This is a good book for people planning new gardens because it highlights some important considerations, for folks who like to decorate and be crafty (there's a couple of projects outlined), and to give grumpy northern gardeners something to smile about during their 4 - 6 months of winter.
For most, the first hard frosts are a sign to put the garden to bed until spring, which in some places and some years can be as many as 260 days away. That_s a long time for an avid gardener to be "on hold," yearning to work the soil and smell the roses.
But it needn't be so.
By selecting trees and shrubs with dramatic silhouettes and colorful berries and bark, creating ornamental focal points that are enhanced by delicate rims of frost or a light blanket of snow, and leaving flower borders filled during the winter months with a collection of sturdy plants and grasses boasting interesting seed heads, prairie gardeners can redefine their favorite pastime to include the "forgotten season." It's an idea whose time has come.