The Bottom Line
Pros
- each chapter ends with a practical Q&A
- provides numerous useful lists
Cons
- a bit preachy in places
Description
- Reading "germination labels" when buying grass seed: germination and purity should be close to 100%.
- Don't let blooms die on your shrubs: "a dying bloom takes too much from the rest of the plant."
- In rooms where houseplants grow, paint walls bright colors: "These colors will reflect more light".
- Measuring how deeply your lawn is being watered by a sprinkler: catch some of the water in a can.
- Edging makes a garden "look neat and as though it were designed to fit into the overall landscape."
- A hole is not just a hole -- or "how to plant trees properly."
Guide Review - Book: Jerry Baker's "Plants Are Still Like People"
The title, Plants Are Still Like People is not only catchy, but reflects the contents. Whether you agree with him or not, you must admit that Baker is persistent with the premise that plants are like people, drawing one analogy after another. Take the chapter on lawns. Grass is compared to the hair on people's heads. Dethatching a lawn is like removing dandruff. Mowing is like going to the barber. But the book is not all fun and games: we are told why, when and how to mow, and when and how to water. We are, however, reminded in the same breath that grass is like people, in that "Grass can't swim," meaning too much watering will drown a lawn, depriving it of oxygen. And so it goes, chapter through chapter, whether on trees, shrubs or herbs, Baker shares his rich plant wisdom on an amusing framework of analogy.
Finally, a word about Baker's tonics, for which, unfortunately, he is best known.... The fact that I recommend reading Jerry Baker's books doesn't mean I endorse his tonics. I don't have much use for sprays of any sort in my own garden, frankly, so I ignore his tonics. But Jerry Baker's books, including Plants Are Still Like People, are about much more than just the tonics. So don't throw the baby out with the bath water!
