GARDENING BOOKS
to Help You "Dig Deeper."
If design books are the brains of my garden book collection, then the
beating heart of it all must be the plant compendiums. These are the ones
I check to make sure I’m putting the right plant in the right place.
Sure that Arctic Ice azalea is a gorgeous plant, but how will it do on
a windy bank in full sun? Years of doing this have given me a working
knowledge of a lot of plant material, but I have yet to meet anyone who
keeps an encyclopedic list in their head of every plant known to man (okay,
one, but Paul Larson is an exception). I remember asking Dr. Michael Dirr
about a fir tree, sure I would get the key indicator of species from the
man who wrote the book. He looked it over in a perfunctory manner and
pronounced “Hell, I don’t know, they all look alike!”
(After we stopped laughing, he did identify it).
Trees and shrubs
And that brings us to a logical place to start. The Manual of Woody
Landscape Plants is very familiar to anyone who has ever taken a
course on trees and shrubs; this is the textbook in use all over the United
States. LOTS of information on almost every tree or shrub you might run
across; key i.d. features, growth habits, hardiness, pests, etc. But despite
its textbook layout and lack of pictures (there are line drawings), this
is no dry read. The little notes at the end of an entry alone are worth
the read; the description of he and Alan Armitage trying to convince a
Scottish bus driver to stop so they can get buddleia cuttings is a fine
example of the flashes of good humor to be found throughout.
His description of the landscape uses of Buxus macrophylla reads, “Excellent
as a hedge plant, for foundation, edging situations, parterres, formal
gardens; too often pruned into a meatball and allowed to haunt a foundation
planting”. We get not only information but opinion (anyone who has
heard the good doctor speak has gotten an earful on the dreaded “green
meatball” syndrome; I cannot drive past a heavily pruned landscape
without a chuckle and a thought of the riot act he’d read the gardener).
Dr. Dirr gave heed to the years of helpful suggestion and came out first
with the Photographic
Manual of Woody Landscape Plants; in black and white, it was
not what we’d all hoped for and after a few more years of collective
nagging we got Dirr’s Hardy Trees and Shrubs, the color
version (yes, I was one of the naggers). This is a wonderful book with
more color photos than any two other books combined; I think of it as
an addendum to the Manual, but for those who don’t need all the
scientific description this book might do it for you. These books should
do it for most of us; the American landscape uses only so many plants.
Casting a wide net
But for those who must know everything there is to know, may I suggest
Hortus Third: A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United
States and Canada by the staff of the L. H. Bailey Hortorium, Cornell
University. This is not just trees and shrubs, this is EVERYTHING. If
it’s a plant and it’s available for sale in North America,
it’s in here. It’s an esoteric book to be sure; if you’re
not familiar with scientific nomenclature and plant morphology you may
get lost here. This one’s gonna set you back a good bit; if you
don’t want to spend hundreds on a book, you might find a used one,
but usually if someone is serious enough to buy this in the first place,
they’re keeping it!
Another new book that I have not purchased yet (I’ve looked it
over a few times), but heard good things about is
American
Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants,
edited by Christopher Brickell and Judith D. Zuk. I have only browsed
this book, but for those who are looking for one good i.d. book for all
the plants in the yard, this is probably it. It won’t set you back
like Hortus, and it’s got LOTS of color pictures (Hortus doesn’t).
Anyone reading this can consider this to be the start of my Christmas
wish list; I want this one and so would any of the gardeners on your list…
Books about perennials
We have done a fair job of covering the basic trees and shrubs, so let’s
turn an eye to the perennial end of the garden. If Michael Dirr is the
granddaddy of the tree and shrub set, the nod for perennial guru goes
to his friend and colleague, Allan Armitage. A professor at University
of Georgia (like Dirr), he has written several tomes and countless articles
on perennial plants and gets my nod for the best in the biz. Not just
mine; I was talking with my old friend Stephanie Cohen earlier this fall,
and she says that he’s the only one who knows more about perennials
than she does! (Steph is a guru in her own right; keep an eye out for
her new book sometime in 2005). From the good Dr. Armitage, may
I recommend:
Herbaceous
Perennial Plants. This is the one he teaches his perennial
course from and remains my steadfast companion. This is the one I reach
for first; not many color plates and mostly line drawings but the info
is here for sure and much like Dr. Dirr, the innate good humor of the
man is rife throughout the book. A must for the serious perennial gardener,
he gives info not just on general species but cultivars and hybrids as
well. For those in need of visual stimulation, while no where near as
complete, Armitage's
Garden Perennials: A Color Encyclopedia is chock full
of great photos and info, although the gaps can be disconcerting at times
(Doc, no lavender listing!?) Those with a bent for the cutting garden
should read his Specialty Cut Flowers and I
would be remiss if I did not mention his CD’s Allan
Armitage’s Photo-Library of Herbaceous Plants
and The
Educated Gardener: The Interactive Guide to Herbaceous Perennial Plants
While not as warm as Dr. Armitage’s book, Dr. Stephen Still’s
Manual
of Herbaceous Ornamental Plants is still worthy of note; it is
another of the classroom texts on the subject and while not as complete
as Armitage’s primer still imparts most of the basic info on a wide
array of perennials. It too suffers from a lack of color photography
but you can easily remedy that fault in your library by purchasing the
two volume Perennials by Roger Phillips and Martyn Rix. While
slanted heavily to the British gardener on the cultivar end of the scale,
the scope of this work is truly world-wide; indeed, that is the beauty
of these books. Many of the pictures are taken of the plant growing in
the wild, allowing you to see exactly the kind of requirements it has.
While short on printed cultural info, this book is incredibly handy in
that it is arranged by bloom time so if you can identify one other plant
in bloom around the one in question, you are only a few pages away from
an i.d. A true workhorse in my library.
One I do not own but have heard wonderful things about is Rodale’s
Illustrated Encyclopedia of Perennials
by Ellen Phillips and C. Colston Burrell (Sorry, Cole, I’ll go straight
out and buy it!) Having perused it online, I can truly say that this is
a great book for those who want just one on the subject (I can neither
understand nor empathize with that kind of crazy thinking, but I understand
there are those of you who don’t want shelf after shelf of gardening
books. Go figure…)
Cole Burrell
Cole Burrell is not just another garden author; this is a designer and
naturalist, well thought of in the trade and he will offer more nuggets
of garden wisdom in a chapter than many do in a whole book. His A
Gardener’s Encyclopedia of Wildflowers won the American
Horticultural Society’s Book Award, and for those looking to
jazz up the border with some knockout perennial combo’s you need
Perennial Combinations: Stunning Combinations That Make Your Garden
Look Fantastic Right from the Start. The title says it all, and most
good design is knowing who to emulate and Cole is better than most; I
use this book all the time when I’m stuck for an idea. You should,
too
Grasses
Grasses have become a staple of the perennial border; you would
be hard-pressed to find a design of mine without them and I see more and
more of them in the American landscape all the time. Two books stand above
the rest here; The
Encyclopedia of Ornamental Grasses
by John Greenlee and the like-titled The
Color Encyclopedia of Ornamental Grasses
by Rick Darke. While both are complete texts with great photography and
pertinent text, I have to give the nod to Rick’s book; it is just
a bit more complete and informative, although the grass garden design
in the back of John’s book are worth the price of purchase (John,
if it’s any consolation, I’ve had a beer with both of you
and you’re a lot more entertaining…). Why choose? Get both!
Care of established perennials
What to do when the perennial border is all planted and mulched (other
than read gardening books?). While much is written on what to do up to
that point, there has been a dearth of good info on how to care for your
perennial plants AFTER they get established.
That has been ably remedied by Tracy DiSabato-Aust in The
Well-Tended Perennial Garden.
This was an eye opener for me as I began to see the possibilities for
extending bloom time, corralling those rampant characters and in general,
maintaining a better border. This is a book for beginners, intermediate
and experienced gardeners; everyone will find value here. The species
by species listing is worth the price of the book alone, but the photos
of Tracy’s borders give ample demonstration of her technique (as
well as giving a bunch of great ideas for you own border). A new favorite.
Roses
Roses are a hot topic nowadays and seem to be heating up (Oprah was talking
about roses on her show!). I don’t own a lot of rose books but have
two that have served long and well. One is Roger Phillips and Martyn
Rix’s Best
Rose Guide: A Comprehensive Selection ,
again with Random House and again with a slant towards the U.K., but the
pictures of species roses in their native habitats are worth it. The other
I find indispensable is The
American Garden Guides Rose Gardening;
this is my usual go-to for roses. Mostly the basics for actual listings,
but there is lots of good info from experts in the field. I love this
whole series; perennials, annuals, herbs, Asian garden style, indoor plants,
I have them all and use them all regularly.
One could do much worse than to rely on these books alone for your garden
knowledge and for those whose thinking runs that way (?), these are worth
a look. Good pictures. Good text and like I said, advice from some of
the best gardeners this country has offer. But for those who must have
that erudite tome of knowledge, The
Rose Bible
by Rayford Clayton Reddell was highly recommended by my cognoscenti, along
with his All America Roses, a compendium of the
All Americal Rose Selection winners to date.
Native Plants
So much for the cultivated look. Let’s look at a couple of books
to help us select native plants for the garden. My first listing is my
old standby, The
Native Plant Primer
by Carole Ottesen. This is a wide topic that she endeavors to cover in
a single volume and the breadth of the task sometimes shows in the occasional
absence of some plant or other you may be looking for. That said this
book is still on the shelf and dog-eared from much use and for those looking
for one good book on the topic this is a good choice.
There are a pair of books that have taken its place in my heart (if not
on the shelf), despite rather unwieldy titles, The
New England Wildflower Society Guide To Growing and Propagating Wildflowers
of the United States and Canada
and its sister book, Native
Trees, Shrubs & Vines: A guide to using, growing, and propagating North
American plants,
both by William Cullina.
These are the books I have waited a decade or more for; the incredibly
complete and concise listing of native plants and almost everything you
could ever want to know about them. Yet, like the Thoreau book, there
is more here. Having become acquainted with Bill I can tell you that there
is a piece of him with almost every plant description, be it the story
of a childhood tupelo or the description of Japanese pachysandra as “that
vinyl-siding of groundcovers”. His humor and good nature are readily
apparent to anyone lucky enough to read these books and I would recommend
them even if I disliked Bill (I decidedly do not). Buy these books. Half
of profit goes to the New
England Wildflower Society and Garden in the Woods; you’d be
helping Mother Nature AND getting your hands on an amazing treasure trove
of knowledge.
Great as Bill’s books are, they are not what I would think of as
a field guide; for that task I turn to Roger Tory Peterson’s (and
Margaret Mckenna’s) Wildflowers:
Northeastern/North-central North America
and George A. Petrides’ Trees and Shrubs. These are the
ones I drag out into the woods with me (and they look it). Both are part
of the excellent series of Peterson’s Field Guides; anyone who has
birded or studied butterflies is well aware of the Peterson’s contribution
to the natural world and these books are not least among them. If you
are wanting to find out what that little woodland gem is, this is the
right book for you (assuming you live in the Northeastern U.S. as I do.
The tree book covers the eastern U.S. If any of you have field guides
specific to your own area, just place a post on our Gardening
Forum and I or someone else will be able to help you out.).
I have many other books in the library but the plant compendiums are
the ones that see daily use and where I go to get my ideas from. I hope
that you find at least a few of these books helpful; that’s what
we’re here for… Enjoy!
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