New Gardening Books: Part II

            Here are some more gardening books that are new to our collection.

            Gardening for Birds, Butterflies, & Bees: Everything You Need to Know to Create a Wildlife Habitat in Your Backyard is written by the editors of Birds & Blooms magazine. As we all know, birds, butterflies, and bees are major players in our environment. Learn how to attract and support them with the right types of plants, trees, and shrubs. Included are color photos of all 250 plants, profiles of 70 bird species and 25 butterfly species, backyard projects, and more.

            The Aromatherapy Garden: Growing Fragrant Plants for Happiness and Well-Being, written by Kathi Keville, an aromatherapist and herbalist. She presents a guide to selecting and growing a garden of fragrant plants, including information about their botanical names, hardiness zones, and growing seasons. Then she provides the descriptions and therapeutic uses for more than 80 plants, including advice and recipes for making herbal blends and vinegars, teas, scents, and body oils.

            Simplify your gardening chores with ideas from Container Theme Gardens: 42 Combinations, Each Using 5 Perfectly Matched Plants. Author and professional gardener Nancy J. Ondra presents gardens based on color schemes, location (sun, shade, and combination), attractiveness to birds and butterflies, edibles, and more.

            The Water-Saving Garden: How to Grow a Gorgeous Garden with a Lot Less Water, is written by Pam Penick. Use a minimal amount of water for maximum results when you design your garden with these 100 native and drought-tolerant plants. Related topics discussed include rainwater harvesting, gray-water systems, and permeable paving.

            Grow Native: Bringing Natural Beauty to Your Garden, written by Lynn M. Steiner, a writer and photographer for gardening publications. Here she presents facts and photos on using the hardy, drought-tolerant wildflowers, grasses, shrubs, and trees best for your area’s hardiness zone.

           

 

           

 

 

 

New Gardening Books

            Spring has arrived and so have some new gardening books. Prepare for a beautiful gardening season by reading one or all of them.

            Plant Craft: 30 Projects that Add Natural Style to Your Home, written by Caitlin Atkinson, an interior stylist, presents instructions for thirty projects made out of live plants, cut flowers, and foraged branches. You can build a bench planter or vertical garden, craft a tillandsia wall hanging or willow sphere, mount a hanging rock garden or living wreath, or plant a succulent string garden or water sculpture garden, and much more.

            Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden: Grow, Harvest, and Arrange Stunning Seasonal Blooms is written by Erin Benzakein and Julie Chai. Benzakein, the owner of Floret Farm and Chai, the senior editor of Sunset Magazine, guide the reader through the creation of a flower garden, including planning, preparation of soil, planting, and weeding. Then the authors instruct on the care of cut flowers. Finally, the flowers of each season are presented, with accompanying projects.

            Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects is written by Scott Hoffman Black for the Xerxes Society. It contains two books in one; the first discusses the life cycle of butterflies and the current threats to their existence; the second describes how to design and maintain a butterfly garden using appropriate plants. Beautiful color photos are placed throughout the book.

            New York & New Jersey Month-by-Month Gardening: What to Do Each Month to Have a Beautiful Garden All Year, is written by Kate Copsey, a certified master gardener who maintains vegetable and perennial gardens and also writes articles for magazines and websites and has hosted radio shows. Learn to plan, plant, care for, and troubleshoot all of your plants: perennials, edibles, lawn, trees, shrubs and more.   

            Heirloom Plants: A Complete Compendium of Heritage Vegetables, Fruits, Herbs & Flowers is written by Lorraine Harrison and is based upon the extensive seed catalogs of Thomas Etty, the popular heirloom seedsman. This book includes information on almost 500 cultivars to be grown and harvested. Harrison has a master’s degree in garden history and has written other books and gardening magazine articles. Thomas Etty founded the heirloom seed company Thomas Etty, Esq. in the nineteenth century; today it is managed by his great-grandson.

 

 

Crafting Creatively

            Crochet One-Skein Wonders for Babies, edited by Judith Durant and Edie Eckman, presents 101 projects for infants and toddlers. Choose from hats and caps, socks and bootees, tops and bottoms, toys, blankets, and more; all with detailed instructions and color photos of the finished products. A glossary, list of abbreviations, symbol key, and index are provided.

            Crochet to Calm: Stitch and De-Stress with 18 Colorful Crochet Patterns is a collection of simple projects whose repetitive motion relaxes the crafter while creating beautiful and useful items for the home and for friends, family, and yourself. Instructions, color photos, and a how-to of basic crochet stitches are given.

            Easy Fair Isle Knitting: 26 Projects with a Modern Twist, is written by Martin Storey. The projects include scarves, hats, vests, and other clothing items, as well as pillows and blankets for the home. The patterns are a simpler version of Fair Isle knitting, with a maximum of two colors per knitted row, making it easier for the novice. Large color photos show the beauty of the items.

            Creative Leather Jewelry: 21 Stylish Projects that Make a Statement, is written by Christina Anton, a jewelry and accessories designer and business owner. Here she melds jewelry making with leather crafting, creating unique, modern earrings, necklaces, and bracelets. The book begins with a chapter on tools, materials, and techniques; followed by project instructions accompanied by color photos. Templates for all projects also are given.