Gardening Book Reviews

Books on gardening make fine friends for those with a green thumb -- but who has time to sort through the hundreds of titles on the shelves? The editors of the Gardener's Companion have carefully culled the finest volumes for reading or reference and offer brief reviews. On days when you just can't get outside, why not curl up with one of the following books and plan what you'll do next in your garden?
ADVICE FOR BEGINNERS
Palms Won't Grow Here and Other Myths Buy It Now!
Palms Won't Grow Here and Other Myths, by David A. Francko (Timber Press, 2002). Reading this book is like sitting down for a great conversation with a gardener you know, trust, and enjoy. Dr. Francko, chair of the Department of Botany at Miami University in Ohio, knows all about warm-climate plants, and he encourages readers to be adventurous. "Plants can't read the information on their tags," he points out. With his firsthand observations, we can all become braver about tackling tropical beauties.
Gardening All-in-One for Dummies Buy It Now!
Gardening All-in-One for Dummies (Wiley Publishing Inc., 2003). If you're a gardening novice who is wondering just when your thumb should start turning green, we recommend a journey through this volume of advice, put together by the National Gardening Association. It combines seven previously published Dummies books, devoting chapters to gardening basics, design, roses, perennials, annuals, bulbs, and vegetables and herbs. It contains tips galore and explanations of things every gardener ought to consider.
Garden Problem Solver Buy It Now!
Garden Problem Solver, by Pippa Greenwood (DK Publishing, 2002). Dwelling on problems in gardening can be downright depressing -- bugs, pests, early frosts, small flowers, no flowers, no plants. But things sometimes go wrong and most gardeners want to know why. Following a trend in "problem solving" books comes this visually pleasing and practical guide that goes after the root causes of problems with lawns, hedges, ponds, vegetable gardens, and flower beds. The author, who ran the Royal Horticultural Society's plant pathology department at Wisley, is a BBC garden star, but her ideas translate well to American gardens.

BULBS

Tulips for North American Gardens and Daffodils for North American Gardens
Tulips for North American Gardens and Daffodils for North American Gardens, both by Brent and Becky Heath (Bright Sky Press, 2001). If you love spring bulbs or would like to learn more about them, get your hands on these two books, written by a husband-and-wife team who run a bulb farm in Gloucester, Virginia, and who know what they're talking about. The photos alone will make you dream of spring, and you'll find tips galore for choosing, buying, and growing bulbs and understanding how to use them in U.S. and Canadian climates and landscapes.
Favorite Bulbs Buy It Now!
Favorite Bulbs, by Lois Hole (Hole's, 2003). Currently serving as Alberta's lieutenant governor, garden guru Lois Hole, with the help of her son Jim, has gathered together decades' worth of tested advice in this complete guide to bulb gardening. Offering the results of countless field trials and tips for northern climates, it includes recommended varieties as well as gorgeous four-color photos.

COOK'S GARDENS

From the Cook's Garden Buy It Now!
From the Cook's Garden, by Ellen Ecker Ogden (William Morrow, 2003). We've loved Ellen's straightforward recipes over the years in The Cook's Garden seed catalogs, and this collection provides pages of inspiration for making short work of seasonal bounty. A boon for busy parents, her book presents many quick recipes as well as some that can be prepared in advance, in bulk.
The Wild Vegetarian Cookbook Buy It Now!
The Wild Vegetarian Cookbook, by Steve Brill (The Harvard Common Press, 2002). Wild-food lover Steve Brill was arrested in 1986 when he ate a dandelion in Central Park, and ever since he's staunchly defended the world of wild plants. His new collection of more than 500 recipes, organized by season, highlights the culinary virtues of many common backyard plants, both wild and cultivated. To name just a few possibilities for adventurous cooks: Redbud Cornbread, Ramp Wine, Scalloped Fiddleheads, Pasta with Cat's Tail, Curried Burdock Soup, and Daylily Rice. This book is a gem for anyone who loves to experiment and who delights in using ingredients from Nature's pantry.
The Gardener's Table Buy It Now!
The Gardener's Table, by Richard Merrill and Joe Ortiz (Ten Speed Press, 2000). Getting the garden planned and planted is one thing. Knowing what to do with all your bounty is another. This useful book, especially good to read in the spring, offers a plan for designing your garden with cooking in mind. It includes 50 recipes developed for the backyard vegetable grower.

CRAFTS

Garden-Inspired Quilts Buy It Now!
Mother and daughter team Jean and Valori Wells combine their love of gardening and photography with their passion for quilting in the beautiful and helpful book Garden-Inspired Quilts (C&T Publishing, 2002). They present easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions for making 12 beautiful quilts and include patterns and tips for cutting out very special flowers.
Food Tales books Buy - Dr. Pompo's NoseBuy - How Are You Peeling?Buy - One Lonely Sea Horse
Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers, who have a special way of seeing fruits and vegetables, have put together the charming books One Lonely Sea Horse, How Are You Peeling? and Dr. Pompo's Nose (Scholastic Books/Arthur A. Levine).

FLOWERS

Perennials Buy It Now!
Annuals and Biennials Buy It Now!
We'll always be in awe of English gardens -- and gardeners. The award-winning British team of photographer Roger Phillips and botanist Martyn Rix, collaborators since 1977, has created two new stunning, lavish four-color reference books, Perennials and Annuals & Biennials (Firefly Books, 2002). The former contains more than 2,500 photographs, the latter more than 1,000. They're the kind of books you can spend hours poring over, and any gardener on your gift list would be delighted with a copy.
The Butterfly Gardener's Guide Buy It Now!
The Butterfly Gardener's Guide (Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Inc., 2003). Since 1945, the BBG's gardening handbooks have been a trusted source of advice. Recently, they've been given a new look and a new name (Brooklyn Botanic Garden All-Region Guides). This title in the series talks about ways to transform even a small backyard into a haven for butterflies, and presents an illustrated guide to butterfly biology, a list of plants butterflies love, and ideas for designing butterfly borders and meadows.
The Flower Gardener's Bible Buy It Now!
The Flower Gardener's Bible, by Lewis and Nancy Hill (Storey Publishing, 2003). Between them, these two Vermont gardeners have 75 years of gardening experience, which they share with a winning blend of practical advice and inspiration in this invaluable reference. They include basic how-to advice, designs for 25 different gardens, and a beautifully illustrated encyclopedia of more than 400 flowering plants.
Heirloom Flower Gardens Buy It Now!
Heirloom Flower Gardens, by JoAnn Gardner (Chelsea Green Publishing Co., 2001). More than 30 years ago, when Jo-Ann moved to Nova Scotia, she met her first heirloom flowers -- those growing on her farm and on land nearby. Her interest in old-time gardens and her careful notes of what she's grown make this book a wonderful exploration of heirloom ornamentals. Although it contains few photos, the clear text is a good read. The "Treasury of Heirloom Ornamentals" provides helpful plant profiles.
A Book of Blue Flowers Buy It Now!
A Book of Blue Flowers, by Robert Geneve (Timber Press, 2000). For gardeners who love blue and who seek more ways to work it into the garden, this book opens up a world of possibilities. The author, a professor of horticulture at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, inspired in part by the prevalence of blue flowers in European gardens, tackles the various shades of blue and explains how the color is defined and how it works in the garden.
An Encyclopedia of Shade Perennials Buy It Now!
An Encyclopedia of Shade Perennials, by W. George Schmid (Timber Press, 2002). If you've ever fallen into despair over being dealt a garden in the shade, take heart. This hefty book looks at more than 7,000 species of ornamental plants that prefer living away from full sun, with 500 color photos that will propel you to your local nursery.

GARDENERS

The Literary Garden Buy It Now!
The Literary Garden, with an introduction by Duncan Brine (Berkley Pub. Group, 2002). Excerpts of colorful garden writing from great literature is paired with lovely line drawings in this inspiring volume. Authors recognized for their garden passion include Louisa May Alcott, Thomas Hardy, Victor Hugo, D. H. Lawrence, Carl Sandburg, and Thomas Wolfe.
Notes from the Garden Buy It Now!
Notes from the Garden, by Henry Homeyer (University Press of New England, 2002). Sit down with this book and enjoy a special conversation with a dedicated organic gardener who writes about life as well as about growing plants. You'll find encouragement for starting a new garden, dealing with pests, and finding beauty at every turn. Included are many interesting tidbits from other gardeners, including Boston's Fenway Park groundskeeper Joe Mooney, who says, " Grass is like a human being."
The Adventurous Gardener Buy It Now!
The Adventurous Gardener, by Ruah Donnelly (The Horticultural Press, 2000). This entertaining guidebook, promising to tell you where to buy the best plants in New England, doubles as fascinating reading. It provides a sense of the rich horticultural world that lies up the dirt roads and around the bends of New England's highways and byways. And the author takes the time to tell the stories that go with the plant nurseries. To order, call 800-848-7236.

GARDEN TOURS

The Garden Conservancy's Open Days Directory Buy It Now!
The Garden Conservancy's Open Days Directory (The Garden Conservancy, 2002). The Open Days Program invites the public to visit some of America's best private gardens. For a $5 fee per garden, you'll see outstanding examples of design and horticulture. This guidebook includes all the details for visiting more than 450 of them.
The Garden Lover's Guide Buy - Canada EditionBuy - West EditionBuy - Northeast EditionBuy - Midwest Edition
The Garden Lover's Guide series (Princeton Architectural Press, 2001). Four titles for green-thumb travelers in North America are helpful guidebooks to great regional gardens. Descriptions explain the significance of the gardens and give practical information, including driving directions, open hours, and admission fees. Titles are The Garden Lover's Guide to Canada, by Larry Hodgson; three by Paul Bennett on the Northeast, the South, and the Midwest; and one by Kathleen McCormick on the West.
Gardenwalks Buy - GardenwalksBuy - Southern GardenwalksBuy - West Coast Gardenwalks
The Gardenwalks series (Michael Kesend Publishing, Ltd.). Three titles help travelers find gardens to visit throughout the United States. Gardenwalks, by Marina Harrison and Lucy D. Rosenfeld, covers 101 gardens from Maine to Virginia, with a list of other recommended gardens around the country; Southern Gardenwalks, by the same authors, lists great gardens in the South; and West Coast Gardenwalks, by Alice Joyce, suggests great places to wander in California and the northern Pacific.
Green Afternoons: Oregon Gardens to Visit Buy It Now!
Green Afternoons: Oregon Gardens to Visit, by Amy Houchen (Oregon State University Press, 1998). The many gardens in the state are listed here by county and region, a great help to the visitor who is getting to know the territory.
The Orchid Tourist: An International Guide to Public Orchid Collections
The Orchid Tourist: An International Guide to Public Orchid Collections, by Susan Plimpton. This pocket-size guidebook from the American Orchid Society covers 115 outstanding orchid collections, including 49 in the United States.

HERBS

New Herb Bible Buy It Now!
New Herb Bible, by Caroline Foley and Marcus Webb (Penguin Studio, 2002). Can we ever read enough about growing herbs for decorative, culinary, and medicinal purposes? Useful to beginning gardeners as well as to those with plenty of dirt under their nails, this directory is a helpful reference book and a good source of new ideas. It presents clear color photos as well as recipes and remedies.
Landscaping with Herbs Buy It Now!
Landscaping with Herbs, by James Adams (Timber Press, 2001). Two great things come together in this book. It contains a veritable treasure trove of gardening information, and it's also packed with herbal information and lore. There are detailed descriptions of the more than 600 species and cultivars incorporated in the suggested plans, dozens of recipes using herbs, comments on the traditional medicinal uses of herbs and their cultural requirements, and a list of herbs for a fragrant garden. Useful charts and tables assist the reader in selecting herbs for a wide variety of ornamental, culinary, and medicinal purposes, while splendid line drawings and color illustrations help readers visualize plants, landscapes, and uses. The facts and the ideas are cleverly brought together and set down in the author's entertaining and pleasing style.
New Encyclopedia of Herbs and Their Uses Buy It Now!
New Encyclopedia of Herbs & Their Uses, by Deni Bown (DK Publishing, 2001). Can we read enough about herbs these days? Here's a useful reference from The Herb Society of America, extolling the virtues of common and rare culinary and medicinal herbs in an easy-to-use A to Z format. There's good reading about the role of herbs in various cultures and practical tips for growing plants and designing an herb garden.

LANDSCAPE/DESIGN

Designing Natural Gardens
Designing Natural Gardens, by Peter Harper (Chelsea Green Publishing Co., 2002). The garden is increasingly becoming a place of rest and renewal, and to that end, here is inspiration and practical advice for growing vegetables, herbs, and ornamentals in thoughtful settings. Gardeners in any region can find useful observations and good plant recommendations.
The Practical Guide to Container Gardening Buy It Now!
The Practical Guide to Container Gardening, by Susan Berry and Steve Bradley (Storey Publishing, 2000). For inspiration in adding colorful container gardens to your yard, deck, patio, porch, sidewalk, windowsills, balconies, or roof terrace, this is the book to have at hand. With 400 stunning color photos and easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions, the authors discuss what types of containers work best for which plants, and provide seasonal planting schemes, care and maintenance tips, and guidelines for feeding, staking, watering, pruning, and propagating the most popular container plants. Included is a fully illustrated A-Z directory of more than 100 species and varieties.
Garden Stone Buy It Now!
Garden Stone, by Barbara Pleasant (Storey Publishing, 2002). Whether you dig them out of the garden or have them trucked in by a professional, stones anchor the landscape and provide a harmonious background for all kinds of plants. Suggesting dozens of ways to use stone in the landscape, this well-illustrated book covers paths and walkways, walls, water gardens, wisdom, and whimsy. One of our favorite sections is "Twelve Ways to Move Stone," a back-friendly reminder that big rocks deserve respect.
Making Garden Floors Buy It Now!
Making Garden Floors, by Paige Gilchrist (Sterling Publishing, 2001). For all of us who have dreamed about having a truly level place for a garden table and chairs, here is the needed inspiration. Showing transformed gardens and a range of paving possibilities, this book also covers the basics of grading and excavating.
Grasses Buy It Now!
Grasses, by Nancy Ondra (Storey Publishing, 2002). Grasses are hot. They're prized for their stunning ornamental characteristics and their workhorse performance in controlling soil erosion, stabilizing soil, retaining water, and offering habitats for wildlife. This book, written by a former nursery operator, helps gardeners understand the many ways to use specific grasses in the home landscape, and how to combine them with perennials and other garden plants.
The Garden Color Book Buy It Now!
The Garden Color Book (Chronicle, 2000), by Paul Williams, is an imaginative little flip book destined to save gardeners endless trips to the nursery trying to find just th right plant to complement what's already in the garden, By flipping the pages, home gardeners can plan plant combinations by color seeing what goes with what -- and what doesn't go! This cleverly designed book also contains notes on zones, sunlight requirements, and growing season to further assure compatibility.

NATURE

Outwitting Poison Ivy Buy It Now!
Outwitting Poison Ivy, by Susan Carol Hauser (Globe Pequot, 2001). You have to encounter it only once to know how nasty poison ivy can be. It's particularly loathsome in early spring, before the recognizable leaves appear, when many gardeners discover it firsthand by pulling it up by the roots. A single brush against a plant or a pet who has walked through it can bring weeks of discomfort. This helpful book, which you ought to read before you have trouble with this noxious plant, explains how to identify poison ivy, why it causes such a strong reaction, and the best ways to prevent an attack or deal with one.
Insects and Gardens: In Pursuit of a Garden Ecology Buy It Now!
Insects and Gardens: In Pursuit of a Garden Ecology, by Eric Grissell (Timber Press, 2001). Every gardener has at one time or another felt rage at insects who attack the garden. Yet in this thoughtful and informative book, a professional entomologist calls for a truce to the wars that often follow. He explains how common garden insects grow, feed, and reproduce and reminds readers of the important role insects play in every garden's ecosystem.

SHRUBS/TREES

The Grape Grower: A Guide to Organic Viticulture Buy It Now!
The Grape Grower: A Guide to Organic Viticulture, by Lon Rombough (Chelsea Green Publishing Co., 2002). If you've been trying unsuccessfully to grow grapes, or are longing to plant some, curl up with this book before you do anything else. The author, who has more than 35 years of experience growing grapes, presents organic methods for home or small-scale-commercial vineyards. He includes a helpful look at species and varieties, plus seasoned advice on pruning, dealing with insect pests, and climatic challenges.
Lilacs for the Garden Buy It Now!
Lilacs for the Garden, by Jennifer Bennett (Firefly Books, 2002). You can just about smell the lilacs in the gorgeous photos that illustrate this well-written treatise on one of America's favorite plants. The author, who has lived in eastern Ontario for the past 25 years, devotes considerable attention to lilacs for northern gardens, along with good hints for coaxing flowers from reluctant bloomers, fertilizing, pruning, and using lilacs to best advantage in a range of landscapes.
Remarkable Trees of the World Buy It Now!
Remarkable Trees of the World, by Thomas Pakenham (W. W. Norton & Co., 2002). If you've ever counted a tree among your favorite things, or known the pain of seeing a venerable old specimen cut to the ground, you're sure to appreciate this wondrous look at trees all around the world. The author, a British historian and rightful earl, who united tree lovers with his previous book, Meetings with Remarkable Trees, has sought out a selection of trees he feels have strong personalities. He offers them up, page after page, as graciously as if he were introducing people at a cocktail party.
Dirr's Trees and Shrubs for Warm Climates: An Illustrated Encyclopedia Buy It Now!
Dirr's Trees and Shrubs for Warm Climates: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, by Michael A. Dirr (Timber Press, 2002). When an expert like Mike Dirr talks about trees, gardeners would do well to listen. A companion volume to the highly useful and entertaining Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs, this reference book for gardeners in Zones 7 to 11 covers hundreds of species and cultivars, including the author's likes and dislikes. As our climates change, it wouldn't be a bad idea for readers in other zones, too, to keep this book on hand.

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