…Of which there are many when it comes to gardening since I can so easily convince myself they are for “work” rather than enjoyment. Nope. No enjoyment here. Purely for work. Incredibly necessary for The Very Important Work.
Clockwise from top:
- Herbs: Partners in Life: Healing, Gardening, and Cooking with Wild Plants by Adele G. Dawson
- Gardener to Gardener: Almanac & Pest-Control Primer – A Rodale book.
- The Edible Ornamental Garden by John Bryan and Coralie Castle – It’s a bit old-school (copyright is 1974) but I like that it profiled plants that fall outside the norm like Spanish chestnut and birch.
- Pantyhose, Hot Peppers, Tea Bags, and More-for the Garden – I generally have a really hard time looking past boring black and white gardening books but have really made an effort recently.
- Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew – I haven’t read it yet but figured I should since so many other people seem to love it. On first glance it looks sort of like my method in that they are both about making economical use of space. However I am all about interplanting, or gardening in groupings rather than rows. My method is really informal yet logical. However, the day I pull out a string to measure or section off a row is… inconceivable.
- A Book of Wayside Fruits by Margaret McKenny and Edith F. Johnston – This beautifully illustrated hardcover is from 1945. The concept of fruit is used less literally here to mean “fruit-bearing” plants rather than edible fruit bearing plants. Page 41 features a stunning illustration of one of my favourite poisonous berries, Bittersweet Nightshade.
- Blue Corn & Square Tomatoes: Unusual Facts About Common Garden Vegetables by Rebecca Rupp – It’s almost embarrassing to admit but I love books that get into the historical and cultural tidbits that are so often overlooked or forgotten in the pursuit of how-to’s and growing facts.
