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.

The Rock Garden Plant Primer: Easy, Small Plants for Containers, Patios, and the Open Garden
by Christopher Grey-Wilson

It is not necessary to have a traditional rock garden to enjoy rock garden plants. In fact, these colorful, small plants are perfect for the pots, containers, window boxes, and raised beds that are the mainstays of modern gardens.

In The Rock Garden Plant Primer (Timber Press, 232 pages, $29.95), world-renowned botanist Christopher Grey-Wilson recommends easy-to-grow plants for a variety of garden situations including shade, mixed borders, and patios. Introductory chapters explain how to grow and care for these gardener-friendly plants that are cold-hardy and adaptable. Detailed plant descriptions are based on his personal experience of seeing the plants in the wild and growing them in the garden. This resource also includes colorful photographs to aid in selection and identification.

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.

The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible
by Edward C. Smith

The updated, best-selling gardening book The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible (Storey Publishing, 352 pages, $24.95) includes coverage of 15 additional vegetables; an expanded section on salad greens; more attention to European and Asian vegetables; growing information on more fruits and herbs; new cultivar photographs; a much-requested section on extending the growing season into the winter months; and more. Each food lists information on the growing site, sowing, growing, harvest, and varieties. Soil issues, watering guidelines, seed tips, pest control and plant diseases are also addressed in a practical approach.

Wide rows, organic methods, raised beds, and deep soil is the advice given to create the W-O-R-D system and is credited for the high-yield results described. Sustainable and healthier eating is an underlying theme throughout the book. Also, solutions for small-space gardens are provided. The author tends a garden of over 1,500 square feet filled with raspberries, blueberries, flowers, herbs, and nearly 100 varieties of vegetables.

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.

The Gossler Guide to the Best Hardy Shrubs:
More than 350 Expert Choices for Your Garden
by Roger, Eric, and Marjory Gossler

For most homeowners, shrubs are an essential part of the yard or garden because they provide flowers and foliage from spring through fall. The Gossler Guide to the Best Hardy Shrubs (Timber Press, 204 pages, $34.95) shows you how the superior plants available today can transform ho-hum gardens into scenes of beauty and serenity. For decades, the Gossler family has tested, propagated, and sold the best hardy shrubs from around the world. The book starts with personal, common sense advice about climate, care and maintenance, plant categories, and learning from other people’s gardens. The remainder of the book is a guide to more than 350 beautiful, versatile, and easy-to-grow shrubs. Plant profiles describe the plant’s main characteristics, give height and spread, and list the growing conditions needed to thrive. Colorful photographs also provide examples of the shrubs and how they can compliment landscape design.

Click here to purchase from Amazon