AZ

As a fellow person in the landscape design profession locally, I am pleased with my purchase, though I don't agree with every bit of information in the book. Most important, though, Judith illustrates the subtle, yet important factors that influence how plants can grow sucessfully and where in our region. I have had some different experiences with climate data and some plants (Mesquite is one) than she has, but I highly recommend that natives and new arrivals alike apply the facts in this book to avoid the common plant mistakes made in New Mexico!

I am a novice gardener and native Kansan, and was extremely daunted when moving into my new house made me mistress of a well-established, water-hungry New Mexico garden. By covering each kind of plant individually, with both practical and aesthetic advice, this book has allowed me to proceed with confidence.
Its strengths:
- I have found very few among my existing plantings that I couldn't identify (and care for) based on the descriptions and color photos in this book.
- The coverage includes both xeric and water-hungry plants that are hardy here, which has helped me maintain what I inherited while preparing to transition to a lower water use spread.
Its weaknesses:
- Now that I have survived spring clean-up, I am interested in more generalized landscaping advice that isn't included here. The focus is entirely on specific plants, with only passing reference to subjects such as designing a layout or installing a drip system.

I have been an avid hiker most of my life and have read many guides. The PNT Guide is both well written and fun to read. The many maps and tables make planning of one's hike easier and the sections are broken down in a manner that makes sense. Lots of guides give you information about the trail, but it is only the best that make you eager to get out there and experience it, those that actually paint a picture prior to seeing it in reality, the PNT is one of these.

Overall this isn't a bad book. However, I do agree with other reviewers who feel it is difficult to use. Mr. Kelsey is an avid hiker and outdoorsman. The hikes in this book are all pretty intense and not for your average person. My major complaint about the book is that terrain at the beginning of most of the hikes up from the lake shore varies greatly depending on the water level. I know that this isn't Mr. Kelsey's fault and I certainly don't blame him, but he could give you a little warning. When we went (early May 2001) the water level was about 27 feet below full pool. At that point the beginning of some of his hikes may actually be 1/2 kilometer earlier than he states. In addition, getting to his starting point may be a whole lot more involved. (On one hike, it took us over an hour just to get to where he had the hike starting, due to low water level, lots of mud which was almost like quicksand and the need to hike up slickrock to get around all this).

From what I can tell, Kelsey appears to be the foremost authority on Lake Powell and the surrounding area. I can't see how you could get more information out of another book. That being said, it isn't the kind of book you read cover to cover for sheer enjoyment of reading and learning. Think of it as a user manual for the lake and you will be on the right track. There are a lot of pictures (in black and white) and a lot of very detailed maps and informative graphs. To use this book, I would suggest that you plan your trip and then consult the book to see what it says about that area. If there is ANYTHING of interest to be seen there, it will tell you where and what it is.

It is divided into the following parts:
I - Condensed history of the lake area (19 pages) - very fact filled (survey like).
II - The marinas on Lake Powell and other possible launch sites along with weather and climate for each season, a word about hiking season and equipment, photography and film type, insects and pest, drinking water, and places to camp and their fees.
III - Geology, the types of stone seen in the colorful strata and suggested maps for the area.

Then it launches into sites of interest in the area and gives good maps (quite technical) of each. There are 34 of these and may well cover all of the canyons and hikes on the lake. If you want to get the most out of your trip, I would highly recommend this book. If you were wanting to just read about the history of the area, it will be about as much fun as reading the dictionary.

?¥¬ Lake Powell 2-5 times per year and keep our boat there. We live in Littleton.

I have used the book for a number of years. It is accurate and consequently useful to someone who wants information for on the ground activities or historical significance.

It gives an idea of shore conditions for camping which is helpful in new areas.

We use it to explore and plan hiking trips. We do enjoy hiking. Its the most comprehesive book out there on Lake Powell and we have a number of Lake Powell Books.

If you want somthing very simple for lake exploration then go with the Stan Jone map. It to is an excellent tool.

I read the book from front to back. Nice pictures, glad to have a listing of the different tree groups in the back (flowering, shade trees, ...) and for the insight into some of the tree's uses (medicinal, neem properties, etc.). I was a bit disappointed on the lack of information that I would have liked to have seen - for instance - up close pictures/sketches of tree leaves and fruit for reader's use in identifying a tree. Was glad to see pictures of entire tree along with up close shots, it helps me determine what the mature tree will look like in the landscape.

I also would have liked to see a more expansive description on the leaves (ie this tree can be distinguished from look alikes by it's 7 points and fuzzy underside). There were two pictures of Shumard Red Oak leaves and the leaves were shaped differently on the two pictures, so now I am unsure if I actually have a Shumard Red Oak. A drawing of the leaves would have helped.

I felt like the author was too harsh when comparing his way of doing things (like not pruning newly transplanted trees) with the advice of other gardening gurus. I would have been more accepting of that advice if he had conducted some controlled experiments of his own and published those results rather than to just say "this is the way it should be because this has been my observation." As an amature gardener, its a big risk of time, effort and money for me to follow this type of advice without something concrete to back it up. Also felt like the author was really pushing his home remedies for ailments without offering alternatives for folks who can't/don't want to brew those treatments up.

As an urban gardener, I was also interested in knowing which trees are more likely to damage sidewalks, pipes, etc with aggressive roots. I saw some information on that in the book but it was not comprehensive as I am aware that some of the trees listed are known to have agressive roots and this was not indicated.

Would have also liked to have known what parts of the state are considered alkaline versus neutral versus acid soil (even though this might be common knowledge to native Texans).

Overall, I'd say that this is a good book to read if you are worried about planting the wrong tree, but don't look for this book to be an end all of information on the tree species listed.

There is a shortage of books on bulb gardening for Southern gardeners, however this book does little to remedy that shortage. Thad Howard's book reads like a textbook and is not user friendly for the recreational gardener. Basic information such as planting time and depth, soil preference, bloom time, and light needs is missing or scattered in the text. Howard focuses too much on bulb classifications and history and not enough on giving readers advice on how to pick bulbs that will be successful in their garden. Academics and those in the bulb business may enjoy this book, the average gardener will be disatisfied. If Howard wishes to sell more books he should at the least add a legend for each major bulb with basic information the gardener needs.