It occurs to me that some people may not be comfortable with having their posts written in stone for an FAQ. If anyone wants to edit or delete their post I can easily do that. No problem at all. Just email me what you want. Claire

Ah, the Alps--in my dreams, Mindy. But you pose a fair question. The best books for New England gardeners were written by longtime New England gardeners. No surprise there. Here are a few to get from the library or from a used book site like bookfinder.com, the most comprehensive such site, link below. The original Time-Life gardening series by Jim Crockett-- JAMES UNDERWOOD CROCKETT. A basic collection would include his volumes on perennials, annuals, flowering shrubs, evergreens, trees. But there are many more--bulbs, house plants etc. Jim was from Haverhill MA and was of course the first and longtime host of PBS' Victory Garden. The books have clear how-to info and accurate descriptions of the best species/hybrids for our area. Mostly color drawings, not photos, but that's why they invented the internet! DONALD WYMAN was at the Arnold Arboretum for many years and wrote a number of terrific books on woody plants--shrubs and trees. One I use constantly is "Shrubs and Vines for American Gardens"--the revised edition, pub 1969. Wyman's info spans decades so he can talk about the once-in-25-years freeze that killed a certain popular evergreen and you can save yourself the trouble of planting it. His one-volume "Wyman's Gardening Encyclopedia" is one-stop shopping for people who want a lot covered in a small space. Not a New Englander, more's the pity, but a Michigander from similar climate was ISABEL ZUCKER. Her "Flowering Shrubs" is the best book on the subject I've ever read. It also covers small flowering trees. Isabel was a no-nonsense calls-em-like-I-sees-em type and tells you all the bad as well as the good, a very rare quality in garden writers--or the editors who censor them. B/w photos. Her no-nonsense personality shines thru her writing and you will find yourself chuckling as well as learning. My favorite garden book genre is the book written by someone about his/her own garden of many years. These books are full of the trials and tribulations, thrills and successes of real gardeners. They are full of information and interest; many focus on perennials. New England has been fortunate to have many such writers. FREDERICK MCGOURTY, whose Hillside Gardens home and nursery in Connecticut may be remembered by many of you, wrote "The Perennial Gardener" about perennials. Knowledgeable, skilled, witty--but that could be said of all these writers. I learn something new each time I read McGourty. The book is a collection of articles written for Horticulture Magazine so you can read one at a time--or just look up the plant you are interested in. ELISABETH SHELDON gardens in upstate New York and created the most amazing garden with her own hands. She has written a number of books, mostly about perennials, and every one of them is packed with information based on experience. Again, they are independent essays that can be read separately or the reader can look up specific plants. "A Proper Garden" and "Time and the Gardener" are two of her titles. HELEN VAN PELT WILSON was one of the most popular garden writers in the country some years back. She gardened in Pennsylvania and then Connecticut. She wrote many books but "The New Perennials Preferred" is my favorite. It's about perennials, obviously, but like all these writers, she presents them in the context of a real garden, her own. And, just like talking to a friend, she describes what perennials really do in a real garden and how she copes with the endless surprises of a real garden. No advertising copy here. One of the very best garden writers for New England today is GORDON HAYWARD. He gardens in Vermont and all of his books are filled with beautiful photographs as well as his excellent, experienced writing. He writes a lot about hardscape too, especially how to incorporate our native stone into our gardens. I like "Stone in the Garden" but every one of his books is worth buying and learning from. And I'm sure many of you know the name of SYDNEY EDDISON. She gardens in Connecticut and has written many books based on her experience in her own garden. She deals with deer and declining energy, as well as the joy of a successful planting or the latest daylily. Again, all of her books are worth reading over and over, learning something new each time. There are certainly others to be added to this list but this post is long enough. Do not be put off by the fact that a number of these books are older; the information is still reliable and useful. The internet and magazines are the places to find the latest cultivar. Cultivars are mostly here today and gone tomorrow. The real-garden experience is these books is longlasting. Here is a link that might be useful: Best site for buying used books

I liked the 'NE Gardener's Book of Lists'. I have also had a number of books out by William Cullina of the New England Wildflower Society that are very much aimed at New England gardeners. His book 'Native Trees, Shrubs and Vines' was very helpful which introduced me to lots of plants I was unfamiliar with. He has a new book out, 'Native Ferns, Mosses and Grasses'. I have out from the library right now a book called: 'A Massachusetts Gardener's Companion : an insider's guide to gardening from the Berkshires to the Islands' by Barbara Gee. I am finding that book has given me a lot of new information and lots of reminders of information I already knew. It is always great to find a book that has a focus that is so specific to your area. If you are trying to raise vegetables, you are in a colder zone then I am here in Eastern Massachusetts, and would be able to profit from Eliot Coleman's books even more than I have. His book 'Four Season Harvest' has a wealth of creative ideas for extending the season and tons of experience with organic growing. I have a great respect for the work both he and his wife, Barbara Damrosch have accomplished. I recently saw her featured on 'Cultivating Life' and her perennial garden has become even more beautiful since the last time I saw it. She has a new book out called 'The Garden Primer'. I suggest both of these authors although they do live in Maine, because they are probably dealing with the same hardiness zone. pm2

Terrene - A bit off topic, but if you can find a local woodturning group, you could try contacting them to see if anyone is interested in your 3 foot diameter Acer platanoides. Norway maple is a nice wood, so you'll be getting rid of an invasive species and having it turned into something beautiful. I'm an amateur turner and have lots of buckthorn. In rooting it out I noticed the pretty orange color just under the bark and decided to try turning it. I've used it for Christmas ornaments which are small enough to use the small diameter wood I have. Makes me feel like all the time I spend removing buckthorn isn't such a total waste since some of it I can use. In addition to the buckthorn (lots and lots and lots!) I have some bittersweet, a couple of kinds of honeysuckle (vine and shrub), pruple loosestrife along the river, and some barberry. I have enough property that I'll never get rid of it all, but on an ongoing basis I work to reduce what invasives are there by pulling, cutting, and judicious use of Roundup. I'm pretty careful what I plant since I'm in a rural area and invasives can really spread into the woods. For instance, I've been waiting to see about Heptacodium. It seems like a great plant, but it's a relatively newly marketed one, and although I've heard nothing about it seeding around, I decided I'd wait to be sure that it wouldn't develop that problem. An example is that only now are the pears (like the Bradford and Cleveland) being seen as invasive in the southeast, long after they have been planted in every other subdivision. Perhaps I'm being overly cautious, but I see what problems are created when plants attract animals that help them seed themselves around, and so I really try to avoid the problem. I get information on invasives here on GW as well as other internet sources and books. I also look around at old fields and other sites where invasives often move in and make sure that I can ID most of the plants there as a way to familiarize myself with pioneer species, some of which are fine or native, but others are foreign invasives. I usually consult several sources before I get a plant I'm not familiar with, and if it either runs through underground roots or is a prolific seeder, I don't buy it. It's way too much trouble to remove a plant I end up regretting (the voice of bitter experience) than to avoid it in the first place, no matter how attractive it may seem.