Books by Extension Master Gardener℠ Volunteers

Welcome to A Gardener’s Guide – Keep Growing. In the five years since the publication of A Gardeners’ Guide Month by Month, NC State Extension Master Gardener volunteers of Wake County have researched and answered many thousands more of your gardening questions.

In the substantially revised and expanded version, you’ll find chapters on five topics: Trees & Shrubs, Flowers & Ferns (annuals, biennials, perennials, bulbs, and ferns). Edibles (including vegetables, herbs, fruits and nuts), Small Spaces (pertaining to container gardening and houseplants) and Turf (lawns, grasses, etc.). Each chapter describes seasonal tasks and tips to help your garden thrive.

Plants that are typically in bloom in our area each season are referenced, thanks to help from the J.C. Raulston Arboretum staff.

Each section is organized by season rather than by month since climate patterns and growing conditions vary so much from year to year. We’ve also included an appendix on Climate Change to help you understand how it specifically affects plants grown in our region, the central Piedmont of North Carolina. Our hardiness zone classification changed from 7b in the 2012 USDA MAP TO 8a in the 2023 revision.

Because online gardening information changes frequently, we’ve provided a single QR code as a gateway to current and regularly updated resources – even if those resources are published or updated after this guide’s publication.

The QR code links to an online PDF called Recommended References for Urban Gardeners. At publication, this reference contains 70 resources carefully selected for their usefulness to gardeners in our area, covering topics such as vegetable gardening, landscaping, plant selection, pests, diseases, soil testing and more. You’ll find references to this QR code throughout the book.

Information that appeared in the first edition’s Garden Basis section has now either been incorporated into the text or can be found through the QR code.