Looking for a gift for a gardener who has everything? Most dirt-diggers enjoy reading about others' trials and triumphs. Serious gardeners also need reference books for the latest plant information. Here are my favorites:
Bedside Garden Books
- "Passalong Plants" by Steve Bender and Felder Rushing (UNC Press) – Accurate descriptions and amusing stories about ubiquitous Southern landscape plants.
- "In a Southern Garden" by Carol Bishop Hipps (Macmillan) – Reflections on trees, shrubs, annuals, and perennials from an Alabama garden writer's travels.
- "Legends in the Garden" by Linda Copeland and Allan Armitage (Wings Publishers, $24.95) – History behind 46 common garden plants named for real people, including several Georgians.
- "Sex in Your Garden" by Angela Overy (Fulcrum Publishing, $19.95) – Fascinating primer on how plants use advertising to propagate. Guaranteed conversation starter!
- "People With Dirty Hands: The Passion for Gardening" by Robin Chotzinoff (John Wiley & Sons, $22.00) – Delightful interviews with ordinary gardeners about why they garden.
- "One Man's Garden" by Henry Mitchell (Mariners Books, $14.00) – Witty, cantankerous, right-on observations about what gardening really means.
- "Gardening Through Your Golden Years" by Jim Wilson (Cool Springs Press, $19.99) – Tips for creaky backs, like bringing a hoe to kneel on so you can climb up and stand straight again.
For Guaranteed Success
- "Tough Plants for Southern Gardeners" by Felder Rushing (Cool Springs Press, $24.99) – Eighth-generation Mississippi gardener's plant choices that almost guarantee Southern success.
- "Bullet Proof Flowers for the South" by Jim Wilson (Taylor Publishing) – Heat-, drought-, and neglect-tolerant plants for embarrassing August beds.
- "The Southern Living Garden Book" by Steve Bender (Oxmoor House) – How to grow 5,000+ Southern plants with lists for problem spots.
- "Garden Bulbs for the South" by Scott Ogden (Taylor Publishing) – Focuses on bulbs that perform best in our difficult climate.
Reference Books for the Eternally Curious
- "Manual of Woody Landscape Plants" by Dr. Michael Dirr (Stipes Publishing) – Descriptions, cultural details, and pithy comments from UGA's woody plant dean.
- "Herbaceous Perennial Plants" by Dr. Allan Armitage (Varsity Press) – Great descriptions and color photos of perennials grown in Georgia and beyond.
- "The Encyclopedia of Ornamental Grasses" by John Greenlee (Rodale Press) – 250+ beautiful, versatile grasses beyond Bermuda lawn.
- "Ferns for American Gardens" by John Mickel (Macmillan Publishing) – Shade-tolerant ferns with easy descriptions and color photographs.
