THE AUTHORS
Who is this Tony Dove? A local gentleman inspired to garden at the side of his grandfather. One could say it all started with a seed. The curiosity of how things grow encouraged Tony to further his education. 60 years of growing in the Eastern United States has allowed Tony to create a rewarding career. With his experiences at London Town and Gardens, Tryon Palace, North Carolina and the Clark Botanical Garden in New York, Mr. Dove is currently the Chief Horticulturist at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. He is also a member of The Association of Garden Communicators.
This book would not be complete without the expertise of Ginger Woolridge. With a solid background of many years in the industry, focusing on landscape design and editorial consulting, Ginger’s touch was added to every chapter.
This team of caring, sustainable landscaping inspired individuals created an easy to read and digest toolkit in book form. Focusing on trees and shrubs commonly and not so commonly found in natural settings.
A FEW DETAILS
Written in a way that most people can understand, the book also has user-friendly sections. The art of understanding site and growing conditions of native trees and shrubs is the first Chapter. This book is written to encourage success in the landscape.
Do you understand the importance of Primary trees and shrubs? Do you know what they are or what their attributes are? If you had this book, I almost guarantee your forest bathing experience would have a different meaning.
THE HELP
Recently a client shared with me that his Aesculus parviflora (Bottlebrush Buckeye) had yellowing leaves. I was able to share a bit of “Doveness” as I turned to pages 165 – 167. Information like the attributes in the landscape, seasons of interest, form, color, USDA growing zone, texture, and culture was all there. Pictures of bloom, cultivated varieties and information on companion planting are available to the reader. This helps the reader to identify the tree or shrub.
The team of Tony Dove and Ginger Woolridge make creating a sustainable landscape a delightfully educational experience. This kind of expertise in book form is certainly a gift. When it is curated by a local horticulturist, it is even better.








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