Gardening Books, February—September

Compiled by Robert Dahlin and Charles Hix -- Publishers Weekly, 3/13/2006

ABRAMS

Noting that there is an art as well as a science to the procedure, Cecelia Heffernan tells all about Houseplants A to Z: Buying, Growing, Arranging (July, $40), which boasts color photos by T.K. Hill. The thoughts of more than 100 contemporary and historical garden designers, landscape architects, poets, philosophers, statesmen and scientists are drawn from two millennia of gardening traditions for The Glory of Gardens: 2000 Years of Writings on Garden Design (Mar., $50), edited by Scott J. Tilden.

ALGONQUIN BOOKS

After William Alexander added up all the expenses he incurred while creating a garden (electric fence charger: $300; mulch: $150; Velcro tomato wraps: $5; etc.), he discovered to his chagrin just how much the home-grown produce cost. He leavens his travails with humor in The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden (Apr., $22.95).

ANTIQUE COLLECTORS’ CLUB

From Frances Lincoln: The best planting plans of a legendary gardener are presented in The Gardens of Gertrude Jekyll (Mar., $45) by Richard Bisgrove, which has photos by Andrew Lawson. Many articles that had previously been available only to scholars are gathered on the pages of The Unknown Gertrude Jekyll (June, $35), edited by Martin Wood. Essays address such issues as the philosophical meaning of gardens and the idea of the garden as installation art in Vista: The Culture and Politics of Gardens (Mar., $29.95), edited by Noel Kingsbury. A green thumb can be exercised year-round with The Greenhouse Gardener (Apr., $35) by Anne Swithinbank, who includes photos by John Swithinbank. Hannah Willetts is an amateur gardener who collects her thoughts in The Essence of the Garden (Apr., $29.95). For those with little time to spare, there is The Royal Horticultural Society: The Half-Hour Allotment (May, $29.95) by Lia Leendertz. The Patio Garden (Mar., $19.95 paper) by Hazel Evans maximizes results in smaller spaces. A catalogue of native plants that appear in works of art is included in The Gardens of William Morris (May, $34.95 paper) by Jill Duchess of Hamilton. Rosemary Verey’s Making of a Garden (Mar., $29.95 paper) by Rosemary Verey and Good Planting (Apr., $29.95 paper) by Rosemary Verey are the first paper editions.

From Scala: Houston, Texas, shows off its public gardens in Bayou Bend Gardens: A Southern Oasis (Apr., $45) by David B. Warren.

BLUEBRIDGE

Gunilla Norris underscores the sacredness of the everyday and the spirituality that is an important aspect of gardening in A Mystic Garden: Working with Soil, Attending to Soul (May, $18).

CHELSEA GREEN

Water is the key element in Landscaping Earth Ponds: The Complete Guide (May, $30 paper) by Tim Matson, Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands, Vol. 1: Guiding Principles to Welcome Rain into Your Life and Landscape (Feb., $24.95 paper) and Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands, Vol. 2: Water-Harvesting Earthworks (May, $24.95 paper), both by Brad Lancaster. Nearly 100 edibles are assembled in Growing Unusual Vegetables: Weird and Wonderful Vegetables and How to Grow Them ($22.50 paper) by Simon Hickmott, which is published by Eco-Logic in the U.K. and distributed by Chelsea Green.

CHRONICLE BOOKS

Katherine Grace Endicott speaks to both the novice and the expert in the updated second edition of Northern California Gardening: A Month-by-Month Guide (Apr., $24.95 paper).

COLLINS BOOKS

Inspired by the oldest gardening program in the U.S., The Victory Garden Companion (Apr., $29.95) by Michael Weishan and Laurie Donnelly teaches both the beginner and the pro how to garden well and how to build a strong foundation of knowledge based on technical and aesthetic fundamentals.

COOL SPRINGS PRESS

A Year of Roses (May, $24.99) by Stephen Scanniello recommends the proper care and feeding of roses for all four seasons.

CORNELL UNIV. PRESS

The Audubon Society Guide to Attracting Birds: Creating Natural Habitats for Properties Large and Small (Mar., $24.95 paper) by Stephen W. Kress is a second edition.

DK

If the open space available is only a balcony or a rooftop or a tiny yard, John Brookes rides to the rescue with Small Garden (Feb., $19.95 paper). Houseplants (Mar., $14.95 paper) by Paul Williams is a photographic guide to the caring and displaying of indoor growers.

DUTTON

James Dodson sneaks into a hosta convention, meets a man smuggling exotic day lilies, builds three gardens of his own and embarks on many more capers to see why Americans are such fanatical gardeners. He tells his story in Beautiful Madness: One Man’s Journey Through Other People’s Gardens (Mar., $24.95).

EDITIONS FLAMMARION (dist. by Rizzoli)

Twenty exclusive gardens that have made Jean Mus famous are luxuriously portrayed in Mediterranean Gardens (Mar., $45) by Jean Mus and Dane McDowell, with photos by Vincent Motte.

F+W

New titles from Horticulture Books are Horticulture Gardener’s Guide: Design & Planting (Mar., $19.99 paper) by Andrew McIndoe and Horticulture Gardener’s Guide: Climbers (Mar., $19.99 paper) by Philippa Bensley, the latter covering everything from clematis to a bouquet of ivies.

FIREFLY

More than 150 design categories are organized in an A-Z format in Encyclopedia of Garden Design and Structure: Ideas and Inspiration for Your Garden (Feb., $29.95) by Derek Fell. Pest control and tips for cultivation both indoors and out are included in Successful Bonsai: Raising Exotic Miniature Trees (Apr., $19.95 paper) by David Squire. In excess of 70 vegetables, 100 herbs and 100 fruits provide the array of subjects in Vegetables, Herbs and Fruit: An Illustrated Encyclopedia (Mar., $29.95) by Bob Flowerdew, Jekka McVicar and Matthew Biggs. New to paperback is The Houseplant Encyclopedia (Apr., $29.95) by Ingrid Jantra and Ursula Kruger.

GIBBS SMITH

John Peterson is the subject of an award-winning documentary, The Real Dirt on Farmer John, and now this tiller of the soil adds tips for growing organic food to more than 200 recipes in Farmer John’s Cookbook: The Real Dirt on Vegetables (May, $29.95 paper) by John Peterson and Angelic Organics. The notion of expanding living space from indoors to outside has been a growing movement, one that is advocated by Michelle Kodis in Ultimate Backyard: Inspired Ideas for Outdoor Living (May, $39.95). A pronounced Asian accent can be added with Living with Japanese Gardens (Aug., $19.95) by Gong/Parramore. From Gibbs Smith’s Wyrick & Company imprint comes The Private Gardens of Charleston (Apr., $19.95 paper) by Louisa Pringle Cameron.

DAVID R. GODINE

The self-made man who became head gardener at the Chatsworth Estate receives his due in “The Busiest Man in England,” A Life of Joseph Paxton: Gardener, Architect & Victorian Visionary (Apr., $35) by Kate Colquhoun. Tales of the Rose Tree: Ravishing Rhododendrons and Their Travels Around the World (May, $35) by Jane Brown includes a listing of the best U.S. sites for seeing many varieties of rhodos.

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

Nine country acres in upstate New York are the setting for Gardening at Ginger: My Seven-Year Obsession with Designing and Planting a Personal Landscape (May, $23) by James Raimes.

KODANSHA INT’L

A father and son team reveal the processes they have developed in The Secret Techniques of Bonsai: A Guide to Starting, Raising and Shaping Bonsai (Apr., $29) by Masakuni Kawasumi II and Masakuni Kawasumi III.

MARLOWE & CO.

Keith Stewart covers the hows and whys of running a small organic farm in It’s a Long Road to a Tomato: Tales of an Organic Farmer Who Quit the Big City for the (Not So) Simple Life (Mar., $15.95 paper), which is illustrated by Flavia Bacarella.

NEW VILLAGE PRESS

Rehabilitation takes many forms, one of which is described in Doing Time in the Garden: Life Lessons Through Prison Horticulture (Mar., $24.95) by James Jiler, a personal account of the training program at Rikers Island jail in New York City.

OXFORD UNIV. PRESS

More than 1400 species are identified in Wildflowers in the Field and Forest: A Field Guide to the Northeastern United States (Apr., $35, cloth $75) by Steve Clemants and Carol Gracie.

PINEAPPLE PRESS

Suitable perennials, herbs, shrubs and native plants are discussed at length in Groundcovers for the South (Mar., $16.95 paper) by Marie Harrison.

CLARKSON POTTER

Transforming garden settings into living works of art is the aim of P. Allen Smith’s Colors for the Garden: Creating Compelling Color Themes (Feb., $32.50) by TV’s celebrity gardener, P. Allen Smith.

READER’S DIGEST

Step-by-step guidance is offered by Fern Marshall Bradley and Jane Courtier in Vegetable Gardening: From Planting to Picking—The Complete Guide to Creating a Bountiful Garden (Feb., $32.95). After selling more than 900,000 copies in hardcover, 1001 Hints & Tips for Your Garden: An A-Z Guide for Solving Almost Every Garden Problem (Feb.) by Reader’s Digest editors is now available in a $19.95 paper edition. The best plants to grow indoors are identified in The Complete Guide to Houseplants: The Easy Way to Choose and Grow Healthy, Happy Houseplants (Mar., $30) by Valerie Bradley. Bonsai Secrets: Designing, Growing and Caring for Your Miniature Masterpieces (Mar., $19.95 paper) by Peter Chan is both a troubleshooting guide and a grower’s manual. Winter gardens and container gardening are among the topics in Dream Backyards: From Planters to Decks, Over 30 Projects to Create Beautiful Outdoor Living Space (Mar., $26.95) by Reader’s Digest editors. Gardens can show more life with the help of Birdhouses: From Castles to Cottages—20 Simple Homes and Feeders to Make in a Weekend (Mar., $19.95 paper) by Alison Jenkins.

RODALE

Sally Roth tells how to attract feathered friends with Bird-by-Bird Gardening (June, $29.95). Easy Garden Projects to Make, Build and Grow (Mar., $17.95 paper), edited by Barbara Pleasant and editors of Yankee magazine, suggests 100 do-it-yourself endeavors. Don’t throw away those used household items, say the editors of Yankee in Yankee Magazine’s Panty Hose, Hot Peppers, Tea Bags and More for the Garden (June, $16.95 paper).

SASQUATCH

Simple yoga postures designed to ease the physical strain that active gardeners often feel are outlined by Veronica D’Orazio in Gardener’s Yoga: Bend & Stretch, Dig & Grow (Feb., $12.95 paper). Cass Turnbull’s Guide to Pruning: What, When, Where and How to Prune for a More Beautiful Garden (Feb., $19.95 paper) by Cass Turnbull is a second edition with 40% new material.

STERLING

From Batsford: Late-blooming flowers raise their heads in Autumn Bulbs (Feb., $29.95) by Rod Leeds. Coral bells go by their more formal name in Heuchera (May, $29.95) by Charles and Martha Oliver.

From Guild of Master Craftsman: Shirley-Anne Bell promises happy results with Success with Cacti and Other Succulents (Feb., $14.95 paper), and so does Marigold Badcock in Success with Clematis (Feb., $14.95 paper).

From Hamlyn: Cactus Basics (Mar., $9.95 paper) by Tony and Suzanne Mace is an 80-page A–Z directory.

From Lark Books/Sterling: Adding new dimensions to a garden is Keith Davitt’s goal in Hardscaping: How to Use Structures, Pathways, Patios & Ornaments in Your Garden (June, $24.95).

From New Holland: A quartet of March paperbacks at $9.95 each are: The Climbing Plants Specialist: The Essential Guide to Choosing, Planning, Improving and Caring for Climbing Plants and Wall Shrubs by David Squire; The Herb Garden Specialist: The Essential Guide to Growing Herbs and Designing, Planting, Improving and Caring for Herb Gardens, also by Squire; The Garden Design & Planning Specialist: The Essential Guide to Designing, Planning, Building, Planting, Improving and Maintaining Gardens; and The Water Garden Specialist: The Essential Guide to Designing, Building, Planting, Improving and Maintaining Water Gardens, the last two by A. and G. Bridgewater.

From Weidenfeld & Nicolson: Growing one’s own flowers, fruits and vegetables can lead to self-sufficiency, and The Kitchen Gardens at Heligan (Apr., $27.95) by Tom Petherick and Melanie Eclare demonstrates just how to do it. Petherick himself guided the restoration of this famous English garden.

SUNSET

The latest title in the publisher’s regional series is Landscaping Southern Gardens (Feb., $19.95 paper), edited by Sunset editors. Western Landscaping Book (Feb., $29.95 paper), edited by Kathy Brenzel, is an all-new second edition. Florida Top 10 Garden Guide (Feb., $19.95 paper) by Robert Bowden and Mid-Atlantic Top 10 Garden Guide (Feb., $19.95 paper) by Adrian Higgens et al. are the fifth and sixth entries in the series. Before & After Garden Makeovers (Feb., $16.95 paper) illustrates its practices with 44 real-life examples. Landscaping with Stone (Feb., $14.95 paper) takes advantage of the versatility that stone exhibits. The last two are edited by Sunset editors.

TAUNTON PRESS

Landscape designer Julie Moir Messervy and architect Sarah Susanka join forces to create complementary spaces that link a home’s interior to the exterior in Outside the Not So Big House: Creating the Landscape of Home (Feb., $34.95).

TAYLOR

Gardens Across America, Volume II: West of the Mississippi: The American Horticultural Society’s Guide to American Public Gardens and Arboreta (Apr., $19.95 paper) by John J. Russell and Thomas S. Spencer is the second in a two-volume guide to more than 2000 gardens accessible to the public.

THAMES & HUDSON

More than 30 gardens and landscapes from all around a vast country are portrayed in New Brazilian Gardens: The Legacy of Burle Marx (May, $50) by Roberto Silva. The French Country Garden (Apr.) by Louisa Jones, with photos by Joelle Caroline Mayer and Gilles Le Scanff, is a $29.95 trade paper reprint.

TIMBER PRESS

Allan M. Armitage describes more than 630 species and cultivars of perennials, biennials and annuals in Armitage’s Native Plants for North American Gardens (Feb., $49.95). Creating a productive garden that is also a well-integrated part of the home landscape is the point of Designing the New Kitchen Garden: An American Potager Workbook (May, $34.95) by Jennifer R. Bartley. If someone in Oregon or thereabouts needs to identify the critters chewing up the garden, answers can be found in Insects of the Pacific Northwest (Apr., $24.95 flexibind) by Peter Haggard and Judy Haggard. More attractive objects are pictured in Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest (Mar., $27.95 flexibind) by Mark Turner and Phyllis Gustafson. For folks at the other end of the coast, there’s Perennials for the Southwest: Plants That Flourish in Arid Gardens (Apr., $29.95) by Mary Irish. Similarly, Martyn Rix has written Subtropical and Dry Climate Plants: The Definitive Practical Guide (Sept., $39.95t). Over 100 common and uncommon garden practices are assessed by Jeff Gillman in The Truth About Garden Remedies: What Works, What Doesn’t & Why (Mar., $19.95 paper). More problems are addressed in Shade: Planting Solutions for Shady Gardens (Mar., $29.95) by Keith Wiley. Specific flowers and plants come under scrutiny in The English Roses: Classic Favorites & New Selections (Feb., $39.95) by David Austin, Hellebores: A Comprehensive Guide (Apr., $34.95) by C. Colston Burrell and Judith Knott Tyler, Late Summer Flowers (June, $29.95) by Marina Christopher, Tulips: Species and Hybrids for the Gardener (Feb., $34.95) by Richard Wilford, Seedheads in the Garden (Aug., $34.95) by Noel Kingsbury and Jo Whitworth, A Book of Blue Flowers (Mar., $24.95) by Robert Geneve and Growing Carnivorous Plants (Sept., $39.95t) by Barry A. Rice. Work continues once the garden has been planted, as Rosemary Alexander points out in Essential Garden Maintenance Workbook (Aug., $34.95 flexibind). The Well Tended Perennial Garden: Planting and Pruning Techniques, Expanded Edition (Aug., $34.95) by Tracy DiSabato-Aust includes more than 200 new color photos.

TRAFALGAR SQUARE

From Aurum Press: Some 200 color and black and white photos show off Villa Gardens of the Mediterranean (Sept., $65) by Kathryn Bradley-Hole.

From BBC Books: Gardeners and cooks with limited time can follow the advice given by Sarah Raven in The Great Vegetable Plot: Delicious Varieties to Grow and Eat (Apr., $35), which has photos by Jonathan Buckley. Alan Titchmarsh, who has written more than 30 gardening books, now covers The Gardener’s Year: The Ultimate Month-by-Month Gardening Handbook (Apr., $40).

From Kyle Cathie: Aromatherapy and culinary herbs are just two of the considerations in The Fragrant Garden: Growing and Using Scented Plants (Apr., $27.50 paper) by Julia Lawless, with photos by Clay Perry. Taking the sting out of gardening, Bob Flowerdew collects a plethora of ideas, advice and opinions in The No-Work Garden: Getting the Most Out of Your Garden for the Least Amount of Work (Aug., $24.95 paper).

From Crowood Press: Some 400 color photos and drawings show just how to do it in Freda Cox’s Designing and Creating a Mediterranean Garden (Apr., $50). Penny Underwood looks farther East with Designing and Creating Japanese Gardens (Mar., $50).

From Eden Project: Sue Minter reveals how to harness healing potentials with The Healing Garden: A Practical Guide for Physical and Emotional Well-Being (Apr., $25).

From Little Books: A History of the Fragrant Rose (May, $17.95) by Allen Paterson chronicles the flower’s beauty and symbolism.

From National Trust Books: The finest gardens in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are recognized by Stephen Lacey in Gardens of the National Trust (Apr., $50). Graham Murphy celebrates Old Roses (Sept., $9.95 paper).

From Quadrille: Grasses: Choosing and Using These Ornamental Plants in the Garden (Apr., $47.50) by Roger Grounds contains 200 color photos by Andrew Lawson.

TRAVELERS’ TALES/SOLAS HOUSE

Gardening Among Friends: Practical Essays by Master Gardeners (Apr., $18.95 paper), edited by Barbara J. Euser, amasses information on a variety of topics, including how to establish habitat gardens, how to grow tomatoes, what kind of mulch to use and much more.

TRINITY UNIV. PRESS

Kenneth I. Helphand explores the surprising frequency of gardens in war zones in Defiant Gardens: Making Gardens in Wartime (May, $40).

TUTTLE

A unique approach to the Japanese art of flower arranging that combines traditional techniques with modern tastes is detailed in Keiko’s Ikebana (Mar., $24.95) by Keiko Kubo. Thomas Hobbs seeks to free the gardener from conventional design concepts with Shocking Beauty (Apr., $29.95 paper).

UNIV. OF MASSACHUSETTS PRESS

A famous estate in Winston-Salem, N.C., is the focal interest in A World of Her Own Making: Katherine Smith Reynolds Johnson and the Landscape of Reynolda (July, $39.95) by Catherine Howett.

UNIV. OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS

Lynn Coulter contributes both an introduction and a sourcebook with the release of Gardening with Heirloom Seeds: Tried-and-True Flowers, Fruits and Vegetables for a New Generation (June, $22.50, cloth $34.95).