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American
Horticultural Society
The American Gardener
November/December 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 November/December 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 GIFT BOOKS
BOOKS IN THE
SPOTLIGHT
 Gardens of Use and
Delight: Uniting the Practical and the Beautiful in an Integrated Landscape.
Jigs and Jo Ann Gardner. Illustrated by Elayne Sears. Fulcrum Publishing,
Golden, Colorado, 2002. 304 pages. Publisher’s price, softcover: $20.97
Buy This Book
More than 30 years ago, Jigs and Jo Ann Gardner bought a vacant farm on Cape
Breton Island, attracted by its hillside site, remnant apple orchard, and
handful of surviving perennials and flowering shrubs. They planted dozens of
fruit trees and bushes that first year, the genesis of a later jam business
and the source of many future meals. Although clearly useful, those apples,
plums, pears, blueberries, currants, elderberries, blackberries, and
raspberries were also the beginnings of their efforts to create beauty in
their surroundings.
Over time, the Gardners rescued the surviving
apple trees, and added extensive vegetable, herb, and flower gardens. These
are lovingly captured in dozens of charming water colors by Elayne Sears.
But this is not a story about waving a magic checkbook and acquiring an
instant garden. Rather, it relates the evolution of a landscape planted by
two people who wanted to enjoy the daily walk to the barn, the woodshed, the
chicken coop, and the mailbox—while feeding their family of six, and
producing jams, herbs, flowers, cheese, eggs, bacon, and other products for
sale.
Divided into three parts, the book begins
with an overview of the farm as it is today, with reflections on how it has
changed over the years since the Gardners purchased the property.
The bulk of the book—“The Gardens”—describes
each garden area and how it has evolved, with lists of favorite vegetables,
fruit, annuals, perennials, roses, and herbs. The book sometimes feels as
though it’s from a distant century, recounting as it does a life rooted in
one place. “The Kitchen Garden” is filled with favorite family recipes for
preserving the garden’s bounty, enticing reminders of a time when people
routinely practiced the nearly-lost art of canning. “An Old-Fashioned Fruit
Garden” includes frugal methods for producing sumptuous results, such as
apple ginger, black currant sorbet, blueberry preserves, and rhubarb
marmalade.
In “Part Three: The Integrated Landscape,” practical issues are addressed.
“The Growing Guide” offers techniques and strategies that have proven
successful, from controlling diseases and insects to saving seed. The final
chapter, “A Summary of Practical & Aesthetic Principles,” neatly merges the
many topics covered in the book into a simple philosophy: that a garden
should develop according to life’s needs, with accommodations for change,
rather than from a static, predetermined blueprint.
The impetus for the book is the Gardners’
desire to pass along their concept of an integrated landscape: simplicity is
a virtue, time is your ally; don’t make separate realms for flowers and the
productive areas of a landscape. Instead, unify the practical and the
beautiful in a satisfying whole.
—Renée Beaulieu
Renée Beaulieu is the internet editor for White Flower Farm nursery in
Litchfield, Connecticut.
 Bulbs, Revised
Edition.
John E. Bryan. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon, 2002. 896 pages. Publisher’s
price, hardcover: $89.95.
Buy This Book
The trouble with revised editions is that they always need to be compared
with the original. And in this case the competition is stiff—the first
edition of Bryan’s Bulbs, published in 1989, was named one of 75 Great
American Garden books by the American Horticultural Society. But the second
edition outshines its predecessor. In short, Bryan has made a great book
even better.
Like the earlier edition, this book covers
both hardy and tender bulbs, making it the most complete reference available
on geophytes—plants that grow from underground organs, including true bulbs,
corms, rhizomes, and tubers.
Without doubt, the encyclopedia is the book’s most important feature, though
there is plenty of front matter to keep you busy and increase your
knowledge. Concise yet fairly complete chapters cover History, Botany and
Classification, Propagation, Cultivation Techniques, Bulbs in the Landscape,
and Pests and Diseases. Growing Bulbs Out of Season describes forcing
techniques for both enthusiasts and commercial growers.
The alphabetical listing of genera includes
popular bulbs such as Crocus, Dahlia, and Tulipa, as well as collector’s
plants like Fritillaria and Trillium. My favorite native and exotic bulbs
are all covered, as are dozens of lesser-known selections destined to become
new garden treasures. In all, more than 5,000 species in 230 genera are
included. Although the classification of hybrid groups in popular genera
such as Narcissus is included, the book is primarily a reference to species
and their most prominent cultivars. The no-nonsense text is seldom terse and
at times is relaxed and lyrical. Excellent botanical descriptions and
historical notes accompany each generic entry, along with cultural
information, propagation techniques, and pests and diseases.
The second edition features a number of
improvements. The best news—for those with good upper arm strength—is that
two volumes have been condensed into one. Topping the list of substantive
changes is the expanded encyclopedia coverage. Next on the list is the
increased number of photographs and beautiful botanical illustrations—nearly
twice as many as before. The up-to-date taxonomy is particularly helpful,
and reflects the breakup of the lily family (Liliaceae) and the realignment
of the amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae). Check the complete list of
synonyms to keep abreast of name changes.
What’s missing, you ask? Very little. Keys to
the genera and species would have been useful for serious bulb students. The
lack of an index may not seem a hardship at first (considering that the
encyclopedia is alphabetic by botanical name), but it makes finding
information outside the encyclopedia a bit cumbersome.
Some gardeners may be taken aback by the omission of USDA hardiness zones.
Although I think zones inhibit gardeners from experimenting, this book
covers tender and hardy bulbs, as well as widely divergent species, so zones
would have been helpful to less-experienced gardeners. Minimum temperature
is given for each genus, which provides some indication of hardiness and
makes the book broadly applicable to readers outside North America.
At a cover price of $89.95, this volume is not for everyone. Bulbs will have
strong appeal to curious amateurs and ambitious gardeners; it is a must for
serious bulb enthusiasts.
—C. Colston Burell
Landscape designer and author C. Colston Burrell, who has written several
books on herbaceous perennials and wildflowers, owns and operates Native
Landscape Design and Restoration located near Charlottesville, Virginia.
GARDENER'S GIFT BOOKS
Need a good holiday gift idea for a gardener? Take a look at
the following new titles. Whether the gardener on your list enjoys tales of
plants from around the world, wants to encourage backyard wildlife, or seeks a
bit of advice about incorporating art into the landscape, the information and
inspiration they need can be found between the covers of the following new
books.
 The City Gardener’s
Handbook.
Linda Yang. Storey Books, North Adams, Massachusetts, 2002. 317 pages.
Publisher’s price, softcover: $3.97.
Buy This Book
This practical guide to urban gardening will help you get big results from a
small space. In her down-to- earth, practical style, Yang covers design,
planting, and maintenance, from soil preparation and coping with wind, to
plant selection and size control.
Originally published in 1990, this edition
has been expanded to include new drawings, garden plans, and updated advice
on organic techniques and pest control. Several detailed plans and abundant
garden photographs illustrate the ideas and techniques presented.
 The American
Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers.
Christopher Brickell and Trevor Cole, editors. Dorling Kindersley, New York,
New York, 2002. Publisher’s price, hardcover: $42.
Buy This Book
Like the other encyclopedic books published by DK in association with the
American Horticultural Society, this definitive guide to flowering plants is
destined to become one of the most thumbed references on your garden
bookshelf.
It is filled with more than 4,000 full-color photographs and contains
practical and down-to-earth advice on every conceivable garden topic from
propagation to planting, fertilizing, pruning, and controlling pests and
diseases. Buy one for yourself and give a second copy to that favorite
gardener in your life.
 Attracting
Butterflies & Hummingbirds to Your Backyard.
Sally Roth. Rodale Books, Emmaus, Pennsylvania, 2001. 304 pages. Publisher’s
price, softcover: $11.87.
Buy This Book
 The Bird Lover’s
Garden.
Margaret MacAvoy and Pat Kite. Friedman/Fairfax Publishers, distributed by
Sterling Publishing Co., New York, 2001.128 pages. Publisher’s price,
softcover: $17.95.
Buy This Book
Both the above volumes discuss the advantages of sharing your garden with
birds, and techniques to make them welcome. Both suggest plants and
structures that encourage avian visitors by providing food and nesting
sites. And both include richly colored photographs of birds and gardens.
Roth’s book examines the many species of
hummingbirds and includes butterflies as well. A discussion of their
behavior will enhance your appreciation for these winged creatures as they
travel from flower to flower. Roosting, puddling, migrating, and mating
habits are also covered. A gallery of both butterflies and hummingbirds will
help you identify each species that answers your invitation.
The book by MacAvoy and Kite covers many different kinds of birds from the
eastern bluebird to the western tanager. It also provides information on the
plants that will attract them and suggests ways of providing a year-round
diet for your avian guests. Regional lists of birds will help readers look
for and identify those species that are indigenous to—or migratory
through—their region.
 The American
Woodland Garden.
Rick Darke. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon, 2002. 378 pages. Publisher’s
price, hardcover: $34.97.
Buy This Book
In this new book, designer, photographer, and award-winning author Rick
Darke shares his love of the eastern deciduous forest through his stunning
photographs and insightful prose, making the ordinary seem remarkable.
Nature’s seasonal transitions become a magical journey that the reader is
invited to witness.
Color photographs of the author’s garden help readers understand the
importance of detail: sunlight filtered through the spring canopy; the stark
and stunning sculpture of winter branches against the sky; and the mosaic
patterns of autumn leaves on the forest floor. Included is an alphabetical
listing of plants—together with photographs—to help the reader recreate a
garden that reflects this spirit of the woodland. (AHS
members may
read an article adapted from this book by clicking here).
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