10 Books to Inspire Your Garden
It seems that, at least here at Foreword Reviews HQ in lovely Northern Michigan, spring might be on us at last, and that means it’s time to start gardening! Whether you’re planning your own or just like to read about other people’s gardens, here are ten books for you to check out.
Five-Plant Gardens: 52 Ways to Grow a Perennial Garden with Just Five Plants by Nancy J. Ondra (Storey Publishing)
This is a well-tended and weed-free guidebook that’s likely to serve as a go-to resource for any type of gardener.
Decoding Gardening Advice: The Science Behind the 100 Most Common Recommendations by Jeff Gillman and Meleah Maynard (Timber Press)
In their smart and cheeky new guide, Gillman and Maynard use science and field experience to debunk or support the conventional wisdom and well-meaning advice given to address common gardening problems.
The Bartlett Book of Garden Elements: A Practical Compendium of Inspired Designs for the Working Gardener by Michael Valentine Bartlett and Rose Love Bartlett (David R. Godine)
Picture this mesmerizing project as a compilation of “best of” color photos and descriptions of garden adornment the world over.
The Gardener of Versailles: My Life in the World’s Grandest Garden by Alain Baraton (Rizzoli)
Darker moments balance the portrait of a place marked as much by seasonal change as by its irresistible mythology and history.
The New American Front Yard: Kiss Your Grass Goodbye by Sarah Carolyn Sutton (Tendril Press)
An INDIEFAB Gold Award Winner 2013. The complete guide for creating a beautiful, eco-friendly, water-wise, low maintenance front yard.
The Seasoned Gardener: Five Decades of Sustainable and Practical Garden Wisdom by Carolyn Singer (Garden Wisdom Press)
An INDIEFAB Gold Award Winner 2012. This detailed collection of gardening information is organized month-by-month, with a seasonal look at the changes in the garden and the rhythms of gardening.
Garden Wisdom: Lessons Learned from 60 Years of Gardening by Jerry Apps (Wisconsin Historical Society Press)
An INDIEFAB Silver Award Winner 2012. In this treasure trove of tips, recollections, and recipes, Jerry combines his hard-earned advice for garden success with a discussion of how tending a garden leads to a deeper understanding of nature and the land.
Paradise Lot: Two Plant Geeks, One-Tenth of an Acre by Eric Toensmeier, contributions by Jonathan Bates (Chelsea Green)
It doesn’t take twenty acres to start a garden filled with nourishing vegetables and gorgeous flowers; it just takes some vision, especially if the potential garden is a scruffy urban lot.
The Mythology of Plants: Botanical Lore from Ancient Greece and Rome by Annette Giesecke (Getty Publications)
Giesecke reveals the deep roots of humans’ connection to plants and highlights the Roman and Greek belief that all life, from people to poppies, contains the divine.
America’s Romance with the English Garden by Thomas J. Mickey (Ohio University Press)
This niche book for history buffs and professional gardeners offers rich insight into how seed catalogs influenced the American obsession with social status.
Allyce Amidon is the associate editor at Foreword Reviews, where she blogs about comics and graphic novels. You can follow her on Twitter @allyce_amidon
Allyce Amidon
