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Introduction

What’s It All About?

When garden geeks get excited about a subject, they want to know everything. Gardening is an exciting topic—a vast world of soil biology, botany, and horticulture. It cross-pollinates with the insect world, meteorology, and nutrition. The more we learn about gardening, the more we realize there is to learn. It’s a wonderfully addictive passion to have.

Do you want to know everything? This is a great place to start, but keep in mind that gardening knowledge doesn’t arrive in a specific sequence. With the exception of the seasonal calendar or a planting schedule, gardening is not linear. It shifts each year, challenging us to figure out nature’s next step. It tests our instincts as much as our knowledge, and, in the end, nature always wins. Most of the time, we benefit from nature’s triumph, but just like Olympic athletes, garden geeks experience both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

This book is meant to be a gateway into all things cool about gardening. It gives you the basics to start designing and building the garden of your dreams. It also will lead you to bigger concepts to explore later, when you’re ready. It delves into the science of how plants work, how soil lives, and how bugs help. Even though the book takes you step by step through the process, I encourage you to jump around. Early on, you’ll notice references to later chapters. If you can’t wait, feel free to jump forward and read. Whatever floats your boat!

The information in this book is compiled from several classes I teach, with extra-bonus nerdy details that don’t fit into the confines of the classroom. Students have been asking me to put it all down in one place. Well, here it is. Have at it. I hope you enjoy this journey into the geeky side of gardening. Put on your gloves, and let’s get started.

Happy gardening!