The New Orleans Garden: Gardening in the Gulf South

By Charlotte Seidenberg and Jane Weissman

Book Overview

Among America's garden cities, one of the most remarkably beautiful is New Orleans. Now the exotic New Orleans garden can live not only in romance but also in settings very close to home. Whether in the Vieux Carr or in the humid hinterlands, anyone hoping to recreate such a romantic spot in the climes of the Gulf Coast region should consult Charlotte Seidenberg's essential handbook.

In this new edition of a favorite manual among New Orleans gardeners, Seidenberg instructs how to create a beautiful garden in this subtropical, sometimes richly alluvial zone and identifies plants that over generations have become a part of the gardening heritage of New Orleans. She discusses such basics as soil preparation and pest control and advises the gardener on how to grow roses, native and exotic trees and shrubs, vines, annuals, perennials, ferns, wildflowers, bulbous and tuberous plants, and groundcovers. She instructs how best to create specialty gardens such as container gardens and herb gardens. Like many other gardeners today, she is ecology-conscious, strongly advocating that one should garden not only for beauty but also for attracting wildlife.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0878056378
• ISBN13: 9780878056378
• Release Date: April 1993
• Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
• Length: 528 Pages
• Weight: 1.87 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

A taste of history from NOLA

The book has a style reminiscent of the early 20th century. I am reminded, in fact, of my aunts and grandmother walking through their flower gardens and talking about each plant they encounter by the path. It is a charming book. However, it is not a visually attractive book. The inside has large print on inexpensive paper (in my edition anyway) and it does not feature colored photos. It is strictly a book for readers who have a good imagination, who can envision the use of each plant, and how it appears. This is not a real drawback to using the book if you plan to create a New Orleans style garden. There are plenty of sources with color photos. Another book which is one of my favorites is once again available and might be the one you prefer, by Roy Guste, "Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carre."

Lovely as a companion to other books

Very comprehensive and specific, which I needed. But contains no graphics of gardens or plants. Consider this a companion to other books that provide those features as well.