Book & Magazine Reviews

There are a lot of new gardening books to help you get ready for planting and landscaping. Gardening books make great gifts or inspire you to improve your own backyard garden no matter your age or physical ability. 

There are a lot of good authors who will help inspire you to decorate, cook, preserve food, or craft using your home grown flowers and vegetables. Be adventurous and at least try a new idea once a month.

I always like to visit books.google.com to find out of print gardening books. There are so many wonderful books there.

The Age-Proof Garden: 101 practical ideas and projects for stress-free, low-maintenance senior gardening, shown step by step in more than 500 photographs by Patty Cassidy

This book shows how older gardeners can enjoy gardening even with mobility problems. Author Patty Cassidy gives plenty of good and simple ideas and techniques on how to create and maintain gardens according to your lifestyle, how to choose plants that will awake all of your senses, and how to easily use every day containers, raised garden beds and boxes. Even if you’re not elderly or have mobility problems, this book is full of great garden landscape ideas too.

All New Square Foot Gardening, Second Edition: The Revolutionary Way to Grow More In Less Space by Mel Bartholomew

This is author Mel Bartholomew’s newest edition of his popular book series. He gives you step-by-step instructions for becoming a successful gardener. He’s “weeded” through what works and doesn’t for the typical backyard gardener. He’s totally improved and refined techniques for vertical gardening, pest control, herb and vegetable gardening. It’s a good and easy read for any age.

Balcony Gardening: Growing Herbs and Vegetables in a Small Urban Space by Jeff Haase

This is a good book and is specifically written for urban gardeners who can only use patios, balconies and small garden spaces to grow delicious vegetables and herbs. Author Jeff Haase shows you how to make a small urban space into an impressive garden that will make your neighbors envious of you.

Cooking with Flowers: Sweet and Savory Recipes with Rose Petals, Lilacs, Lavender, and Other Edible Flowers by Miche Bacher

This book is full of recipes using vegetables and herbs that most backyard gardeners grow. Most of the recipes are simple and foods that we all commonly eat. What makes Miche Bacher different than most garden authors is that he shows you how to use flowers in your recipes too. I didn’t know that you can make violet jam, lavender lemonade or pansy petal pancakes. I’m going to try the carrot sunflower cake recipe.

The Edible Landscape: Creating a Beautiful and Bountiful Garden with Vegetables, Fruits and Flowers by Emily Tepe

This book has everything you need to know about plant combinations, interesting garden structures and easy to make planting beds. Author Emily Tepe shows you how you to grow tomatoes directly into your landscape beds. It’s a fun way to incorporate the edible landscape techniques. I like how she incorporates color schemes of flowers and includes companion planting into her garden beds.

Gifts from the Garden: 100 Gorgeous Homegrown Presents by Debora Robertson

This experienced author will show you how to turn your vegetable and flower gardens into easy and pretty edible gifts for family and friends. You can even use her ideas for selling at farmers markets. Her ideas are definitely show stoppers. The book is an easy read and will give you great ideas on how to group herbs, flowers and vegetables into a garden and gift basket. She’ll show you how to grow flower bulbs like tulips in pretty teacups, how to personalize your own seed packets as give-a-ways, how to make your own bubble baths using your home grown chamomile, lavender, roses and other flowers and herbs. You’ll be very excited to find her recipe for fruit lip balm or how to make your own Italian pizza window box. Look for this on Amazon or Google Books.

The Layered Garden: Design Lessons for Year-Round Beauty from Brandywine Cottage by David Culp and Adam Levine

Authors Culp and Levine always give great garden, landscape and plant care ideas. He writes books for folks who often struggle at choosing plants for their particular landscape. He always enjoys creating easy to care for colorful plants. He’s an expert at companion planting flowers and vegetables. For instance, marigolds pretty much are the bug repellent for any vegetable plant. His idea is to use pretty flowers that are useful but create a mood or inspiration amongst boring vegetable gardens.  

Lawn Gone! Low Maintenance, Sustainable, Attractive Alternatives for Your Yard by Pam Penick

This is an absolutely great read. You’ll learn how to save money and time when it comes to buying plants and maintaining your gardens and lawns. It’s the perfect book for beginning gardeners too. You’ll learn about drought tolerant plants, no mow grasses, lawn alternatives, the best ground cover plants for your hardiness zones, artificial turf, the perfect mulch for particular plants and the difference between landscaping and hardscaping.  

Touch a Butterfly: Wildlife Gardening with Kid Simple Ways to Attract Birds, Butterflies, Toads, and More to Your Garden by April Pulley Sayre

I love this book. The author shows you how to create flower gardens that will invite birds, bees and will completely transform your idea on how your own backyard can be part of and benefit your local ecosystem. You’ll learn how to transform trees into bird and animal habitats too. She has so many great ideas on how to create a haven for birds, bees and butterflies. I often wonder where butterflies go to rest.