What's your favorite garden/plant book??

16 years ago

While I know that this forum is probably the best resource around, I like something I can write in and carry around, so...

Can you recommend a good all-around garden book? I'm looking for a basic plant identification and care sort of book with emphasis on identification (so I can go poke around online once I know what I have). Something geared for this area would be nice but I'd rather have more info than less. And PICTURES!!

Thanks!

Lynne

zachsmom at iname.com

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

spanaval
16 years ago
There are lots of 'Encyclopedia of perennials' type of books out there; you can generally find them on sale at Borders or Barnes and Noble.

But in its general usefulness, nothing beats 'The Well Tended Perennial Garden' by Tracy DiSabato-Aust. I also enjoy books by William Cullina (on native plants), and Michael Dirr has of course written the authoritative book(s) on trees and shrubs.
lkaa
16 years ago
Agree with 'The Well Tended Perennial Garden' and add 'Time Tested Plants' by Pamela Harper. She is in VA Beach area, so it works well for our area as well.
Related Discussions
What's your favorite book on English gardens/gardening?
Q
Comments (8)
bboy, I absolutely am not looking to the English gardeners for their plant selections but rather their plant types - just like I wouldn't look to you. hehe. More than that though I want to get their mindset and the whys and wherefores of their design aesthetic. It occurred to me that the parts of my garden that I like the best are those that were packed with plants, i.e., companions around the roses, and that is exactly what I am lacking in my back garden. I'd really like to get immersed in their thinking. For a long time I ignored the English garden style, disliking the unkempt nature of the tall grasses and (forgive me) weedy-looking flowering plants. They just looked like they needed mowing to me, but I think I know enough now to adapt their style with my own Florida-loving plants. In fact, I've fallen in love with Gaura which I think would really appeal to an English cottage gardener. The red stems in the fall are really lovely. Gean and ogrose, I saw the books you mentioned, and their on my wish list. Nancy, garden pics and plans are exactly what I'm looking for but with less emphasis on roses. The roses are where they are. I just want to build around them. Thanks everyone. Sherry
...See More
What is your favorite Rock Garden Plant?
Q
Comments (4)
My favorite are the pulmonarias. They are located in the shadier part of my rock garden on a slope. I love their flowers, leaves, and neat tidy habit :)
...See More
What is your favorite Rock Garden Plant?
Q
Comments (4)
Do you know the Botanical name for it? I think I have some smaller varieties of heathers in my rock garden. 8" to 12" a Calluna Vulgaris and Erica darleyensis, but I didn't get any heaths. What's the difference between a heather and a heath? After checking into it a little, it seems like my Erica darleyensis is a heath and the Calluna Vulgaris is a heather.
...See More
what are your favorite children's garden/nature books
Q
Comments (3)
I don't know your daughter's age, but I teach four-year-olds and have many nice picture books in the classroom library, some about nature and gardening (I will add your suggestions to my shopping list). I'm on summer vacation now, but these are a few good ones I can recall: My Big Book of Outdoors - nature Anno's Counting Book - nature The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein (I get choked up reading that one) The Empty Pot The Carrot Seed The Little Red Hen The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle -- Janene
...See More
thistle5
16 years ago
I have alot of gardening books, but my absolute favorite & one I refer to all the time is The Southern Gardener's Book of Lists by Lois Trigg Chaplin (Taylor, 1994). No pictures, just great lists of plants that work well in my area, with little sidebars & notes from experienced gardeners. I also try to get all the new gardening books from the library & I subscribe to Garden Design magazine & work p/t in a garden center-I get garden ideas from all over, but this book is indispensable to me!
prubo
16 years ago
The one book (and I have many, many gardening books) that I return to again and again is Taylor's Master Guide to Landscaping by Rita Buchanan. It's all in there.
eibren
16 years ago
Graham Stuart Thomas is a well-known English author who wrote an excellent two volume reference, buttressed by additional books on roses, groundcovers, etc. Not a first pick, because of the English author and the lack of illustrations, but the two-volume set is fairly all-inclusive, so that when you finally have something you can look it up and know what you have. If you see them on sale anywhere they are worth picking up.

For shrubs, I agree that Dirr is the man. Ignore him at your peril, but if you have his book, at least you will have been warned. I took him with a grain of salt regarding the eventual height of Allegheny viburnums, but he was absolutely right. He was right about pruning, too.

I have an older set of two reference books on flowers that I especially love because it gives an excellent hand-drawn illustration of each, a good description of habitat, and a history of where each plant was first discovered, but it is temporarily packed away and I can't remember the name...maybe someone else will know. It may be out of print, but it should not be if it is.

Related Stories

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Euphorbia

By Annie Thornton

The daring colors and low water needs of this tropical plant make it a favorite for injecting life into tired landscapes year-round

Full Story

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Santa Rita Prickly Pear for Purple Appeal

By Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Distinctive colored pads and yellow flowers make this cactus a favorite in Southwestern gardens

Full Story

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Sambucus Nigra Caerulea for the Birds

By Debbie Ballentine

Blue elderberry is a favorite of birds and other wildlife in its native California

Full Story

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Common Fig

By Becky Harris

A full form and delicious fruits make this Middle Eastern tree a favorite in gardens around the world

Full Story

WINTER GARDENING 10 Native Wildflowers to Beautify Your Winter Garden

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

They stand strong in wind, feed wildlife and are easy to grow. But you may want to add these plants for their looks alone

Full Story

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Asclepias Incarnata for a Butterfly Garden

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Beautiful swamp milkweed makes it easy to help monarchs and other pollinators in eastern U.S. gardens

Full Story

GARDENING GUIDES Invite Mining Bees to Your Garden by Planting Their Favorite Plants

By Pollination Press LLC

Look for mining bees (Andrena) pollinating woodland wildflowers in U.S. gardens this spring

Full Story

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Heliopsis Helianthoides, a Pollinator Favorite

By Pollination Press LLC

Plant smooth oxeye in eastern U.S. gardens for its bright, sunny flowers and upright form

Full Story

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Staphylea Trifolia Shines in the Shade

By Pollination Press LLC

Plant American bladdernut for 3 seasons of interest: spring flowers and striped brown branches and bladder-like seedpods in fall and winter

Full Story

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Asclepias Viridis

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Green antelopehorn is a milkweed that is short, drought-tolerant, not aggressive and a monarch favorite

Full Story

What's your favorite garden/plant book??

Comments (5)

spanaval

lkaa

Related Discussions

thistle5

prubo

eibren

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US