In no particular order, we’re recapping 15 great books from 2010 for the gardener on your holiday shopping list. Any one of them would be a great holiday gift for the green thumb on your list. We’ll feature a book a day starting December 7.

Tomatoes Garlic Basil
by Doug Oster

Tomatoes Garlic Basil (St. Lynn’s Press, 256 pages, $17.95) is the result of the author’s lifelong passion for these vegetables. This resource showcases the simple pleasures of growing and cooking these versatile foods by covering each step from soil preparation to cooking dishes with your harvest. It is filled with everything you need to know about growing all three foods and creating a garden in your backyard or even on your condo deck. 

In addition to the step-by-step instructional aspect of the book, there are also real life stories of love, life, travel, and, of course, food. The chapter titles include: Gardens are Good for You, Gardening in the City, The Kid in the Tomato Suit, A Passion for Seeds, Garlic in My Genes, and For the Love of Basil. It includes over 30 classic recipes, with creative twists, right out of the author’s garden and kitchen. This is a useful book for gardeners and food lovers alike.

Click here to purchase from Amazon

In no particular order, we’re recapping 15 great books from 2010 for the gardener on your holiday shopping list. Any one of them would be a great holiday gift for the green thumb on your list. We’ll feature a book a day starting December 7.

Lessons from Linden Hill:
Design Tips and Planning Pointers
by Jerry Fritz with Nancy Ondra

The lifelong dream of landscape designer Jerry Fritz comes to life when he purchases a farmstead in the heart of Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The property includes an old, dilapidated stone barn filled with junk. Bucket by bucket, he and his family remove the junk and have the barn refurbished. They relocate their landscape business from their home to this new location, surround it with traffic-stopping display gardens, and open a collector’s-level nursery. So much so, that Martha Stewart invites Jerry to her show to design a deer-resistant container planting featuring unusual thrillers, fillers, and spillers—including “blurple” flowers from Linden Hill. Not quite blue, not quite purple—they’re blurple.

Not only is Lessons from Linden Hill (Linden Hill Gardens, 108 pages, $19.95) a must-read for green industry professionals, it is the story of a guy with a truck evolving into a destination garden center and gardens that give hope to deer-riddled gardeners. The incredible journey entails good instinct, an homage to history, and a passion for colorful foliage and flowers. The book is inspirational and packed full of fabulous plants and design tips, including how to look at a space and see what it could be, gardening in deer country, using stone in the garden, and working with a garden designer.

Click here to purchase from Amazon

In no particular order, we’re recapping 15 great books from 2010 for the gardener on your holiday shopping list. Any one of them would be a great holiday gift for the green thumb on your list. We’ll feature a book a day starting December 7.

Starter Vegetable Gardens:
24 No-Fail Plans for Small Organic Gardens
by Barbara Pleasant

The idea of where to begin with a vegetable garden can cause anxiety for any new gardener. Starter Vegetable Gardens (Storey Publishing, 179 pages, $19.95) takes the guesswork out of growing food. Using simple language the author explains exactly how to start, maintain, and eventually expand an organic vegetable garden. What to buy, where to plant, and how to care for your garden are all discussed in this resource.

The 24 small-scale garden plans provide the reader with many options for growing your own fresh food. Some of the plans include: Backyard Veggie Border, Front-Yard Food Supply, Family Food Factory, Sweet Corn and Company, Marinara Medley, and the Managed Mulch Garden. Each plan includes a labeled chart in color, along with a supply and tool inventory, and a to-do list for each season. Intertwined in each chapter are color photographs and valuable information such as watering tips, plant supports, and insect issues. The book concludes with a dictionary of 46 common vegetables and a glossary of gardener’s basic lingo.

Click here to purchase from Amazon