Growing flowers Everything you need to know about planting, tending, harvesting and arranging beautiful blooms

Irving, founder of Flourish Farm, debuts with a winning guide to creating a flower garden. "My hope is that this book will save you a few errors of your own," she writes, and welcomes newbies by translating gardening jargon (defining such terms as "hardiness zone" and, among other things, outlining the difference between annuals and perennials) and explaining how to choose an ideal garden spot based on "the path of the sun." Her advice follows a garden's life cycle, from planning, planting, and tending to harvesting, and each chapter begins with a short list of requisite tools. A chapter on "Planning What to Plant," for example, lists measuring tape, flags, and a notebook, and involves learning what flowers thrive in one's climate and keeping a journal to note dates of extreme weather and the number of days to germination. A section on harvesting features step-by-step flower arranging projects, while "Putting the Garden to Bed" is a "bittersweet" endeavor at the beginning of fall that involves removing support nets and stakes, as well as pulling up plants. Irving also covers such gardening basics as weeding ("elbow grease" is recommended over chemicals), irrigating, fertilizing, and composting. Anyone wanting to get started with a flower garden will find plenty of expert guidance here. (May)