Fifty-Two Weekend Garden Projects

The key word here is ``garden,'' not ``weekend.'' For Country Journal columnist Bubel's eighth book could as easily--and more straightforwardly--be titled 50 Garden Projects ; the weekend, that two-day stretch of time that is never long enough, has little to do with the projects prescribed here. The projects are, however, engaging and diverse, from planting a shady herb garden and an ``edible flower'' patch to starting a midsummer vegetable garden and crafting cornhusk dolls. Appropriately divided among the seasons, tasks vary in experience required; even children may tackle some of them (weeding, growing peanuts, making a scarecrow, gathering the makings of a pod-and-cone wreath). The lists of plants, which crop up in virtually all gardening books, take on more meaning due to the author's expertise in the areas she discusses. Bubel literally practices what she preaches--and the reader knows it. A list of resources, organized by chapter, aids and abets. Illustrations not seen by PW. (Jan.)