Furthering my Education
Recommended Gardening Titles/Cookbooks & Films
I think of continuing education as one of the most important parts of my job. When I’m not working –gardening, designing gardens or writing– I can often be found reading. I wrote a weekly post, reviewing gardening books of my own choosing, for Barnes & Noble’s Garden Variety blog. You will still find my reviews of the latest gardening titles there, even though ‘Garden Variety’ has been archived. I will continue to regularly review and recommend gardening books on this blog. The internet is a wonderful resource, but when it comes to in-depth information, there’s still nothing like a good gardening book (click logo-link below to read my reviews at B&N’s Gardening Blog)
You may note that this library is in need of updating. I have reviewed many gardening guides and landscape books for B&N, not yet listed here. If you are interested in purchasing any of these books online, just hover over any title with your cursor and click to preview/get a current price/order from Amazon.com. If you can not click on a title I have listed, the book may be out of print. Please email me (see ‘contact’, if you find an error). Thank you!
Annual and Tender Perennial Gardening :
Armitage, Allan M., Armitage’s Garden Annuals: A Color Encyclopedia
Winterrowd, Wayne, Annuals for Connoisseurs
Winterrowd, Wayne, Annuals and Tender Plants for North American Gardens
…
Bulbs
Pavord, Anna. Bulb
Heath, Brent and Becky. Daffodils for North American Gardens
Leeds, Rod. The Plantfinder’s Guide to Early Bulbs
…
Black Plants – Delightful, Gothic Gardening – One of My Great Passions
Bonine, Paul. Black Plants
Platt, Karen. Black Magic and Purple Passion
…
Children’s Gardening Books:
Ruth Krauss, The Carrot Seed Board Book
Sharon Lovejoy, Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots
Patricia Kite, Gardening Wizardry for Kids
Henry Cole, Jack’s Garden
Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Gardening with Children
…
Encyclopedias :
Brickell, Christopher & Cathey, H.Marc ed., American Horticultural Society A to Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants
Brown, Deni. New Encyclopedia of Herbs & Their Uses
Kowalchik, Claire & Hylton, William. Rodale’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs
Ferns (some of my favorite plants) :
Rickard, Martin,Garden Ferns (Plantfinder’s Guide to Growing Series)
Garden Reference :
Irwin, Howard S. ed. America’s Garden Book: The Only Book You’ll Ever Need to Plan, Design, and Grow Your Garden, Revised Edition
Inspiration :
Druse, Ken, Ken Druse: The Passion for Gardening
Druse, Ken, Planthropology: The Myths, Mysteries, and Miracles of My Garden Favorites
Pollan, Michael, * BOOK*, The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World
Pollan, Michael, *DVD*, The Botany of Desire
..
Japanese Maples (A favorite) :
Vertrees, J.D., Japanese Maples: Momiji and Keade
Kalmia Latifolia, (Mountain Laurel), A favorite woody plant:
Jaynes, Richard, Kalmia: Mountain Laurel and Related Species, Third Edition
Moss :
Schenk, George, Moss Gardening: Including Lichens, Liverworts and Other Miniatures
Cullina, William,Native Ferns, Moss, and Grasses: From Emerald Carpet to Amber Wave, Serene and Sensuous Plants for the Garden
Native Plants, Naturalistic Planting, Woodland Gardening :
Armitage, Allan, Armitage’s Native Plants for North American Gardens
Chatto,B The Shade Garden: Shade-Loving Plants for Year-Round Interest
Cullina, William, Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines: A Guide to Using, Growing, and Propagating North American Woody Plants
Cullina,William, Wildflowers, (The New England Wild Flower Society)
Darke, Rick, The American Woodland Garden: Capturing the Spirit of the Deciduous Forest
Druse, Ken, The Natural Shade Garden
Leopold, Donald, Native Plants of the Northeast: A Guide for Gardening and Conservation
Ornamental Grasses :
Darke, Rick, The Color Encyclopedia of Ornamental Grasses: Sedges, Rushes, Restios, Cat-Tails and Selected Bamboos
( The title above is now out of print, but is available used via the link above)
Darke, Rick, The Encyclopedia of Grasses for Livable Landscapes
Ondra, Nancy. Grasses: Versatile Partners for Uncommon Garden Design. (This is a book I truly adore and frequently loan out to clients)
Organic and Sustainable Gardening / Disease and Insect Control :
Walliser, Jessica. Good Bug Bad Bug (A handy, rugged, ringed binder guide with id photos and organic solutions)
Chalker-Scott, Linda. The Informed Gardener
Gillman, Jeff. The Truth About Garden Remedies: What Works, What Doesn’t, and Why
Ellis, Barbara W and Bradley, Fern M., The Organic Gardener’s Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control: A Complete Problem-Solving Guide to Keeping Your Garden and Yard Healthy Without Chemicals
Cranshaw, Whitney. Garden Insects of North America
…
Perennial Gardening, (Design and Maintenance) :
Ondra, Nancy. The Perennial Care Manual
DiSabato-Aust, Tracy, The Well-Designed Mixed Garden: Building Beds and Borders with Trees, Shrubs, Perennials, Annuals, and Bulbs
DiSabato-Aust, Tracy, The Well-Tended Perennial Garden: Planting and Pruning Techniques
Perennial Identification:
Armitage, Allan M., Armitage’s Garden Perennials: A Color Encyclopedia
Rice, Graham. Encyclopedia of Perennials (RHS/American Horticultural Society)
Propagation :
Druse, Ken, Making More Plants: The Science, Art, and Joy of Propagation
Pruning, (A reading list created by a woman with Felco 8s in her purse):
Reich, Lee,The Pruning Book: Completely Revised and Updated
Brown, George E., The Pruning of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers: Second Edition
Stonework, (Inspiration):
Snow, Dan and Mauss, Peter , In the Company of Stone
Snow, Dan, and Mauss, Peter, Listening to Stone
Trees and Shrubs, (This is the best Northeastern guide book available):
Dirr, Michael, Dirr’s Hardy Trees and Shrubs: An Illustrated Encyclopedia
(for more advanced study – below is a black and white encyclopedia)
Dirr, Michael, Manual of Woody Landscape Plants: Their Identification, Ornamental Characteristics, Culture, Propagation and Uses
Viburnum, (For the serious collector):
Dirr, Michael,Viburnums: Flowering Shrubs for Every Season
Vegetable Gardening, (Art and Science resources):
Bartley, Jennifer R., Designing the New Kitchen Garden: An American Potager Handbook
.
Bradley, Fern M., Rodale’s Vegetable Garden Problem Solver
Coleman, Eliot. Four-Season Harvest
Coleman, Eliot. The Winter Harvest Handbook
Smith, Edward C., The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible (10th Anniversary Edition)
Bartholomew, Mel. All New Square Foot Gardening: Grow More in Less Space
Weed Identification
DiTomaso, Neal & Uva. Weeds of the Northeast
DVD/Films
Pollan, Michael, DVD, The Botany of Desire
Schlosser, Eric, DVD, Food, Inc.
Reading on the Terrace
I love to cook, and I have an ever-growing collection of wonderful cookbooks. I’ve included some of my favorites here, and you can find more on the ‘Kitchen’ page, to the left sidebar. When I get a bit of time, I will add more. Also, check out the food blog links on the right, under ‘Cooking/Recipes’…
Food / Cookbooks
Hunt, Maria C. , The Bubbly Bar: Champagne and Sparkling Wine Cocktails for Every Occasion
Swanson, Heidi, Super Natural Cooking: Five Delicious Ways to Incorporate Whole and Natural Foods into Your Cooking
Garten, Ina, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients
Schreiber and Richardson, Rustic Fruit Desserts: Crumbles, Buckles, Cobblers, Pandowdies, and More
Lebovitz, David Ripe for Dessert: 100 Outstanding Desserts with Fruit–Inside, Outside, Alongside
Levy, Rose, The Pie and Pastry Bible
Levy, Rose, Rose’s Heavenly Cakes
Dusoulier, Clotilde, Chocolate and Zucchini: Daily Adventures in a Parisian Kitchen
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