloom in shady landscapes, grasses that will remain small -- there is so much useful information published in this landscape and gardening resource. It also discusses growing herbaceous perennials in dry locations and lists annuals that will tolerate poor soils.

Month by Month Gardening in Washington & Oregon by Mary Robson is another wonderful gardening book for proper garden care throughout the year. This book is separated into categories (lawn, perennials, trees, shrubs, roses, etc.) and discusses the proper time to prune, apply fertilizers, when to transplant, managing pests and so on.

Environmental Construction often designs beautiful decks with interesting and unique features. We like to use Decks.com as a resource for this type of landscape construction. It is a valuable reference when planning a deck. They have calculators that help with material quantities and ensuring proper design and spacing.

Tom Barrett, owner of Environmental Construction, says he always recommends the Sunset Western Garden Book as one authority on everything Northwest. This book is a garden in and of itself. They even have a phone app to help with finding the right plant while at the nursery. The book has images of about 9,000 plants and is a great resource for answering your questions about what to plant when, and how to care for your plants.

Remember, when you see a plant you like, take a picture or mark the page. This is a great tool to help communicate what plantings you would like to display in your landscape.

Tom also recommends the Great Plant Picks website for lots of (what else) great plant picks.

One of our clients in Issaquah said their favorite gardening book is Landscaping for Wildlife in the Pacific Northwest. They live in a wooded area where they enjoy attracting and watching birds, bees, and even deer.

We hope these landscaping and gardening recommendations are helpful as you begin your spring planting. If you need help with any of your gardening projects, Contact Us at Environmental Construction, Inc. We are always glad to help.

Category: Landscaping Ideas