NEW AND USED GARDENING BOOKS
General
Gardening Reference / Container Gardening
Flower Gardening, / Gardening with Children
Fruits, Nuts and Berries
Garden Journals and Gift Books / Growing and
Using Herbs
Indoor Gardening, Lawns
and Landscaping
Organic Gardening / Native Plants,
Edible Wild Plants, and Wildflowers
Soils, Mulch, and Composting / Vegetable Gardening
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General
Gardening Reference
 Dirt: The Lowdown on Growing a Garden with Style
by
Dianne Benson. Dell, trade paper, 374 indexed pages. Paper cover is textured so that the
string in the cover illustration stands out and feels like it's on top of the cover. Among
all the gardening books I've been reading and browsing through during the past three
months, this one is unique. I guess you could say it has an attitude. Most of the books
are quite objective, illustrated in luscious color, and cover the basics. This book covers
the basics, too, but the author makes her opinions of different resources, plants,
methods, etc, clear. I've never really seen seed and plant catalogs reviewed as to their
usefulness anywhere else except in this book, where Ms. Benson compares value for the
plant dollar, quality of the plants received, and quality of customer service. Benson
includes a list (with descriptions and comments) of the 200 plants she thinks are most
worth growing. She also warns about a few sold in nurseries she considers worse than
weeds. One of the most interesting chapters is the one focusing on fences, paths, trees,
water, structures, stone, and moods. Another is on planning specific types of gardens --
Shakespeare, by color, southern, fashion, devoted to a single genus, cutting, herb,
grasses, alpine. At the back of the book is a list of resources, a glossary, and an index.
Illustrations are black and white drawings and photos. Remainder with very light edge
wear. BT-3062. List price was 18.95. My price is $11.43-B.
 House
Beautiful Gardens: Design Principles at Work Outdoors by Suzzne Charle
and the editors of House Beautiful. Hearst Books, 1998. HC with DJ. 207 pages.
This gorgeous oversize book is divided into three sections: Points of View; The
Garden Deconstructed; and Garden + House. Part two covers entrances; porches and
patios; wall and hedges; fences and gates; paths and steps; pergolas and arches;
summer houses and other structures; objects; and seats. The books is illustrated
with full and half-page color photographs of how these elements combine to
create unique and beautiful gardens. A wonderful book to provide inspiration
when you plan your garden. Condition is VG- / VG-: There is a light stain in the
bottom corner of the first few pages and some waviness on the pages throughout
the book in that one corner. the previous owner must have spilled a bit of water
in that corner, but there is no damage except the waviness. Board corners are
bumped. Dust jacket has chipping, creasing, and very small tears, mostly at
edges, corners, and spine ends. BT-3238. $15.00-U (C)
Container
Gardening
Edible Container Garden: Growing Fresh Food in Small Spaces,
by Michael Guerra. Simon and Schuster Fireside Book, paper, 159 pages. New book with
remainder mark on bottom, light wear to edges and corners. When your time and space are
limited, you can still grow fresh salad greens, herbs, vegetables, edible flowers, and
even fruits on your porch, patio, balcony or rooftop. This book will help you decide which
plants you want to grow, which soils will keep them thriving, how to select the right
containers and tools to build a fertile garden, which seasons are best for which plants,
and how to feed, tie, prune, and clip your plants to fit most anywhere. This book is
illustrated with beautiful color photos and is packed with all the information you'll need
to have a productive container garden. BTH-4532. List price: 16.00. Now $12.93-B.
Flower Gardening
 An
Artist in the Garden: A Guide to Creative and Natural Gardening
by Enid Munroe. Henry Holt, 1994, first
edition. Hardcover with dustjacket. 262 pages, including index. The author is an
artist who intended a low maintenance garden. But when a group of clashing
azaleas showed their true colors, becoming a "hideous tapestry of purples,
magentas and reds," she dug them up, with no thought of the consequences, and
was left with 400 square feet of empty space to fill. It was then she decided
she'd better learn how to garden seriously. In this book she shares what she's
learned about expressing creativity with perennials, herbs, ground covers,
shrubs, and annuals. She humorously dispenses her opinions, prejudices, and
practical advice -- the results of ten years of experimenting. She believes all
gardeners are artists in their own gardens, "composing with the ever-changing
forms, colors, and textures of plants." Very good condition: Almost like new,
with just a bit of shelf wear to boards and jacket and some smudges on pages
viii and ix. BT-3312. 19.99-U (B)
 The
Oxford Book of Garden Flowers by
Anderson, Fish, Balfour, Wallis, and Finnis. Peerage Books, 1985. Hardcover with
DJ. 206 pages. This book arranges its listings of flowering plants by the type
and the seasons in which they bloom. Each page of listings features a full-color
illustration on the facing page. A delightful book to browse and an inspiration
to gardeners as they contemplate planting times. Very good condition: Top
corners are bumped. Dark green boards with gilt flower on front and gilt
lettering on spine. Light wear to boards, mostly on edges and corners. Closed
tear (about one inch) on jacket at bottom of spine. Crisp, clean copy with
unclipped DJ. BT-3242. $15.00-U (C)
Fruits, Nuts, and Berries
Gardening
with Children
 ENCHANTED GARDENING BOOK: IDEAS FOR USING PLANTS TO
BEAUTIFY YOUR WORLD, BOTH INDOORS AND OUT, by Alice Herch. Illustrated by Linda
Graves.Random House, HC with jacket. Discusses basics for beginners and then goes on to
exciting projects such as a doll's garden, a miniature rainforest, a secret garden (with
literature tie-in) garden windows, butterfly and bird garden, and more. Lovely color
illustrations enhance the text. Would make a great gift book, but is very feminine in
format and will appeal more to girls than boys. Grades 3 and up. 39 pages. Bargain book.
List price is 14.99. Now just 5.93-B
 MY FIRST GARDEN BOOK, A STEP-BY-STEP
NK VISUAL GUIDE. Avon Books, trade paper. 80 pages. This book contains17 original stories
, accompanied by easy projects, written to introduce children to the wonders of gardening.
First read the stories to your children, and then supervise the garden-oriented
activities: drawing faces for pumpkins; making boats from fresh cucumbers; toasting
home-grown sunflower seeds; making animals from carrots; using flowers to make simple
jewelry; planting cactus gardens in small containers; making a seed race track; planting a
popcorn garden; and more. The idea is to grow what is needed for each project first, and
there are simple, illustrated instructions that are so easy even adults can follow them. $3.93-B
Garden
Journals and Gift Books
 All
Things Grow with Love by Kimberly Montgomery. Thomas Nelson, 2001, hardcover
with illustrated boards. No dustjacket. Self-ribbon bookmark with watering can replica on
end. The author takes readers with her through a year of gardening, from the planning in
winter (snuggled up by the fire with a cup of tea, gardening magazines and catalogs in
hand) to the harvest and preservation in summer and fall. Throughout are delightful
illustrations, gardening advice and how-tos, inspiring thoughts, and heart-to-heart
sharing from one gardener to another. Many of the thoughts expressed are Christian.
Presentation page. End papers have pink dotted Swiss pattern. Might make a nice shower
gift along with some seeds and gardening tools. It also might inspire a young lady to
start her first garden, since it covers gardening techniques from planning and planting to
recipes and crafts for the harvest. Unpaginated. List price, $13.95. My price, $8.53-B
 Gardener
to Gardener: Almanac and Pest-Control Primer: A Month-by-Month Guide and
Journal for Planning, Planting, and Tending Your Organic Garden, edited
by Vicki Mattern and Fern Marshall Bradley, Rodale Press, glossy illustrated
boards with no dustjacket. 246 pages. For each month there is a special topic
and a checklist of garden tasks organized by zone. Appropriate places to record
information are provided for each month. For example, in January the topic is
"Getting Started: Planning and Designing the Garden." First the article appears
with lots of information on planning. Then there is a double-page Garden Plotter
with nothing but squares to allow you to plan your garden on paper. This is
followed by an article -- "Try a Mulch-and-Grow Perennial Garden" with a three
year plan for turning a barren site into a showplace. It includes a suggested
plant list. An article on "Seed Catalog Savvy" follows with a seed inventory
chart (2 pages). This is followed by the Gardener to Gardener hints that end
every chapter. Here are the summaries of each month's offerings:
February: Warming Up: Starting Seeds and Pruning. Includes a Germinating and
Transplanting Key for popular flowers and vegetables.
March: Groundwork: Making Compost and Building Beds
April: Digging in: Planting and Transplanting. Includes charts for "Direct
Seeding Dates" and "How to Figure the Last Planting Date." It also includes a
three-page "Vegetable, Flower, and Herb Log" to keep track of your planting
dates and your notes. Instructions are also given on how to plant a tree.
May: Garden Favorites: Cultivating Tomatoes Organically.
June: Solving Problems: Organic Pest Control. Includes chart of 20 garden pests.
July: High Summer: Tending the Garden. Includes watering information,
information on waffle gardens for arid climates, "An Organic Gardener's Guide to
Mulch," and "Weeding with Fire."
August: The Perpetual Garden: Saving Seeds, Dividing Plants. Includes
instructions for hand pollination and dividing perennials.
September: Stocking Up: Preserving the Gardener's Bounty. Includes a chart of
storage requirements for fruits and vegetables and some space for pantry records
of what you have preserved.
October: Stretching the Season: Coldframes and Greenhouses.
November: Clean-Up: Putting the Garden to Bed. Includes instructions for hand
tool care and repair.
December: Wildlife in the Garden: Both Sides of the Fence. Articles include "The
Best Birds for Your Garden," and "Winter Gardens for Wildlife."
A 47-page Gardening Journal follows the December chapter. The follow the
Gardener's Glossary, a resource list, the index, and a zone map.
Rod-8643. $10.50-B
Organic Garden Companion: A Seasonal Guide
to Creating Your Best Garden by Marie Rodale, softcover, Rodale Press.
Rod-835X. $9.25-B
Growing and
Using Herbs
Indoor Gardening
 Better
Homes and Gardens House Plants, Meredith Corporation, 1971. Soft
cover, 8.5 x 11." Discusses using houseplants decoratively, growing plants under
lights, how to grow and multiply healthy plants, and recommended plants to grow
indoors. 128 indexed paged. Good + condition: Front cover has some creases near
spine. Cover has light wear near edges and corners, and colorless impressions as
if someone used it with paper on top as a writing surface. Pages are beginning
to darken with age, but are otherwise clean. BT-3105. $4.99-U (A)
The
Terrarium Book by Charles M. Evans with Roberta Lee Pliner. Random House, trade paper,
first edition, 1973. Used. This book covers the history of the terrarium, containers,
plants, soils, planting, and maintenance. An appendix lists the names of the plants with
their descriptions. Condition, Very Good Minus: Light wear to edges and corners of paper
cover. Corners have small creases. Small stains on p. 102 and its facing page. Back blank
page has used look. Some foxing on top edge. BT-3058. $5.99-U (A)
Lawns and
Landscaping
 The
Lawn Expert by Dr. D.G. Hessayon. pbi Publications, 1990, fifth printing.
Trade paper. 104 pages. This book covers all aspects of lawns, putting in a lawn, and
caring for and protecting it. Good condition: Light stain on bottom corner of title page.
Cover is creased in many places and there are several scratches and marks in the cover
lamination. Last two pages appear to have been wet on the bottom and dried stuck
together at bottom, but they separated with no damage to print. Good reading copy.
BT-2501. $5.00-U (A)
Organic Gardening
Gardener to Gardener: Almanac and Pest-Control
Primer: A Month-by-Month Guide and Journal for Planning, Planting, and
Tending Your Organic Garden, edited by Vicki Mattern and Fern Marshall
Bradley, Rodale Press
 Organic
Garden Companion: A Seasonal Guide to Creating Your Best Garden by Marie
Rodale, softcover, Rodale Press. 96 pages. This book is arranged by season, from
winter to fall from winter to fall with a step-by-step worksheet on how to dream
up your ideal garden. There's lots of space to write next to where they tell you
what to think about. And then places to put pictures from catalogs and
magazines. And a place to list your seed wish list by category. For each idea
section there is space to jot your ideas. There are grid pages to sketch your
property with list of things not to forget to put in, a place to record your
seed orders, grid pages for your garden plans, pages for pictures and plant
descriptions of the seeds and plants you ordered, a timetable for starting
seedlings, and a checklist for the
monthly jobs in winter. In spring there are lots of grid pages for garden plans,
shopping lists, planting records, pages for photos and sketches, a couple of
pages to list your ideas for improvement, a bird and butterfly journal, some
ideas for celebrating spring, and a monthly checklist for spring. Summer focuses
on maintenance, structures and accessories, getting to know your bugs,
harvesting, family heritage gardening ideas, a wildlife journal, a place to list
your ways to enjoy the season, and the monthly checklist. The fall section
concentrates on observing the season (space to write a guided list ), grids for
next year's plan, fall buying a planting lists, a food preservation record, a
place for favorite recipes, place to list how to enjoy the season, and the fall
monthly checklist. At the end is a place for New Year's resolutions for your
garden, and the last page is a zone chart. Rod-835X. $9.25-B
Native
Plants, Edible Wild Plants
 Edible and Useful
Wild Plants of the United States and Canada by Charles F. Saunders.
Dover, trade paper, new. Illustrated in black and white with photographs by the
author and drawings by Lucy Hamilton Aring. This book covers wild plants with
edible tubers, bulbs or roots; wild seeds of food value and how they have been
utilized; the acorn as human food and some other wild nuts; some little regarded
wild fruits and berries; wild plants with edible stems and leaves; beverage
plants of field and wood; vegetable substitutes for soap; some medicinal
wildings worth knowing; miscellaneous uses of wild plants; and a cautionary
chapter on certain poisonous plants. A regional and general index follow at the
end. 275 pages. D-233103. $11.66-D
Feasting Free on Wild Edibles
by Bradford Angier. Stackpole Books, trade paper. New. 288 pages. This
practical guide to North American edible wild plants explains where to find
them, when and how to gather them, and how to prepare them for eating. Detailed
black and white drawings and descriptions help readers accurately identify each
plant discussed. There are over 500 recipes included which use plant seeds,
flowers, fruits, leaves, stems, and roots. Cat. #08117-27548. $13.46-D
Field
Guide to Edible Wild Plants by Bradford Angier. Stackpole Books,
1974. Hardcover with dustjacket. 256 pages. Illustrated in color by Arthur J.
Anderson. This is a great reference book for those who would like to find and
identify edible plants on their property or in the wild. Besides the color
illustration, the listing for each plant has the following information: Family;
Other Names; Description; Distribution; and Edibility. This last part tells
which parts of the plants are edible, how to get them, a little background
information, and suggestions for how to eat them. Condition is VG/G-: Corners
are lightly bumped. There is light wear to the edges. the jacket has several
small tears along edges and a larger tear along the fold of the front flap. The
jacket also has a bit of rubbing. BT-3060. $13.99-U (B)
 Guide
to Wild Foods and Useful Plants by Christopher Nyerges. Chicago Review Press,
trade paper. 237 pages. Contains pictorial key to leaf shapes, and a pictorial
key to fruits and seeds. Plants are listed in alphabetical order and there is a
black and white photo illustrating each plant. The author has led wild food
outings and survival skills hikes for 25 years. This books details the medicinal
and practical uses of 70 common wild plants. Appendix 1 lists safe families of
wild plants that are non-toxic and mostly edible. Appendix 2 is titled "Why Eat
Wild Food?" At the end of the book is an extensive glossary and a bibliography.
IPG-3440. $13.46-D
 Wildflower
Handbook by The National Wildflower Research Center, Texas
Monthly Press, First Edition, 1989. Trade paper. 337 pages. This book is intended for
those who would like to use native plants in home landscapes, corporate grounds,
commercial buildings, and parklands, but who don't really know how to do it. This book
provides needed information -- basic how-to's of landscaping with native plants -- and it
explains how they can best be incorporated into existing and / or newly established
landscapes. There are instructions on how to organize a roadside wildflower project, how
to establish a buffalo grass lawn, how to recreate a prairie, how to create a wildlife
garden, how to propagate wildflowers from seed, and much more. There are also several
bibliographies by region, a list of information sources, and a list of sources for seeds
and native plants.
Condition is Very Good: Light wear to wraps with color-flaking and minor chipping,
especially at edges and corners. Small erasure on first page. BT-3059. $9.99-U (B)
Soils,
Mulch, and Composting
The Worm Book
by Loren Nancarrow and Janet Hogan Taylor: The Complete Guide to Gardening and
Composting with Worms. This book has all the information you need to build your
worm bins, buy the right kind of worms, care for your worms, harvest the
vermicompost, correct any problems in the worm bin, use the vermicompost, and
even use your worms to make a profit. There are even poems and songs related to
worms, and for the very brave, recipes featuring worms. This is the book I use
myself. Published by Ten Speed Press. Trade paper. Cat # 10Sp-9946. $10.76-D
Vegetable
Gardening
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