In Your Backyard: Florida's Gardener's Resource - All You Need To Know To Plan, Plant, & Maintain A Florida Garden

The most frequent question I get from beginning garden enthusiasts is: What gardening book do I use most at home? The answer is never simple. Most gardening and nature books are theme-specific, especially here in Florida where gardening has year-round opportunity. My best advice is always: “Depending on your interests, you’ll need several, but Tom MacCubbin’s books are must-haves for Florida gardeners.”

I can now amend my usual advice to put Tom’s newest gardening book at the top and recommend “Florida Gardener’s Resource - All You Need To Know To Plan, Plant, & Maintain A Florida Garden” that Florida green-thumbs, even non-gardeners, should have in their home library.

Tom MacCubbin, University of Florida/IFAS Extension Agent and Professor emeritus, is Central Florida's award-winning Orlando Sentinel garden columnist, television and radio personality. His books, ““Edible Landscape”, “Month by Month Gardening”, and Florida’s Gardener’s Guide” to name just a few, have made Tom the most relied upon horticultural expert in Central Florida for over 18 years.

A collaborative effort between Florida’s four most popular gardening gurus and authors, Tom MacCubbin, Georgia Tasker, Robert Bowden, and Joe Lamp'l, “Florida Gardener’s Resource” has what I need in a gardening book. The chapters are organized by plant categories for easy reference, with seasonal charts on planting. Monthly chores in the landscape and color photographs provide easy-to-understand information. Less than $15, this gardening book provides advice on lawns,fruits, herbs, and vegetables, natives, water conservation, and attracting butterflies. New residents and experienced master gardeners can now have that “one book". “Florida’s Garden Resource” should become our state's newest gardening attraction.

I'll be interviewing Tom on Florida Gardener's Resource and plant problems today on "In Your Backyard."

More information on where to find Tom gardening:

Tom's website: Better Lawns , blog Tom's Digs, and Tom and Joanie's new video website: "His and Hers Gardening.