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Books on Gardens and Gardening - Reviews 

100 Flowers and How They Got Their Names by Diana Wells 
To compile 100 Flowers And How They Got Their Names, Diana Wells delved deep into horticultural history, etymology, and lore to uncover myths, legends, folk beliefs, and stories of the intrepid botanists who searched the world's far corners for new and unusual flowers. From baby blue eyes to silver bells, from abelia to zinnia, every flower tells a story. 100 Flowers And How They Got Their Names presents well-known garden favorites and the not-so-well-known stories behind their names. Not for gardeners only, these flower stories tell of human striving, stories of ambitious explorers, clever hucksters, arbitrary monarchs, and patient scientists. Written with wit and energy, 100 Flowers And How They Got Their Names is an essential reference book for those interested not only in the flower blossoms, but the root systems the flowers as well. 100 Flowers And How They Got Their Names is a highly recommended addition to any horticultural bookshelf.  -- Midwest Book Review


Classic Garden Structures: 18 Elegant Projects to Enhance Your Garden 
by Jan Gertley, Michael Gertley 
18 Elegant Projects to Enhance Your Garden 
In an effort to create garden structures and accessories that hold their own in the company of a well-groomed flower or vegetable garden, we set about designing and building 18 projects that will add charm and elegance to any landscape. This book is a collection of these projects. They are relatively easy to build and aesthetically designed with traditional details. Their sturdy construction will give years of service while evoking the charm of bygone days. Clear, step-by-step instructions, along with numerous measured drawings and photographs, guide you through every project. Some of the projects covered in Classic Garden Structures include: a Tomato Trellis, Planter Box and Obelisk, Potting Bench, Vegetable Washstand, Cold Frame, Strawberry Tower, Garden Sieve, classically styled Greenhouse, and many more. Take your garden beyond the normal fare with Classic Garden Structures!  -- The Authors
The Impatient Gardener by Jerry Baker 
Do you wonder why your lawn is brown? Do you love flowers, but think you can't afford to grow them? Do you think producing your own vegetables would take a miracle? Well stop worrying! Jerry Baker, America's master gardener, understands all your hopes dreams and fears about your garden. And in the pages of this practical, inspiring handbook, he gives you the shortcuts, home remedies and time-tested tips you need to have a healthy lawn, thriving trees and shrubs, gorgeous flowers, and fabulous vegetables--even if you're a beginner! It's like having America's master gardener in your own backyard, helping you every step of the way!  -- Book Description, Amazon.com
Square Foot Gardening: A New Way to Garden in Less Space With Less Work by Mel Bartholomew 
Square Foot Gardening presents a new way to garden in less space with less work. The book has been overwhelmingly accepted by gardeners across America. Bartholomew also hosts the popular PBS series of the same name. 37 photos. 63 illustrations and charts.  -- Synopsis
The Organic Gardener's Home Reference: A Plant-By-Plant Guide to Growing Fresh, Healthy Food by Tanya Denckla 
This is truly a one-stop comprehensive guide to organic gardening: it is a big book filled with techniques, definitions, solutions to gardening problems, and a huge listing of organic gardening resources. It's one of the most thorough guides I have seen for organic gardeners--it is well indexed and annotated, and covers all climate zones and growing conditions. If this book doesn't get your motor running about the garden, well, maybe you'll want to try a different hobby. I think it should be a part of any true gardener's library, covered with notes, muddy fingerprints, and with the well-worn pages.  -- How to Editor's Recommended Book, Amazon.com
Bonsai in Your Home: An Indoor Grower's Guide by Paul Lesniewicz 
Lesniewicz gives readers a short history of the art of bonsai and offers instructions on care, including light, humidity, temperature, watering, and feeding requirements. He includes step-by-step directions on shaping and creating four classic bonsai forms, creating groupings, propagating plants from seed and cuttings, trimming leaves, and pruning roots. The bulk of the book is a listing of 42 bonsai plants arranged alphabetically with detailed instructions on their care. There's also a list of 26 questions and answers to help gardeners grow these demanding miniature plants. Almost every page of this profusely illustrated and informative guide is in color. 
-- George Cohen, Booklist, Copyright© 1997, American Library Association. All rights reserved 
The House Plant Expert: The World's Best-Selling Book on House Plants (Expert Series) by D. G. Hessayon 
Excellent, Authoritative, and Accessible 
For years, I labored under the illusion that I had the "thumb of death." For me to even consider buying a houseplant was the proverbial kiss of death for the unfortunate subject. Fortunately, Dr. Hessayon's book has changed all of that, and two months later, I have a thriving avocado tree that I grew from the stone, a massive philodendron, a "parent" Syngonium and its smaller counterpart that I divided and transplanted, and finally, my pride and joy: A young Fescue tree that was nearly dead from root-rot, brought back to life, and bursting all over with hearty new growth! Thank you!  -- From an Anonymous Reader
Encyclopedia of Herbs and Their Uses by Deni Bown 
This most authoritative work on the subject of herbs contains more than 1,500 color photos of herbs found both in the wild and in cultivation, accompanied by a description of each herb and tips on growing and harvesting. Bown also includes practical advice on planning and cultivating an herb garden and the various uses of herbs in cooking and medicine.  -- Synopsis, Amazon.com
Botany for Gardeners: An Introduction and Guide by Brian Capon 
Capon draws on his long experience teaching introductory botany for nonscientists, to present a survey of the entire field in lay terms and oriented to the experiences and needs of the gardener and horticulturist. Excellent drawings and photographs, many in color. We eagerly await the sequel:  -- Booknews, Inc.
Moss Gardening: Including Lichens, Liverworts, and Other Miniatures 
by George H. Schenk 
Schenk, author of three other horticultural books, points out that traces of moss have been found in 400-million-year-old fossils. There are 15,000 living moss species, 1,200 of them in North America.  Schenk defines the varieties of moss plants and follows with chapters on moss gardens in Japan (a garden in Kyoto was designed in the fourteenth century) and on gardens in Europe and North America. There are chapters on mossy rocks, moss carpets, alpine gardens, growing moss in containers, and the use of moss as ground covers beneath bonsai trees. Schenk lists approximatety 60 plants alphabetically by genus, with advice on propagating, cultivating, and transplanting. Includes 97 color photographs. 
-- George Cohen, Booklist, Copyright© 1997, American Library Association. All rights reserved 
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cacti  by Clive Innes, Charles Glass 
An easy read, informative, bargain-priced publication. This new book is a re-issue (November 1997) of the book first published in 1991 and covers some 1200 species. The photography is excellent, at least equal to that of the very popular "Cacti-The Illustrated Dictionary" by Rod and Ken Preston-Mafham and has the additional advantage of showing the columnar cacti which are not included in the latter volume. Of interest to many will be the inclusion of many hybrid species. This certainly has inspired me to want to try my hand at hybridization. For the newcomer to the hobby, there is information re soil, light, temperature etc. for all the described plants plus a section on identification. I don't know if there are any errors in taxonomy or description. I'll leave that up to more knowledgeable collectors than myself.  -- Dave McRitchie, THE AMATEURS' (Cactus) DIGEST
Newcomb's Wildflower Guide : An Ingenious New Key System for Quick, Positive Field Identification of the Wildflowers, Flowering Shrubs and Vines of Northeastern America by Lawrence Newcomb 
An ingenious new key system for quick, positive field identification of wildflowers, flowering shrubs and vines in paperback for the first time. 1,075 drawings, 175 in color.  -- Synopsis, Amazon.com
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