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American
Horticultural Society
The American Gardener
July/August 2002 Recommended
Garden Books
Because the AHS Horticultural Book
Service was discontinued as of June 30, 2000 no further phone or mail orders
are filled. However, AHS members are still be able to order books at a
discount by linking to Amazon.com through the Society's Web site. Through this
partnership with Amazon.com, AHS members can receive better discounts on most
titles, faster delivery, greater inventory, and improved access to
hard-to-find books. The books listed here have not been critically evaluated;
they have been chosen for description based on unusual subject matter or
substantive content.
The following
books are our current recommended garden books from the July/August 2002 issue
of The American Gardener. To
read the review just click on the book title. You can then order the book
directly from Amazon.com by clicking on "Buy this book!" that
follows each review.
BOOKS IN THE
SPOTLIGHT
GARDENER'S BOOKS
BOOKS IN THE
SPOTLIGHT
 The Bountiful Container.
Rose Marie Nichols McGee and Maggie Stuckey. Illustrated by Michael A. Hill. Workman Publishing Company, New York, 2002. 432 pages. Publisher’s price,
softcover: $11.87.
Buy
this Book
 The Potted Garden.
Scott Appell, editor. Handbook #168, 21st Century Gardening Series. Brooklyn Botanic Garden, New York, 2001. 111 pages. Publisher’s price,
softcover: $9.95.
Buy
this Book
 Gardening in Containers.
Fine Gardening Design Guides. Edited by Fine Gardening. The Taunton Press, Newtown, Connecticut, 2002. 176 pages. Publisher’s price,
softcover:
$12.57.
Buy
this Book
Yesterday I made the decision to try something I swore I would never do again; I planted two large Mexican urns with vegetables and herbs. I’ve tried this in the past and each time succeeded in raising only a few puny basil plants and the odd, extremely small tomato. But a handful of new books on container gardening inspired me to try again.
The book most geared to my project was written by two well-respected plantswomen, Rose Marie Nichols McGee and Maggie Stuckey. At 432 pages, including the efficient index, The Bountiful Container is an exhaustive and relentlessly upbeat guide to creating container gardens of vegetables, herbs, fruits, and edible flowers.
The first three chapters cover design, planting schemes for succession cropping, color, and so on. Chapters four to six address the practicalities of container gardening: types of containers, supports, tools, and the techniques involved in raising plants from seeds and keeping them healthy. The last four chapters form the bulk of the book—information on 62 categories of vegetables, herbs, fruit, and edible flowers. The main text is punctuated with recipes, tips, and sidebars on theme gardens—which is how my pots became salsa gardens. The illustrations are cheerful black-and-white sketches that, for the most part, decorate rather than inform.
I’ve been devoted to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s gardening manuals for many years; they’ve boasted some of our best gardeners and plantspeople as contributors and covered most aspects of
gardenmaking. The Potted Garden is a good example. At 111 pages including the index, this slim paperback presents 14 essays written by seven different authors. Some topics are design-oriented, such as “Unusual, Antique, and Collectible Containers” by Scott D. Appell—although I question whether I’d use my precious Minton china cachepot as an outdoor container! Other essays are practical, such as Bill Shank’s “Building Window and Planter Boxes” and Shila Patel’s piece on overwintering potted plants.
If there’s one thing a container gardener can obsess about, it’s watering, so Ellen Zachos’ coverage of hardy cacti and succulent gardens and drought-tolerant plants for containers is helpful. And I was particularly intrigued by Appell’s chapter on “Water Gardens in Small Containers.” Although not every essay in here is as hardworking as its companions, the book provides plenty of knowledgeable advice and a few inspirational color photographs.
The BBG advises us, “Anything that can hold soil can become a home for plants.” Gardening in Containers, a compilation of articles that first appeared in Fine Gardening, suggests, “Just about any plant will grow in a container.” So seemingly, anything goes. And that to me is the essence of container gardening: The gardener has much greater control over variables than in the open garden; we can mix and match plants without reserve—we’re not talking tasteful restraint here.
The expertly written text is illustrated with good, inspirational photographs of container gardens and easy-to-comprehend step-by-step instructional photos. Divided into five parts, there are 27 articles covering subjects like container choice and design themes. I was drawn to Gary Heim’s article on container gardens for shade; his nifty ideas for color and foliage combinations get close to the lavish presentation I favor. It was fun seeing Kate Hunter’s hoop trellis constructed from willow branches, modeled on the plant supports seen in Renaissance paintings. Finally, Mark Kane’s how-to on forcing bulbs gave me further encouragement to retry something else I’d sworn off for good. And what more can you ask of a gardening book than it should tweak your curiosity and get you out there in the garden, container, or otherwise?
—Ethne Clarke
Frequent contributor Ethne Clarke has written several books on gardening. She lives in Austin, Texas.
 Logee's Greenhouses Spectacular Container Plants: How to Grow Dramatic Flowers for Your Patio, Sunroom, Windowsill, & Outdoor Spaces.
Byron E. Martin and Laurelynn G. Martin. Willow Creek Press, Minocqua, Wisconsin, 2001. 199 pages. Publisher’s price, hardcover:
$24.50
Buy
this Book
If you are seeking plants that are a bit more unusual for your patio or sunroom, you should check out Logee’s Greenhouses Spectacular Container Plants. The authors, Byron and Laurelynn Martin, who run Logee’s Greenhouses, share their vast experience in growing tropical and exotic plants with the reader. Eighty genera of plants are covered in a well-organized, easy-to-grasp format. In addition to the cultural information necessary to growing a healthy specimen, from soil preferences to the best time to prune, the book offers at least one—often several—good photos of each genus.
A comparatively small portion of the book addresses plant care and includes information on pruning, containers, pests and diseases, soils and fertilizers, and watering. Other than the pruning section, with its black-and-white illustrations that accompany the detailed instructions presented in the text, this portion of the book seems to be almost an afterthought, with limited, generalized information. But if it’s ideas for nifty plants you are looking for, along with the details on how to grow them successfully, you will find lots to choose from between the covers of this book.
—Rita Pelczar
Rita Pelczar is an associate editor of The American Gardener.
 Melons for the Passionate Grower.
Amy Goldman. Artisan, New York, 2002. 160 pages. Publisher’s price, hardcover:
$17.50
Buy
this Book
Amy Goldman’s dual passions are heirloom melons and what these plants represent. They are nothing less than our common heritage, brought to this country by immigrants, and they are now in danger of extinction. A gift of seeds from Kent and Diane
Whealy, founders of the Seed Savers Exchange, ignited Goldman’s desire to save this precious heritage. And whether we like it or not, she is out to seduce us into joining her in this grand endeavor.
Who knew there were so many melons—‘Collective Farm Woman’, ‘Striped Snake’, ‘Noir des Carmes’, ‘Hollybrook Luscious’, ‘Schoon’s Hard Shell’—and that they are so beautiful? Victor Schrager’s photographs, at once austere and sensuous, are enough to make you want to plow up your flowers and plant vast fields of melons.
One hundred melons are pictured, many described in detail, with snippets of history, botany, literature, and archeology thrown in. The book is scholarly without being pedantic. Goldman’s passion shines through and enlivens every page. Like a teacher describing her pupils, she is unable to favor one variety over another. Melons come in all shapes and sizes, from zucchini-like to lumpy to satiny smooth. We learn that what we call cantaloupes are not cantaloupes, but are reticulatus. True cantaloupes are the mainly French melons without a reticulated or netted skin, like ‘Charentais’.
Having hooked us with glorious photographs and engaging descriptions, Goldman tells us how to grow our own melons in all their green and gold, smooth, netted, and bumpy glory. Her instructions are straightforward and do not involve exotic manures or magical incantations. Growing a collection of melons seems eminently do-able. To further spur us on, she includes an extensive list of seed sources. So, you have been warned: Buy this book at your own peril. You may find yourself knee deep in homegrown melons next year, but it seems a wonderful fate.
—Norma Prendergast
An art historian and writer, Norma Prendergast gardens in Ithaca, New York.
 Dirr’s Trees and Shrubs for Warm Climates:
An Illustrated Encyclopedia.
Michael A. Dirr. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon, 2002. 448 pages. Publisher’s price,
hardcover.$48.97.
Buy
this Book
Following in the same path as Dirr’s Hardy Trees and Shrubs (Timber Press, 1997), Dirr’s Trees and Shrubs for Warm Climates is such a sumptuous feast for both eye and mind that if you live in a warm climate and grow woody plants, you must own it!
Exactly how does Dirr define warm-climate plants? In his words, they are “woody species that peacefully coexist in USDA Zone 7 to 9 gardens, with some growing into Zone 11.” So if you don’t know your zone, pull out your map—or open the book to page 433. The territory covered includes a wide swath of the Southeast from Texas all the way along to the East Coast to Cape Cod. For westerners, whose more variable topography results in a more complex arrangement of hardiness zones, you must pay close attention to your specific zones and microclimates.
If you’ve never read Dirr before, be prepared for opinions—for he has them and shares them readily. But though he can sometimes be a bit too garrulous, he is nearly always right! Take for example his notes on the Chinese tallow tree (Sapium sebiferum): “…with rampaging, self-seeding, noxious weed status in the coastal south…. I have seen it…where it has wreaked havoc upon the native vegetation.” My experience concurs; it is a nasty weed.
The book is arranged alphabetically by genus and species, so if you’re not familiar with scientific names, you’ll need to get used to them. The index however, includes both scientific and common name sections, so if you refuse to deal with botanical Latin, you can cross-reference by common name.
But I’ll wager that most will do just as I have done and simply sit back and enjoy a casual stroll through the pages. This is a book that takes you on an imaginary tour of the garden you want to have, offering many wonderful ideas on its beautiful pages. Dirr includes plants that are found in just about every nursery and others you’ll have to search to find—plants that are easy to grow and those that seem nearly impossible, such as Georgia plume (Elliotia racemosa), a plant I am currently trying to coax into surviving in my suburban Atlanta garden.
Another enviable thing about Mike Dirr: He seems to grow just about everything successfully—or digs it up right away. The first part of the book is an incredible photo essay called “Reflections on Garden-making in Georgia.” A photo of his home in Athens just before completion in 1979 shows the garden looking somewhat like a nuclear-waste site. But as he reveals in a subsequent photo, there has been a “remarkable transformation in 14 years. Bonnie and I planted every tree, shrub, and perennial seen in this October 1993 photograph and loved them into being.” Mike Dirr is exactly that kind of plantsman. He loves plants. Even the Chinese tallow tree.
—Scott Ranger
Scott Ranger is the editor of Tipularia, the journal of the Georgia Botanical Society, and past editor of “BotSoc News,” the society’s newsletter.
 Mints: A Family of Herbs and Ornamentals.
Barbara Perry Lawton.Timber Press, Portland, Oregon, 2002. 272 pages. Publisher’s price, hardcover:
$19.57.
Buy
this Book
Barbara Perry Lawton knows how to translate botanese into plain accessible English: She is an award-winning writer, editor, and photographer, a former president of the Garden Writers Association of America, sometime publications manager for the Missouri Botanical Garden, and a weekly garden columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Mints is her digestible survey of the botanical family known as the Lamiaceae or Labiatae, and according to Steven Still of Ohio State University’s Department of Horticulture, it is the first such survey ever essayed.
One can see why. Although the genus Mentha, which we all think of as “mint,” has only 25 species, the Lamiaceae at last count contained 5,600 species distributed unevenly among 221 genera. The sheer number of plants is enough to daunt the staunchest researcher, but Lawton took on the Herculean task and by and large has succeeded admirably.
The first two-thirds of Mints features a general discussion of the history, science, and uses of labiate plants in the West. The chapters are entitled “Mints In History and Lore”; “Mints In Health and Home”; “Herbal Mints” (which Lawton distinguishes as those used in cookery, medicine, perfumery, and industry); “Ornamental Mints”; “Weedy Mints” (thugs every one); “Pests and Diseases”; and “Botany of Mints.” The eighth chapter, “Catalog of Mints,” is for me the best part of the book: an encyclopedic close-up of some of the most important genera in the family, from Acinos, Agastache, and Ajuga through Leonotis, Leonuris, and Lepechinia to Thymus, Trichostema, and Westringia. I particularly liked the sections on the dragonheads (Dracocephalum), the catmints (Nepeta), and Sideritis spp., three genera I’ve been tracking down seeds for with more or less success.
I did have a few gripes about this book: The survey of herb gardening that opens the first chapter seems like something brought in from a different book; it made me chafe with impatience. The color photographs and black-and-white line drawings that illustrate the book are pleasing, but I would have liked fewer pictures of the commoner species and cultivars and more pictures of the weirder ones. Some of the descriptions in the catalog section, though erudite, are as colorless as the floras from which they were excerpted. I also felt cheated by the scant cultural information given and the lack of a plant and seed source list.
Having said all this, I am grateful to Lawton for having undertaken such an enormous task, and I am glad to have this volume on my reference shelf. m
—Rand. B. Lee
Garden writer Rand B. Lee is president of the North American Cottage Garden Society. He gardens in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
GARDENER'S
BOOKS
Many classics of gardening literature are difficult to find because they are no longer in print. This issue we feature some classics that have recently been reprinted and are once again available.
 My Summer in a Garden.
Charles Dudley Warner. Introduction by Allan Gurganus. Modern Library Garden Series editor, Michael Pollan. Modern Library, New York, New York, 2002. 100 pages. Publisher's price,
softcover: $9.56.
Buy
this Book
Combining astute observations with witty and well-crafted sentences, Charles Dudley Warner draws practical lessons from his garden and presents them with wry humor in this book first published in 1871. Warner guides readers through his gardening endeavors over the course of an entire growing season as he faces weeds, interlopers, and blisters, all with philosophical musings.
Other titles in this series, edited by Michael Pollan, include We Made a Garden by Margery Fish; Green Thoughts: A Writer in the Garden by Eleanor Perenyi; and The Gardener’s Year by Karel
Capek.
 An Island Garden.
Celia Thaxter. Illustrated by Childe Hassam. Introduction by Tasha Tudor. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts, 2002. 128 pages. Publisher’s price, hardcover, in slipcase:
$24.50
Buy
this Book
Appledore Island, off the coast of New Hampshire and Maine, is the setting of this chronicle of a year of gardening activities and reflections. Thaxter entranced the renowned guests who visited her family’s summer resort hotel with her colorful garden. Her elegant prose, illustrated with paintings by American Impressionist Childe Hassam, captures the spirit of this seaside retreat. This classic was originally published in 1894.
 The Complete Shade Gardener.
George Schenk. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon, 2002. 311 pages. Publisher's price,
softcover: $16.07.
Buy
this Book
Long considered required reading for shade gardeners, this classic reference has been recognized by The American Horticultural Society as one of the “75 Great American Garden Books.” The first part of the book covers both the art and science of gardening in low-light areas. The second part is a discussion of recommended plants for the shade, organized by type (trees, shrubs, perennials, ferns, etc.). First published in 1984, an updated appendix has been added to this new reprint.
 Nehrling’s Early Florida Gardens.
Nehrling’s Plants, People, and Places in Early Florida.
Edited and abridged by Robert W. Read. Foreword by David Fairchild. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 2001. 262 and 248 pages, respectively. Publisher’s price, softcover:
$20.97 each.
Buy
this Book
This two-volume set, originally published in the 1940s, represents a collection of environmental observations and botanical history about the gardens and plants of central and southern Florida. Accounts of “Curious and Interesting Plants” include many that were relatively new to western cultivation that have since gained substantial popularity, including dracaenas, anthuriums, and several genera of grasses. The set is a valuable reference on subtropical gardening and Florida history.
 Two Gardeners: A Friendship in Letters.
Katharine S. White and Elizabeth Lawrence. Edited by Emily Herring Wilson. Beacon Press, Boston, Massachusetts, 2001. 271 pages. Publisher’s price, hardcover: $25.
Buy
this Book
The eloquent correspondence between New Yorker editor Katharine White and Southern garden writer Elizabeth Lawrence spanned nearly two decades and affords the reader an intimate glimpse of their relationship, their gardens, and their personal struggles. The last section, “Signs of Durability,” are letters between Katharine’s husband, E.B. White, and Lawrence after Katharine’s death in 1977.
 Garden Open Today.
Beverley Nichols. Illustrated by William McLaren. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon, 2002. 258 pages. Publisher’s price, hardcover:
$17.47.
Buy
this Book
Seasoned with wit and humor, and punctuated with whimsical line drawings by William McLaren, this highly readable account covers Nichols’ 30 years of practical gardening experience. First published in 1963, the title of the book was an invitation to Nichols’ critics—who questioned whether the flamboyant British writer was a “real gardener”—to come see his garden and judge for themselves.
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