Very cool concept! Anyone that own property can take small steps to re-wild their land or even one small spot on it. It's fun and pretty easy.

Thank you Storey Publishing and Netgalley for this ARC.

This was a delightful book which inspired me in my own garden and gave lots of ideas for creating my own meadow.
A lovely gift for inspiring gardeners.

The word meadow brings to mind pictures of differing flowers and grasses growing together to become a pleasing site for the mind and senses. This is what we all look for when we go out in "nature". Not many of us live in areas where we can enjoy a meadow often. Mike Lizotte has given us the guidance and information to build our own slice of nature in whatever space we have available. From information on which flowers and grasses will give us the most visual and aromatic pleasure to how much space each variety will need to grow and expand, his practical advise is well written and thought out. It makes it very easy to follow and actually succeed on your first attempt. I know, I'm working on mine now.

A charming little book. Whether you have a half-acre lot or a tiny urban patio, Lizotte has suggestions for how to create a meadow of your own. Includes plants for different climates, sun/shade, soil types, etc. Plus lots of inspirational before/after photos. I am ready to tear out the bushes around my house and plant a flower meadow instead!

I thought that Mini Meadows by Mike Lizotte would be a nice book about flowers, especially since I love flowers. However, what I didn’t realize is how useful it would be for me as a homeowner. I think of meadows as being big wide open fields which is not where my home is located. Instead, Mr. Lizotte shows many for those who have small areas to plant. I loved his ideas and recommendations. Now I am busily planning an area of my own.

Then my other misconception was that this would be more like a reference book. It does have lovely photos, close ups of flowers, lists suggestions for different US regions and ideas for flower boxes or pots besides bigger areas. Even more, it was a personable and interesting read. I read it from cover to cover, being quite taken by his tale of how he became “The Seed Man”. I do think I will use it as a reference but there was something about his style that drew me in, making me believe that I too could grow a beautiful mini meadow. I haven’t found any garden author since Jim Underwood Crockett, whose books I have enjoyed as much. Now Mike Lizotte needs a show. That is one I would watch.

Highly recommend for flower lovers everywhere.

Mini Meadows: Grow a Little Patch of Colorful Flowers Anywhere around Your Yard by Mike Lizotte is a nonfiction gardening book that is currently scheduled for release on March 5 2019. The word “meadow” conjures images of wide expanses of land, but a mini meadow, a kind of informal flower garden started with seed sown directly into the soil, can be any size. It can also be fun, easy to grow, and good for the planet. With as little as 50 square feet and for less than $20, gardeners can plant a colorful meadow that demands little in the way of space, mowing, or maintenance, uses less water than a traditional lawn, and provides habitat for pollinators, not to mention a natural exploration space for children. From choosing the right variety of seeds, preparing the soil, sowing evenly, and watering well, this book guides readers through the process of successfully creating a miniature meadow that suits their climate, soil, and growing goals, whether planting to beautify a hellstrip, halt erosion, fill a boggy spot, or establish a nesting area for bees and butterflies.

Mini Meadows is detailed and well organized, with a pleasant conversational feel. Towards the end ogf the book there are some regional planting guides that I found particularly helpful. I know my planting zone, but I think the regional breakdown is slightly more accessible. I liked getting to know a bit about the author and his family as I learned about planting, planting, and caring for meadows. I love the look of fields of flowers, but I never thought my small yard and small gardens could be anything like a meadow. This book offered me ideas and inspiration to take some of this space and enjoy some mini meadows. The fact that they can be so low maintenance fits in my my increasingly busy life, and how little I have been enjoying the summer heat each year. I like how the author gave additional resources in the endpages, including seed sources, gardens to visit, and further reading.

Mini Meadows is a book that I will be looking to revisit in the late winter. It has given me many ideas, and I think it will help other gardeners looking for some information and inspiration.

I thoroughly enjoyed Mini Meadows as I have worked hard over the last several years to create and curate my own mini xeriscape meadow in my backyard. The tips and suggestions about planning and cultivating one’s own meadow, plus the list of suggested flowers, trees, and vines, coupled with the lovely illustrations and lively writing make this a worthy addition to any gardener’s bookshelf.

I received this book as an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley.

I recently read Mini Meadows by Mike Lizotte and it has completely motivated me to add flowers in various spaces around our yard. This is a great little book that packs in a lot of helpful information in short snippets. He also features lots of quick lists, with pictures – such as “eight plants for partial shade” and “tough plants for the hellstrip.” He has good advice for putting flowers just about anywhere, and how to prepare the space to do well. There a whole section on perennial wildflowers – which I like. And he addresses the necessary host plants for pollinators that we should all be considering. Make it all the way to the end, and you find specific lists for your region of the country. All that – and the photography is gorgeous!

This review is part of a more detailed blog post found at the link below.

This is an excellent book for the beginning gardener or the person convinced they have a “black thumb” with plants.

It offers useful ideas about how to spruce up even a few feet of your yard with wildflowers, annuals, and perennials.

I’m looking forward to trying the suggested deer resistant plants in my yard next growing season—great advice!

Thanks to #NetGalley, I had an advanced PDF to read and review.

*All opinions are my own and I was not required to post a positive review. *

Nonfiction
Adult
My first review of the year is always a garden book – perfect for spending a snowy day planning your beautiful creation come spring. This new title, released next month, looks at creating a natural flower garden that puts you in mind of the flower-filled meadows in the countryside. No matter where you live, says Lizotte, you can recreate this effect, in a large or small space. Once you’ve determined the space, you select the seed and start sowing, planting, or a mix of the two.
He explains how to care for it, including watching the weather in early days. You’ll learn to harvest and store seeds, decide whether or not to mow it, and how to ensure it comes back for years of joy. No matter where you are hoping to create a meadow, you will find suggestions for you. Hillside, sidewalk strips, a balcony box, a backyard acre. Doesn’t matter. Lizotte includes instructions and helpful hints – for instance, bales of straw (not seed-filled hay) will help stabilize a newly planted slope. Fully half the book is devoted to photos and lists of plants for creating a bloom-filled meadow of every kind.
And not just perennial flowers and grasses, but also lists of wildflowers that create a habitat for birds and others, those that are deer-resistant, drought and/or bog tolerant, those that attract pollinators and beneficial insects, long-blooming annuals, and for my city friends, meadow-like flowers for tiny spaces you can even grow in a box! While the how-to-part is relatively simple, the stories and photos are sure to inspire you to bring some meadows into your living space. My digital copy allowed several pages for an index, but it was not yet included. My thanks to Storey Publishing for the advance reading copy provided digitally through NetGalley.
More discussion and reviews of this book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40585242

Mini Meadow
by Mike Lozoette

From choosing the right variety of seeds, preparing the right soil mixture, sowing and how to water them well, Mike Lozoette helps the new gardener learn how to create a beautiful place outside. When using the word “meadow”, the though conjures images of wide expanses of land, beautifully landscaped; but, it can be any size. Mowing, and yearly maintenance that traditional lawn, mini meadows will use less water, provides habitat for pollinators and gives a natural exploration space for children to learn about nature.

Filled with wonderful, colorful pictures to help create the vision of a possible site for a spot of land so small you think that it will be wasted. I enjoyed being allowed to read this book in it’s advance reader vision, and give Mr. Lozoette two-thumbs up and a 5-start book rating.

Although quite simple and self-explanatory, I love the title. The concept is carried on into the book that proves quite informative, even for those who live in the parts of Europe that are extremely cold in Winter and hot in Summer. The colourful promise of the cover is carried into the content and, hopefully, your own subsequent garden.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storey Publishing for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

An excellent resource if you're hoping for a more wild-looking garden (though you could just let the plants grow by themselves, but...where's the fun in that?). Loved the list at the back tailored to each region in the US - unfortunately they didn't include Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico. I guess those guys are on their own. I mean, Hawaii and Puerto Rico don't really have to do anything to improve their gardens and Alaska is 90% wilderness...

Anyway, if you're looking for more pollinator-friendly plants and a more wild, "natural" look, Mini Meadows is a good resource.

What a wonderful book for those wishing to plant a variety of seeds in their gardens for a mass of flowers. Even though its aimed at American gardeners, the English gardens can still benefit from these methods.

The book provides details on how to prepare the ground, which seed mixes are best and how to spot fillers that are sometimes put in mixes. Also included is an explanation of plug plants. It also explains annuals, bi-annuals and when plants drop seeds plus when they start to appear again.

There is lots of colour photography showing seeds and the grown plants, meadows, seeds at 30, 60 & 90 days after planting or even small planters for.those with limited space.

Plants are split into different types by the soil, pollinators or climate to name but a few, and it shows a selection of seeds that would have been perfect this summer where we had a long dry spell. I've certainly learnt plenty from this book and is great for those starting with flower seeds.

I received this book from netgalley in return for a honest review.

This book is really good for people who thinks they cannot make a great garden as they do not own a big piece of land. Exploring the world of mini meadows, the author explains how meadows fit everywhere and are important for biodiversity, water conservation, kids learning nature things...

I love meadows myself so I must be not so objective about this subject. I greatly apprciated this book as it shows what are the benefits of mini meadows and how to make them. Suggestions of plants are made for different situations (shade, clay, hillsides, drought-tolerant...). Insects are also not fogotten and the author gives great plats for different pollinators and to attract beneficial insects.

A brilliant book showing you how to plant your own mini meadow on a small or grand scale, with seeds suitable for siting, size and climate. People think meadows are easy. They're not but they don't have to be hard either and this book will give you tons of help and glorious photo's to inspire you to get the best out of your space.

Mini Meadows is a very inspiring book. In fact, I am already planning my meadow in the front of our yard for next year. The author makes a really good point at the beginning, would you rather mow your entire lawn weekly or have a beautiful patch of flowers all summer and only need to mow that section of your yard twice a year? There are detailed instructions in the book for creating your mini meadow. One good tip that stood out is to include flowers with different blooming times, so that your meadow will be colorful all summer instead of just for a short time. The pictures in this book are so gorgeous, and my kids and I can’t wait to start our mini meadow next spring! I recommend this book to anyone who wants a colorful patch of flowers without the upkeep of a garden. I received an arc copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely love this book. I got it to review and expected to like it but that I wouldn't be able to use most of it, since we live in town and I didn't think we had enough space for any kind of meadow. I was quite wrong, as the author gives instructions for creating truly mini meadows as small as window boxes, and there are lots of examples of mini meadows in suburban yards. For instance, one house has a one foot strip of meadow flowers on either side of the front yard walkway, and others had them tucked against foundations and in corners of back yards.

There are so many helpful sections of this book, and it is filled with gorgeous color photos. There are instructions and plants listed for specific problems that meadows can solve, such as disguising trouble areas of your yard (around a septic tank, for instance), dealing with erosion, covering hills that are difficult to mow, dealing with a "hellstrip" (that section between your sidewalk and the street that you're never sure what to do with) and so on. There's an extensive section on pollinators with suggested plants for habitats and lots more. There are suggested flowers for every region, for every kind of situation (for deterring deer, for drought areas, etc.) and on and on. And there are colorful pictures of the plants suggested along with examples of these plants in meadow areas, so you can really visualize which ones you want. There are even sections telling what to expect (with pictures) 30 days, 60 days and 90 days after planting your meadow, how to troubleshoot anything that goes wrong, and how to care for it from then on.

I was happy to find that the author's gardening philosophies meshed perfectly with mine, too. He suggests lots of low-work ways to prepare the site and take care of meadows, not giving the reader overwhelming amounts of work to do. It's all attainable, and better yet sustainable, with a focus on being earth-friendly every step of the way. Best of all, he has a happy, friendly love of plants, flowers, meadows, pollinators, etc. that I adored. He talks about joining the joining the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge and about collecting seeds and journaling them with his daughter, for instance. He clearly knows his stuff and is wonderful at giving the reader both his knowledge and his enthusiasm.

I was also thrilled to find out that I can plant mini meadows this time of year (fall) and not just in spring, too. The author says that sowing seeds after a few frosts will give the seeds a head start for growing in the spring, and I have several problem areas in my yard that I'm excited to turn into small meadows now.

This is a fabulous garden resource that I highly recommend.

I received a temporary digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.

This book Mini Meadows by Mike Lizotte is such a great book! Explains how to provide meadows which in turn provides food and pollen to many insects not just bees and butterflies. Beautiful pictures and it's written so anyone could be able to do this. I have so many ideas now that I've just got to try! Thank you Netgalley and the Publishers for allowing me to read this ARC book and give my honest opinion. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in not just meadows but flowers etc.

MINI MEADOWS – Mike Lizotte
By Line: Grow a Little Patch of Colorful Flowers Anywhere Around Your Yard
Storey Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-6121-2835-1
March 2019
Non-fiction, Home & Garden

This rather concise book is filled with fascinating information and some gorgeous photographs. We are mostly used to well-defined landscapes in gardening, not wild, almost unplanned looking spaces, so the author explains why the reader should want to create a meadow garden in their yard. Considering today’s world and for this reader, he gave many great reasons. The first purpose being meadows create low maintenance places of beauty, especially good in dangerous to mow areas like steep slopes. Along with this, meadows can provide important habitats for our endangered pollinators, birds, and other wildlife. They can also help engage children in learning about the natural environment. Nor does he define a meadow as acres of empty grassland and weeds. It is a glorious jumble of blooming plants and grasses during the entire growing season from spring to fall. It can include an area as small as ten feet square, or the ‘hellstrip’ between a yard’s sidewalk and the street. For that matter, it can be a simple planter. These cultivated meadows also greatly reduce mowing. He presents an interesting statistic given by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that estimates a loss of 17 million gallons of gas spilled and wasted a year when filling lawn mowers. A good enough reason to promote meadows.

Author Lizotte tells how to develop a meadow by explaining what types of annual, biennial, or perennial plants and grasses can be used in either dry or wet areas, sunny or partial shade, in different soils, and in the varying regions of the U.S. In short he gives an easy to comprehend instruction for even the most uninformed gardeners or yard owners. It is a very different look at what gardens can include and what most gardeners consider gardens. Well done.

Robin Lee