Miscellaneous Garden Books

These books don't have a category yet, but still great books for the gardener.

By visiting and buying from our associates you help defray costs to keep Rainy Side Gardeners online. Thank you for your continued support of this web site.

Alpine Plants: Ecology for Gardeners

Book Description: Alpine Plants: Ecology for Gardeners explores ecosystems above the treeline on mountains and beyond the treeline in sub-polar regions from a gardener's perspective. It looks at the effects of geology and soils, low temperatures, precipitation, drought, and snow on the morphology and life cycles of alpine plants — including perennial herbs and grasses, annuals and biennials, prostrate and dwarf shrubs, bulbs, and cushion plants. Armed with an understanding of how plants function in these extreme environments, gardeners will be able to tailor their cultivation practices in lowland gardens to mimic the alpine habitat as closely as possible. A concise introduction to the science behind the success of alpine plants, this fascinating and accessible book is an invaluable complement to more plant-focused references.

The Art of Garden Photography

Book Description Every gardener who seeks to capture the fleeting moments of perfection in plants and gardens must inevitably turn to photography. In this remarkably clear and informative book, celebrated photographer Ian Adams provides detailed instruction in every aspect of the art and craft of garden photography, from selecting the right equipment to starting a garden photography business. Chapters include such topics as digital cameras, film, filters, sharpness, exposure, abstracts, close-ups, lighting, preparing the garden, garden structures, gardens through the seasons, finding fine gardens, and making color prints. Filled with the author's first-hand experience and expert wisdom, The Art of Garden Photography is certain to be a treasured reference for gardeners and garden photographers.

Botanical Latin

Book Description: First published in 1966, Botanical Latin has become accepted worldwide as the standard work of reference on this important subject. A comprehensive guide to every aspect of Latin usage in the field of botany, it is an invaluable source of accurate information for gardeners, botanists, scientific historians, systematic etymologists and classical scholars alike.

Botanical Latin is an internationally used technical language developed over the past 250 years for the naming and description of plants. In that time, in order to meet the expanding need for accurate scientific descriptions, the vocabulary has been continually enriched with new words (mostly coined from Greek and Latin) given precise and particular botanical meanings. Botanical Latin is accepted by horticulturists and botanists everywhere as the medium for naming new plants. Botanical research is almost impossible without reference to standard works and the vast number of first descriptions in Latin. For gardeners, too, a working knowledge of botanical Latin is essential for the accurate identification of plants in the garden. Now in its fourth edition, completely revised and updated, this internationally renowned handbook summarizes the grammar and syntax of botanical Latin, and covers the roots and origins of Latin and Latin geographical names, color terms, symbols, abbreviations, diagnoses and descriptions, the formation of names and epithets, and much more. With an illustrated guide to descriptive terminology in both English and Latin, plus an extensive list of vocabulary terms taken from current botanical usage, this is the most accurate, up-to-date and comprehensive book on the subject ever published. Botanical Latin deserves a place on every gardener's bookshelf.

Defiant Gardens

Book Description: Why is it that in the midst of a war, one can still find gardens? In the most brutal environments, both stateside and on the battlefield, they continue to flourish. Wartime gardens are dramatic examples of what Kenneth I. Helphand calls “defiant gardens” — gardens created in extreme social, political, economic, or cultural conditions. Illustrated with archival photos, this remarkable book examines gardens of war in the 20th century, including gardens built behind the trenches in World War I, in the Warsaw and other ghettos during World War II, and in Japanese-American internment camps, as well as gardens created by soldiers at their bases and encampments during wars in the Persian Gulf, Vietnam, and Korea. Proving that gardens are far more than peaceful respites from the outside world, Defiant Gardens is a thought-provoking analysis of why people create natural spaces.

Dictionary of Plant Names

Book Description: Have you ever wanted to match a plant's common name with its botanical equivalent? Or wanted to know how a plant got its name and what it means? Or wished you knew how to properly pronounce the Latin names of your favorite garden plants? The Dictionary of Plant Names is a guide that not only cross references common names to their Latin counterparts, but also details the origins, meanings, and pronunciation of each name.

Each genus name is followed by the suggested pronunciation, the family in which it is placed, and the derivation of the name (Latin, Greek, or other). Then the main garden use of the plants in the genus, e.g. herbaceous perennials, trees, etc., is listed. Many interesting facts come to light in the origin of the Latinate name, for example that Kalmia is named after Pehr Kalm, a Finnish student of Linnaeus. Each genus concludes with the common name and place of origin of the whole species, if applicable. Species are listed alphabetically under the genus with the same categories of information.

Allen Coombes is a botanist with a rich background in plant lore. His botanical expertise and extensive knowledge of plant history make this a fascinating, compact volume. It is the type of book one picks up to answer a specific question and keeps on reading out of curiosity and enjoyment. The Dictionary of Plant Names is one of Timber Press' perennial bestsellers for its information and entertainment value.

Dog Friendly Gardens, Garden Friendly Dogs

Book Description People love their dogs. They also love their gardens. But sometimes these two passions seem to be in conflict. This new book will show you how to design your garden with your dog in mind and be your guide to dog-friendly landscaping and training efforts. Every part of this book shows you how garden design and traditional gardening tasks can blend harmoniously with dog ownership. Just like a dog can be trained to respect your indoor living space, she can also be trained to respect the garden and its many features. In this easy to follow, full-color book the author details how to design the garden with the dog in mind by observing dog behavior. She describes materials that work well with dogs as well as plant selection that can withstand even the most energetic canine. She also explains how to have a lush green lawn without harmful chemicals and offers tips for growing fruit and veggies for the entire family—including the dog! You will learn how the breed of dog (or mix of breeds) can affect garden behavior and how to avoid dog-garden conflict by good garden design and positive dog training. Boundary training, outdoor equipment, and directing digging and elimination to the right places are other features that are explained in detail.

Gifts from the Gardens of China

Book Description The first plant enthusiasts to reach China found a wonderful array of unfamiliar garden plants that had been nurtured by Chinese gardeners for thousands of years. This is the story of the struggles, the daring and the dogged perseverance of those early collectors. Where would we be without magnolias, camellias, chrysanthemums, tree peonies, repeat-flowering roses, viburnums and so many more? Jane Kilpatrick writes with knowledge and affection of the amateur pioneers and the plants they introduced to an audience that had not realized the flowers they had seen on wallpapers, silks and ceramics could be real.

Magical Paths: Labyrinths & Mazes in the 21st Century

Book Description In Magical Paths leading expert Jeff Saward looks at the mythology and evolution of mazes and labyrinths. He examines how today's land artists and garden designers have recreated labyrinths in both public and private garden spaces that reflect the modern search for inner peace. At the same time, mass leisure and tourism have brought about a new "craze" for mazes, resulting not only in traditional hedge mazes being reconstructed but also in new types of mazes being built all over the world - from complex maize mazes, mirror mazes, wood and water mazes to simple garden turf mazes. With more mazes and labyrinths being built than at any time in their history, this is a timely overview of their visual excitement, power to challenge and unique inspiration.

Moss Gardening:
Including Lichens, Liverworts, and Other Miniatures

A delightful book that encourages gardeners to pay closer attention to the subtle beauty of miniature landscapes and introduces one of the glories of Japanese gardens into American designs. The author writes entertainingly of mosses on rocks and walls, in containers, and as a lush ground cover, and he presents a gallery of his favorite moss species.

Planting Green Roofs and Living Walls

Book Description: Planting on roofs and walls is one of the most innovative and fast-developing fields within horticulture and the built environment. This authoritative book explores the very latest roof and wall greening techniques.

The environmental benefits of roof greening are now widely understood including their value in reducing pollution and run-off, insulating against heat and cold, and reducing the maintenance needs of buildings. Modern building construction allows a dovetailing of plants, buildings, and people, hitherto impossible with older technologies, sparking a surge of interest.

Planting Green Roofs and Living Walls describes the historical development of both large-scale commercial and small domestic examples from all over the world. It also provides an introduction to the practical techniques required for constructing green roofs including weight-bearing considerations, materials, substrates, draining layers, modular systems, and plants. A chapter devoted to planting considers plant choice in some depth and outlines key characteristics that make certain plants suitable for the extreme conditions encountered on roofs: drought, high light intensity, and wind.

Planting on walls requires completely different techniques. The book explores both façade greening, where plants grow up steel structures pinned to the wall, and living walls, where plants either establish themselves in the wall itself or are able to survive independently on the wall structure without rooting.

With climate and environmental concerns increasingly in the public eye, this informative book answers all the technical questions and will inspire gardeners, architects, environmentalists, and home maintenance enthusiasts to incorporate green roofs and walls in their forthcoming projects.

Pleasure Garden

Book Description: First published in 1977, The Pleasure Garden is an entertaining and concise history of English gardening by husband-and-wife team Osbert Lancaster and Anne Scott-James. In a series of beautifully observed and witty cartoon illustrations Osbert Lancaster captures the essence of gardening styles from Roman times through to the 20th-century patio. The accompanying text by Anne Scott-James explains the work of garden-makers and designers and the native and newly arrived plants they used.

Poisonous Plants

Book Description: Garden flowers, ornamental shrubs, and houseplants—as well as common species in the wild—can all contain substances poisonous to humans or animals. In fact, after medicines and household chemicals, toxic plants rank third in causes of calls to poison control hotlines. Non-native plants, both temperate and tropical, can be found in many domestic environments. This volume identifies potentially dangerous plants, giving comprehensive information on their distribution, kind and degree of toxicity, symptoms of their poisoning, and suggested treatment. Illustrations, both actual scale and enlarged representations of recognizable features, make each plant identifiable. Separate sections discuss the significant toxins found in plants, and the problems they cause, list plants of special concern to veterinarians, and present identification tables for berries and leaves. The second edition contains more than 50 percent new text and illustrative material, with special attention to North America. This practical reference, with updated glossary, index, and bibliography will be valued by a wide range of medical, veterinary, pharmacological, and botanical professionals for years to come.

So You Want to Start a Nursery

Book Description: When Tony Avent announced that he was quitting his job to build a specialty nursery, his former horticulture professor begged his student to reconsider, telling him he couldn't possibly make a profit "without doing something illegal." More than ten years and 20 nursery catalogs later, Avent owns a thriving national business with nearly 30 employees --- and is the winner of the American Horticultural Society's Commercial Award. He wrote You Want to Start a Nursery to debunk myths about the ornamental-plants nursery business and what it takes to succeed, whether you're a backyard hobbyist or a wholesale grower. (And he still has a clean arrest record.) Assuming that the reader has some basic knowledge about how plants are grown, Avent avoids excessive detail about soil mixes and greenhouse pests in this comprehensive overview --- he directs readers to other easily accessible sources of information on such practical matters. Instead, he focuses on the business and planning concerns of the nursery owner --- from considering whether to consult a lawyer about a partnership to whether to build your own greenhouses. While recounting humorous stories of his baptism by fire as a beginning nurseryman, Avent also provides a primer on the nursery industry as a whole, with discussions of the merits and disadvantages of retail, wholesale, mail-order, and liner operations, to name just a few. Readers of this book will obtain the tools they need to make a business plan of their own.

Avent's approach to the nursery business is witty, wise, and decidedly irreverent. Far from being a dry recitation on business practices, So You Want to Start a Nursery underlines the "people" part of the nursery trade. This book will be a must-read for horticulture students, industry insiders, and advanced gardeners who dream of turning their passion for plants into a job they love.

Stearn's Dictionary of Plant Names for Gardeners

Book Description: Hundreds of thousands of plants have been given botanical names of Latin form since Linnaeus instituted modern botanical nomenclature in 1753. Most of these plants interest only professional botanists; and no book of reasonable size can include more than a fraction of their names. However, gardeners work with fewer species, and the keen gardener comes to wonder at the meaning and origin of those Latin names with which he has become familiar. What useful information lies there? Of what interest are the personal names involved? What of the gardener’s particular pleasure, noted in the seventeenth century by William Cole, ‘to have the plants speaking Greek and Latin to him and putting him in mind of stories which otherwise he would never think of?

In this book Professor Stearn gives the meaning and origin of some 6,000 botanical names, selecting those most likely to be encountered by gardeners and horticulturists. No other single source provides so much etymological information for the gardener, much of it out of he way, all of it enlightened by a wealth of detail, the result of years of scholarship and original research by the distinguished author. Also listed are 3,000 of the most widely accepted vernacular names, cross-indexed to their correct botanical names, an invaluable reference for gardeners, writer, and historians. Both the dictionary sections are prefaced by learned and entertaining introductions. Plant classification and binomial nomenclature are explained, and there are notes on the structure and pronunciation of botanical Latin. Extensive bibliographies direct the reader to recommended sources for further inquiry.

Stearn’s Dictionary of Plant Names for Gardeners is a substantial revision of the author’s earlier work, A Gardener’s Dictionary of Plant Names, published in 1972 and itself an enlarged and extensively revised edition of the very much smaller work by A.W. Smith, A Gardener’s Book of Plant Names, published in 1963. The present book is dedicated to the memory of A.W. Smith, and will be an invaluable companion for the gardener for years to come – a book always at hand to be read, or dipped into for pleasure and entertainment, as well as instruction.

Truth About Garden Remedies: What Works, What Doesn't & Why

Book Description: Can beer make plants grow? How about buttermilk? Or music—classical or rock? Are you sure about planting trees in deep holes? And how about chasing insects with hot sauce and stopping slugs with eggshells? Remedies for all your garden woes are there for the taking: the challenge is to know what will work and what won’t. Fearlessly conducting original experiments and harvesting wisdom from the scientific literature, horticulturist Jeff Gillman assesses new and historic advice and reveals the how and why—and sometimes the why not—for many common and uncommon gardening practices. The results will surprise even experienced gardeners.

This page was last modified:

Not finding the book you are looking for? Try the search box below.