January/February Recommended Garden Books
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The following books are our current recommended
garden books from the January/February 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.
The
Brooklyn Botanic Garden Gardener’s Desk Reference
Janet Marinelli, general editor. Henry Holt and Company,
Inc. 1998. 816 pages.
Recommended, but review unavailable on-line (see, current
issue of The American Gardener).
Buy this book!
Pests
of the West, Revised: Prevention and Control for Today’s
Garden and Small Farm
Whitney Cranshaw. Fulcrum Publishing. 1998. 248 pages.
Recommended, but review unavailable on-line (see, current
issue of The American Gardener).
Buy this book!
Ball
Identification Guide to Greenhouse Pests and Beneficials
Stanton Gill and John Sanderson. Ball Publishing. 1998. 244
pages.
Recommended, but review unavailable on-line (see, current
issue of The American Gardener).
Buy this book!
Perennials and Annuals II
Trees, Shrubs and Groundcovers II
Horticopia, Inc.. 1997. CD-ROM.
Horticopia, Inc. has recently released updated versions of its
cd-rom reference works: Perennials and Annuals and Trees,
Shrubs and Groundcovers. Perhaps to a greater degree than
similar products on the market, these two programs—which
complement each other but can be purchased separately—have
something for everyone: Students, professors, landscape
architects and designers, and serious gardeners will all find
value in these programs.
Together, the two cd-roms contain more than 11,000
high-quality photographs of over 5,000 plants in close-up
shots and landscape views. The plant list—displayed on the
opening page, called the “workbench”—is user-friendly and can
be customized. You can arrange the list alphabetically by
botanical or common name or by plant family. You can also
quickly and easily generate a list of plants having specific
attributes or cultural requirements. Customized lists can be
saved for later use or set to run in a slide show
presentation.
Each plant is described and illustrated in an information
sheet when you click on the plant’s name in the workbench. The
sheet contains thumbnail images of all the photographs of the
plant—which can be enlarged by clicking on them—as well as
cultural requirements and other data. A map of the United
States shows where the plant will grow. You can also add your
own notes to a plant’s information sheet and hear the
pronunciation of the plant’s botanical name.
The printing options with these programs is almost endless and
allows reproduction of any or all of the photographs and
information sheets in almost any fashion. Both programs are
true Windows applications and anyone familiar with Windows
should have little trouble with them. One drawback is that the
voluminous amount of data necessitates the use of two cds.
Horticopia provides a utility that allows the data to be
copied to hard disk; this requires about 800 mb of memory but
eliminates the need to constantly switch disks.
Overall, these two programs should appeal to all gardeners who
are equipped with the proper computer hardware. Although they
are not likely to ever replace a library of good reference
books, they do provide an excellent complement.
The recommended system requirements for using the cd-roms are:
Microsoft Windows 95, 98, or NT 4.0; Pentium processor with at
least 16mb ram; Windows compatible sound card; 256 colors; and
800 5 600 resolution. Quad speed or faster cd-rom drive.
—William May. A Master Gardener, William May volunteers
with AHS’s Gardeners Information Service.
Buy
this CD-ROM!
Herbs in Bloom: A Guide to Growing Herbs as
Ornamental
Jo Ann Gardner. Timber Press. 1998. 394 pages.
By focusing on herbs as beautiful ornamentals that can be used
anywhere in the landscape, Gardner aims to dispell the notion
that “herbs are primarily foliage plants snipped for flavoring
and grown in a formal arrangement of types called ‘the herb
garden’.” Detailed information on 80 flowering herbs is
provided, including propagation, transplanting, landscape
uses, and the history and folklore associated with the plant.
In addition to the herbs discussed at length, more than 600
other herbs get brief mention as related plants of interest.
An appendix grouping herbs by bloom time will help the
gardener ensure a full season of color. Contains 117 color
photographs.
Buy this book!
A
Celebration of Heirloom Vegetables: Growing and Cooking
Old-Time Varieties.
Roger Yepsen. Artisan Press. 1998. 192 pages.
This large-format book describes the flavors, scents, and
textures that distinguish heirloom vegetables from the
store-bought varieties. The author details the history of
plants from beans to turnips and provides information on
growing, harvesting, and saving seeds. The book’s recipes will
allow you to taste these heirlooms at their best. Seed
sources, a bibliography, and a list of heirloom plant
conservation organizations are also included. Contains more
than 50 watercolor illustrations by the author.
Buy this book!
100
Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden
Carolyn J. Male. Ten Speed Press. 1999. 272 pages.
A biologist and founder of an heirloom tomato newsletter, Male
knows tomatoes as well as anyone in the U.S. In this book she
introduces us to the many forms—from white to gold, sweet to
smoky, and fluted to flattened—of our most popular heirloom
plant. The book is designed as a manual for cultivation as
well as a field guide. It begins by helping you choose the
correct variety for your area and ends by teaching you to
become your own seed saver.
Buy this book!
The
Plantfinder’s Guide to Tender Perennials
Ian Cooke. Timber Press. 1998. 192 pages.
This new resource on these marvelous, delicate plants is sure
to become an invaluable gardening reference. The book contains
an extensive encyclopedic section in which the habit, culture,
and propagation of more than 250 different species is
detailed. Separate chapters focus on displaying these tender
plants in containers or conservatories and using them to
create an “exotic look.” Overwintering tender plants and
controlling their pests are also covered. Includes more than
120 color photographs.
Buy this book!
An
Illustrated History of Gardening
Anthony Huxley. Lyons Press. 1998. 386 pages.
First published in 1978, this classic garden history book
tracks the craft of gardening from ancient times to the
present. Huxley focuses on the gardener as artisan, discussing
the history of tools, techniques, and procedures—from
propagation and irrigation to composting and greenhouse
culture—that make plants actually grow. Includes hundreds of
historical prints, drawings, and black-and-white photographs.
Buy this book!
The
Field Guide to Photographing Gardens
Allen Rokach and Anne Millman. Amphoto Books. 1998. 128
pages.
A guide in both the artistic and the technical senses, this
book will assist anyone who has wanted to capture gardens or
plants on film. It includes chapters on equipment, design,
working with natural light, and seasonal changes. Illustrated
with more than 130 color photographs.
Buy this book!
Also available from the same series:
My
Garden in Autumn and Winter
E.A. Bowles. Timber Press. 1998. 348 pages.
First published in 1915, the third and final volume in
Bowles’s classic garden chronicles provides an enchanting look
at his Myddelton House garden during the time of year when
most people put their gardens to bed. Faced with the decline
of his treasured spring and summer plants, Bowles turns to a
wide variety of other plants to keep his garden fresh and
alive. Chapters on colchicums, autumn crocuses, ferns,
evergreens, and berries—eloquently written in Bowles’
passionate and witty style—offer the reader a multitude of
plant choices for the winter garden. This reprint includes a
map of the garden at Myddelton House and an appendix with
updated plant nomenclature.
Buy this book!
Laughter
on the Stairs
Beverley Nichols. Timber Press. 1998. 260 pages.
The second book in Nichols’s Merry Hall trilogy, this reissue
of the 1953 classic continues the narrative—begun in Merry
Hall—of the author’s rescue of a derelict country estate. In
this volume, the main plot shifts from the garden into the
house, but Nichols can’t resist straying outdoors. We learn
the “four L’s of gardening” and the reason why geraniums are a
test of one’s morality. The final two chapters, which involve
the local flower show, are the highlight of this hilarious
novel.
Buy this book!
