Book picks similar to
The Plant Lover's Guide to Magnolias by Andrew Bunting


nature-botany-horticulture
gardening
horticulture
garden-cottage

The New Shade Garden: Creating a Lush Oasis in the Age of Climate Change


Ken Druse - 2015
    In The New Shade Garden, Ken Druse provides this generation with a comprehensive guide to creating a shade garden with an emphasis on the adjustments necessary for our changing climate. Druse offers advice for common problems facing today’s gardeners, from addressing the deer situation to watering plants without stressing limited resources. Detailing all aspects of the gardening process, the book covers basic topics such as designing your own garden, pruning trees, preparing soil for planting, and the vast array of flowers and greenery that grow best in the shade. Perfect for new and seasoned gardeners alike, this wide-ranging encyclopedic manual provides all the information you need to start or improve upon your own shade garden.

Dirr's Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs


Michael A. Dirr - 2011
    Over 380 genera. More than 3700 species and cultivars.Dirr's Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs is the most comprehensive visual reference to more than 3700 species and cultivars. From majestic evergreens to delicate vines and flowering shrubs, Dirr features thousands of plants and all the essential details for identification, planting, and care. Color photographs show each tree's habit in winter, distinctive bark patterns, fall color, and more. Dirr's Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs is a critical addition to any garden library.

American Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Gardening


Christopher Brickell - 1993
    Written by experts and endorsed by the American Horticultural Society, this is truly the most comprehensive gardening reference available.

Plantiful: Start Small, Grow Big with 150 Plants That Spread, Self-Sow, and Overwinter


Kristin Green - 2014
    Kristen Green highlights plants that help a garden quickly grow by self-sowing and spreading and teaches you how to expand the garden and extend the life of a plant by overwintering. The book features plant profiles for 50 self-sowers (including columbine, milkweed, and foxglove), 50 spreaders (such as clematis, snow poppy, and spearmint), and 50 plants that overwinter (including lemon verbena, begonia, and Chinese hibiscus). Additional gardening tips, design ideas, and inspirational photos will motivate and inspire gardeners of all levels.

Grow Your Own Vegetables


Joy Larkcom - 2002
    Covering every aspect of vegetable gardening from preparing soil to manures, composts and fertilizers, from growing techniques to protection, pests, from diseases and weeds to making good use of space, this is a comprehensive guide to ensuring the best results from your garden or allotment. With cultivation information for over 100 vegetables, including site and soil requirements, cultivation, pests and diseases, and cultivars, this illustrated handbook is a must for vegetable gardeners of all levels and experience.

The Flower Gardener's Bible: Time-Tested Techniques, Creative Designs, and Perfect Plants for Colorful Gardens


Nancy Hill - 2003
    They cover it all--from choosing your site and designing your garden to improving your soil, choosing and caring for your plants, and fighting pests and disease. Create the flower garden of your dreams with this comprehensive reference.

Grow for Flavor: Tips and Tricks to Supercharge the Flavor of Homegrown Harvests


James Wong - 2015
    The problem, according to botanist James Wong, is that many conventional gardening practices are based on pure myth or faulty science. They create bumper crops at the expense of flavor and nutrition. It doesn't have to be that way.After trial and error of cutting-edge horticultural techniques and extensive review of more than 2,000 journal papers from around the globe, Wong turns the tables on old-school advice with a radical new system that transforms the flavor and nutrition of homegrown produce."Grow for Flavor" shows the simple steps and innovative methods that yield tasty harvests beyond dreams and, best of all, the methods involve less effort, are strictly organic and can be mastered easily by newbie gardeners. The goal is maximum flavor with minimum labor.Consider these examples: For tomatoes 150 percent sweeter with 50 percent more vitamin C, ditch the tomato food and use molasses, aspirin sprays, and a bit of salt water. For strawberries 20 percent bigger with 100 times the aroma, plant in acidic soil in full sun with a skirt of red plastic mulch. For super-healthy berries with 300 percent more antioxidants than grocery store varieties, plant Rubel blueberries. For maximum flavor and sweetness, harvest beets early and carrots late."Grow for Flavor" is more than tips from a gardening expert. It overflows with practical information and inspirational advice -- an essential for all gardeners.

Florida Month-by-Month Gardening: What to Do Each Month to Have A Beautiful Garden All Year


Tom MacCubbin - 2001
    From annuals to vegetables, lawns, trees, and perennials, simply look up any given month and you'll find a complete gardening guide for every plant category, with advice for planning, planting, care, watering, fertilizing, and overcoming problems typically encountered by Florida gardeners during that time of year. Fully illustrated with gorgeously colored step-by-step method and plant photography, this is the ideal how-to guide for Florida gardeners. Whether you're growing milkweed in Tallahassee, planting a Simpson's stopper in Orlando, or simply wondering where (or when) to start, Florida Month-by-Month Gardening helps you take your first steps toward mastering the Florida gardening landscape. Companion books Florida Getting Started Garden Guide and Florida Fruit & Vegetable Gardening are two more excellent additions to your Floridian garden library. Discover: The best lawn care tips for southern landscapesHow to maintain plantings through the dry seasonTips for growing vegetables in Florida's unique climateAdvice on managing common Florida garden pestsCare and planting techniques for shrub and flower gardensOther titles in our popular Month-By-Month Gardening series include: Mid-Atlantic, Pacific Northwest, Carolinas, Rocky Mountains, Deep South, New England, and many more.

Bonsai


Harry Tomlinson - 1990
    It offers precise step-by-step instructions on how to work with each of the 15 classic bonsai styles.

The Tree Identification Book


George W.D. Symonds - 1973
    The Keys are designed for easy visual comparison of details which look alike, narrowing the identification of a tree to one of a small group -- the family or genus.Then, in the Master Pages, the species of the tree is determined, with similar details placed together to highlight differences within the family group, thus eliminating all other possibilities. The details of the Oak trees on this plate are an example of the system.All of the more than 1500 photographs were made specifically for use in this book and were taken either in the field or of carefully collected specimens. Where possible, details such as leaves, fruit, etc., appear in actual size, or in the same scale.

The Well-Designed Mixed Garden: Building Beds and Borders with Trees, Shrubs, Perennials, Annuals, and Bulbs


Tracy DiSabato-Aust - 2003
    Written for gardeners who are passionate about plants of all kinds, it reflects decades of professional experience and artistic innovation. Tracy DiSabato-Aust provides not only inspiration but also scrupulously organized information on design and connoisseur plants. A gallery of detailed design plans is included, as is an encyclopedia of plant combinations with notes on design considerations and tips on how to keep the combinations looking their best. The result is a nearly foolproof guide to every aspect of designing superior gardens with superior plants. With more than 250 color photos and illustrations, this paperback edition of a design classic is as much a feast for the eyes as it will be a trusted reference for the library shelf.

British Trees: A photographic guide to every common species (Collins Complete Guide)


Paul Sterry - 2007
    Each species is covered in detail with information on how to identify, whether from a leaf, twig, bark or whole tree, plus extra information on where the tree grows (including a map), how high they grow, what uses the tree is used for and its unique history.Every species is also comprehensively illustrated with photographs of every useful feature – bark, leaf, seed, flower, twig and whole tree.Sample identification section:Silver Birch Betula pendula (Betulaceae) height to 26mA slender, fast-growing deciduous tree with a narrow, tapering crown when young and growing vigorously. Older trees acquire a weeping habit, especially if growing in an open, uncrowded situation.

Paths of Desire: The Passions of a Suburban Gardener


Dominique Browning - 2004
    Paths of Desire is the enchanting, amusing, and moving account of making a garden -- and confronting the essence of suburban gardening, with its idiosyncratic ecosystem. This meant struggling with depraved skunks and raccoons, marauding teenagers, plastic jungle gyms, toppling garbage cans, uncontrollable eyesores, potholed drives, and all the grinding, honking, and buzzing of the neighborhood. Browning's delightfully frank prose conveys the very sense of being deep in a garden, with all its organic smells and textures, and the myriad joys of deciding what to plant and watching as the vision is realized. It contains a rich store of advice and illustrative anecdotes for enthusiasts and novices alike, as Browning amusingly documents the missteps she took in the planning of her garden and the satisfactions of finally getting it right. In Paths of Desire she teaches us how to embrace our plots of land -- no matter their size, beauty, or proximity to the city -- and make them our own. But she also reminds us that the life of a garden can never be separated from the people who wander in and out of it: characters like the charming but useless children; the philosophical tree doctor and the band of Helpful Men; the neighbors -- legalistic on one side, aesthetically challenged on the other -- and, best and worst of all, the True Love. By the end of the book, Browning has transformed her garden -- and her life -- and has created a place of enchantment, which is most of all what a garden should be.

Native Plants of the Northeast: A Guide for Gardening and Conservation


Donald J. Leopold - 2005
    Leopold, expert in horticulture, botany, forestry, and ecology No other single volume on native plants has such comprehensive horticultural coverage as Native Plants of the Northeast: A Guide for Gardening and Conservation. Nearly seven hundred species of native trees, shrubs, vines, ferns, grasses, and wildflowers from the northeastern quarter of the United States and all of eastern Canada are included. Each plant description includes information about cultivation and propagation, ranges, and hardiness. An appendix recommends particular plants for difficult situations, as well as attracting butterflies, hummingbirds, and other wildlife.

The Gardener's Bed-Book: Short and Long Pieces to Be Read in Bed by Those Who Love Green Growing Things


Richardson Wright - 1929
    Each of its 365 perfectly sized little essays is meant to be read in bed at night after a long day’s work, either real or imagined, in the garden. A charming and mischievously funny companion to curl up with, Wright ranges comfortably—and lyrically—from giving gardening advice to meditating on such topics as antique collecting and travel, great literature and architecture. He is an addictive delight, as memorable describing the challenges of growing plume poppies as he is the simple pleasure of hanging up the dish towel once the housework is done. Written in language that is as timeless as it is seductive, The Gardener’s Bed-Book will appeal to gardening experts and armchair enthusiasts alike.This Modern Library edition is published with a new Introduction by Dominique Browning, the editor in chief of House & Garden and author of Around the House and in the Garden and the forthcoming Paths of Desire: The Passions of a Suburban Gardener.