I'm more into trees than anything else (surprised?) and find myself picking up Michael Dirr's Manual of Woody Landscape Plants all of the time. It not only provides the standard info that you can obtain from a lot of sources, but it also lists extensive info on tree and shrub cultivars and propagation techniques for each species. What I find most appealing though is Dirr's anecdotal info on many tree species and cultivars. A lot of his observations come from the time he spent in the Boston area and Maine. This book is more for facts rather than illustrations. For pictures, I would recommend one of his other books: Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs.

For a different kind of gardening book, I highly recommend: "Classic Garden Structures : 18 Elegant Projects to Enhance Your Garden". If you like to do some basic carpentry like me, you'll find the projects in the book interesting little hobby projects. I plan on building the Strawberry Tower in this book during the winter.

Thanks Tree--we have several of the Dirr books. Will look into Classic Garden Structures . . .

Gardens to Go-Creating and Designing a Container Garden" by Sydney Eddison. Photography by Steve Silk. Although most, if not all of the plants discussed in this book are not hardy to New England, both Sydney Eddison and Steve Silk live and garden in CT. This is a great book for people who are interested in tropicals, tender perennials and unusual annuals. My copy is out and ready for winter perusing.

Sue

Here is a link that might be useful: Gardens to Go

Hi,

If you didn't catch this thread on the NewEngland Forum, there were a number of good book recommendations for New England. The link is below..

:-)
Adam

Here is a link that might be useful: Book on New England and I am new

While I don't always agree with the author, "My Connecticut Garden" by Valchar is enjoyable and full of good info. The rock gardening books by H. Lincoln Foster describe his gardening experience in CT, as well.

Amy Goldman put out a book on squash last year that my DH lived with most of the summer. Her next book is supposed to be on tomatoes, but that won't be out for a couple of years.

Can't think of anything else new.

We do have the Amy Goldman squash book (and also the Carolyn Male 100 Heirloom Tomatoes book). Also the NE Gardener's Book of Lists, will check out Month-byMonth Gardening in NE. The Adventurous Gardener was a good read, but isn't that the one that is seriously out-of-date, as far as several nurseries that were listed are now out of business? Maybe add Gardens to Go, but the library has several container gardening books. We have the Sunset NE book, which is just another all-purpose gardening book not any better than 100 others. Wow, I am becoming a garden book critic!

Trying to narrow down some landscape book choices:
Landscape Planning: Practical Techniques--Judith Adam
Your House, Your Garden--Gordon Hayward
Garden Design Made Easy--Tim Newbury
Successful Small Gardens--Roy Strong
New Complete Guide to Landscaping--Better Homes & Gardens
Landscaping Your Home . . Fine Gardening Design Guides
Exploring Garden Style . . " " "

Also thinking of The Pruner's Bible
--off to Amazon

>off to Amazon

I admit that I sometimes use amazon, but for every book I buy there I try to buy 2 locally. Can you get your local book store to stock these instead of buying them from Amazon?

I love buying garden books locally, because then the shop stocks more gardening books. Then I have more chances to peruse new ones in the shop, and then I find myself meeting other gardeners there, and we keep our little main street business area going ...

There's a real domino effect from a little thing like buying gardening books locally. Oops, I'd better get off my soap box now - sorry for the OT post.

Digging the Dirt:

Where do you buy your garden books locally? Upper Cape or Lower Cape?

Claire

I enjoy referring back to Michael Dirr's books, too, and always seem to find something new to chuckle about. However, my all-time favorites are Ann Leighton's three books: "Early American Gardens," "American Gardens in the Eighteenth Century," and "American Gardens of the Nineteenth Century." Good reading and "re-reading," especially during winter months (and, quite a bit of the "action" takes place around N.E. I know... I need a life.)

Hi Claire - Upper Cape. We have a new bookstore on Main Street in Falmouth, the Inkwell. Until that opened, I used Booksmith in the Falmouth Plaza.

I don't know if we can support two - actually, there's a great kids' bookstore on Main Street, too. We all argue about which of these stores to support! Since I live right near Main Street, I feel like I've got to shop there.

We're lucky to have these locally-owned stores; between the web stores and the big chains in Hyannis, it can't be easy to run an independant bookstore these days.

I think any avid gardener needs the basic reference books, such as Dirr, but my favorite garden books to read are those in which the authors talks about their own gardens--how they made them, failures and successes, wonderful word pictures and so on. These I read over and over again. We are lucky in New England to have had a number of such books published thru the years. I have learned a tremendous amount from them, in the most pleasant possible manner. Some I love, in no order:

The Country Garden--Josephine Nuese

anything by Helen Van Pelt Wilson

The Perennial Gardener--Frederick McGourty

A Proper Garden--Elisabeth Sheldon (actually upstate NY)

Making Things Grow Outdoors--Thalassa Cruso

Old Time Gardens--Alice Morse Earle

A Patchwork Garden--Sydney Eddison

My Garden Comes of Age--Julia Cummins (upstate NY)

There are lots more but these are among my favorites. Many are out of print but are easily gotten thru the library or online at bookfinders.com. Would love to hear more recommendations.

Thanks DiggingTheDirt. I occasionally get into Falmouth so I'll keep them in mind.

Most of my books are still packed in the cellar waiting for the new bookshelf to be built.

I don't think anyone mentioned the Beverley Nichols books, not at all New England, but fun to read.

Claire

There's also Jamaica Kincaid's "My Garden Book". It's been very highly praised, although I'm a little ambivalent about it. Worth looking into.

Claire

Specific to Cape Cod would be: THE CAPE COD GARDEN by
C.L. Fornari...

Luvherbz

Like Ginny12, I like garden books that have personal insights of sorts. One of my favorites is The Collector's Garden, by Ken Druse. Many of the gardens in it are owned by people who make me feel very normal - they are all plant collectors. I think I've got all his books, and haven't yet met one I didn't like.

I also like Helen Dillon's books, and anything by Christopher Lloyd, Penelope Hobhouse, Rosemary Verey, Ethne Clarke.

Wayne Winterrowd's Annuals for Connoisseurs is lots of fun, it doesn't try to cover every darn annual, just his favorites.

My most-used "how to" reference is actually "From Seed to Bloom" which describes the care of almost every plant. I also use the Taylor's Guides, they are small enough to cart around easily when it's shopping season.

Dtd, I browse Amazon for book descriptions, price, and ISBN#. We compile a final list for the library, who orders through their distributor. Through this supplier they are able to order the books approx. 20% cheaper than Amazon's price. Therefore, we are able to buy more books with our $. I also agree with patronizing your local book store, but our collection would be half what it is if we paid the list price for each book.

Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone, I am adding them to our list!