Eleven Good Gardening Books

The Essential Garden Design Workbook
by Rosemary Alexander
Timber Press
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Garden design is a form of art, according to English garden designer and writer Rosemary Alexander. But you don't have to be artistically talented in order to create your own designs, she says. To make the process less overwhelming, here is a thorough, step-by-step guide on landscape design from start to finish. This book is technical and straight to the point but very readable for the non-expert. It's an excellent primer to supplement professional landscape design courses, covering the gamut from site evaluation and research to the creation of the design. The workbook features plant lists, a glossary of terms and lots of great design elements and sketches. Even if you aren't interested in creating a professional hand-rendered design and want to learn the basics, this book provides you with the tools and ideas for drawing a plan, as simple or technical as you want it to be.

Firescaping: Creating Fire-Resistant Landscapes, Gardens, and Properties in California's Diverse Environments
by Douglas Kent
Wilderness Press
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Since 1990 California has experienced some of the worst fires in the country's history. Firescaping is a comprehensive guide to informed landscaping with fire prevention in mind. Kent's book enlightens the reader about fire ecology and suggests ways to reduce the risk of damage to home and property through fire-resistant gardening techniques, or firescaping. Careful selection and placement of plants and landscape features--like pavement, patio furniture and even open space near a home--can play a role in diverting fire. The book's zone system outlines the areas around the home that require certain maintenance and design guidelines, and handy plant lists designated for each zone are presented. The book also features a monthly gardening checklist. Understandable and truly informative, this is a must-have book for anyone whose home could be threatened by a wildfire.

The Art of Garden Photography
by Ian Adams
Timber Press
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Experienced garden photographer Ian Adams introduces techniques and tools of the trade in this excellent book for aspiring photographers. Although equipment is important, Adams says that photographic subjects and other factors are commonly overlooked as essential in capturing great images. Through the examples of his remarkable photography, the author discusses the challenges of photographing the outdoors (and indoors) and illustrates how photographs can be altered when using different techniques. The book covers equipment, image composition, making prints and even how to get into the business of garden photography. Although many of the images in the book are taken with film, there's discussion and comparison on the advantages and disadvantages of using film vs. digital.

Plants From the Edge of the World: New Explorations in the Far East
by Mark Flanagan and Tony Kirkham
Timber Press
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A change in pace, this selection is an exhilarating read for those who want to read about the plant explorers who bring us new and interesting plants from their world travels. This is a page turner accompanied by snapshots taken by the authors on their various excursions. English plant explorers Flanagan and Kirkham have traveled all over the world, including Russia and eastern Asia, in search of new plant material to bring back to the Western world. In their book, they talk about plant exploration from the human perspective, including anecdotes about the various people and cultures they have encountered. This book celebrates not only plant diversity but human diversity as well. It reads like a journal and envelops the reader within the explorers' experiences, making you feel like you're there.

Flora's Orchids
by Ned Nash and Isobyl La Croix, Consultants
Timber Press
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Did you know that there is an estimated 25,000 to 35,000 naturally occurring species of orchids in the world? This makes them one of the three largest plant families (with daisies and grasses). Flora's Orchids, a large and impressive book all about orchids, reveals the mystique that this flower has entranced upon people all over the world. A book for the serious orchid lover and the just plain curious, it contains more than 250 pages of plant descriptions with vivid and beautiful photographs. Cultural information about orchids is contributed by the world's experts. Endorsed by the American Orchid Society.

The Edible Garden
by Hazel White, Janet H. Sanchez and the editors of Sunset Books
Sunset Books
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If you want a veggie garden and don't have a clue how to start, this is the book for you. Featuring plant lists, recipes using fresh produce and tips on garden maintenance, this book is a great beginner's manual for gardening with fruit, vegetables and herbs. Although it isn't comprehensive, the list includes more than 65 commonly grown edible plants. Also included is gardening through the seasons, fruit-tree pruning and ways to get kids involved.

Timber Press Pocket Guide to Bulbs
by John E. Bryan
Timber Press
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The latest in the Timber Press Pocket Guide series (which includes Shade Perennials and Ornamental Grasses), this book on bulbs is a good, quick reference guide on plants that grow from bulbs, corms, rhizomes and tubers. It features general cultural information on bulbous plants and a listing of bulbs suitable for different sites and conditions. The A-to-Z section is about 200 pages long and covers a wide range of cultivars. This book was written by John E. Bryan, bulb expert and former director of Strybing Arboretum and Botanic Gardens in San Francisco. Bryan has written several more in-depth references on the subject. Although it might not quite fit into a pocket, this is an easy reference for those who want to experiment with bulbs.

Encyclopedia of Water Garden Plants
by Greg Speichert & Sue Speichert
Timber Press
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This book is a great reference book for those who love water garden plants. Appropriately called an encyclopedia, this is a comprehensive and informative guide on water plant culture, propagation and pests and diseases. With chapters featuring the major players (lotus, iris and hardy and tropical waterlilies), there are also sections on waterlily-like, floating and submerged water plants. With new cultivars being introduced all the time, this book includes an up-to-date listing of plants and their cultivars. Each plant description includes information specifically about each cultivar, such as bloom color, growth habit and special cultural requirements. Even better, the book includes lots of photographs (over 700) of many of the plants mentioned between the covers. Handy plant lists include sorting by bloom color, growing conditions and rare or native plants.

The Complete Houseplant Survival Manual
by Barbara Pleasant
Storey Books
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This in-depth manual covers everything you may have wanted to know about popular indoor plants. The book is divided into two plant directories, one for flowering plants and the other for foliage plants. Within these two sections are plant descriptions for over 160 commonly used houseplants. A useful encyclopedia of houseplant care covers the various terms and techniques that the indoor gardener needs to know; this ranges from discussion about container selection and light exposure to an A-to-Z guide for pests. The book also offers information on using different techniques on propagating plant material with illustrations.

Tempting Tropicals: 175 Irresistible Indoor Plants
by Ellen Zachos
Timber Press
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A book for the adventuresome indoor gardener, Tempting Tropicals takes an unusual approach to gardening with houseplants. A self-described plant fanatic, Ellen Zachos has been experimenting with tropicals at her home in New York City and in private greenhouses through the interiorscaping side of her business. The book doesn't include the traditional houseplants, like your regular cast iron plant or philodendron, but instead offers more unique plants, such as the variegated cast iron plant (Aspidistra elatior 'Variegata') or the carnivorous butterwort (Pinguicula ehlersac x P. oblingoloba). The book profiles 175 unconventional houseplants with each profile giving plant stats, cultural information (light, water, temperature, soil and fertilization requirements), propagation and the plant's winning attributes with the author inserting anecdotal notes. The book isn't heavy on photographs, but it does include images of each of the profiled plants. Although plants listed in the book are suitable for a variety of light levels, many of the plants are for people with sunny windows or greenhouses.