aezarien
Here are some I have found usefull as well as others
I have a very large library of book,
Plant Taxonomy (Hardcover) by Tod Stuessy
Introduction to the Principles of Plant Taxonomy (Paperback)
by V. V. Sivarajan
Anatomy of Flowering Plants: An Introduction to Structure and Development (Paperback)
by Paula J. Rudall
Pollen morphology and plant taxonomy: Angiosperms (An introduction to palynology. I) (Hardcover)
by G. Erdtman
Essentials of Plant Taxonomy and Ecology (Hardcover)
by M. Singh
Hartmann and Kester's Plant Propagation: Principles and Practices
by Hudson T. Hartmann
Plant Propagation by Tissue Culture: Volume 1. The Background (Hardcover)
by Edwin F. George
If you need more information e-mail me.

Blueangel

Plant Identification Terminology: An Illustrated Glossary (Paperback)by James G. Harris

I used the Manual for woody landscape plants....it's a great book!!

My suggestion would be to go to the county extension office and get a copy of all of their publications related to gardening/landscaping and propagation! They have so much information, ane are widely under-used as far as a source of infortion for the home-based gardener.

That was my goal in getting my degree, I wanted to become an extension agent....but, life happened along the way. lol

I also have a link for you for the SC university and Clemson's website for publications...most of them are free...but, the ones that cost money are for sure worth the money!
Also, if you want to take some classes....see with community college in your area is offering Master Gardener classes.
You get a huge manual good for pest id and management....all kinds of AWESOME information!
If you have the timet o spare...you can also help other gardeners in your community make their gardens a success by being available to answer questions. You can do that whenever you want to...or, you can volunteer at the extension office sometimes.

There is also a master gardeners forum on here!!
I am thinking about taking the Master Gardeners course at Clemson Universities satalite office in York, SC.

Here is a link that might be useful: Clemson University Home Gardening publications in Word and Adobe files

I forgot to add that any book Toby Bost has written would be great for you to read and learn from. He is a NC extension agent who is pretty popular....he was the latest hot thing when I was in school...so I had the opportunity to read his books.

Thanks for the input everyone!

Blue - Intriguing titles you have there for sure, especially the Tissue Culture Propagation. I'll have to keep my eye out for a deal on that one.

Esh - Learning the identification terminology is on my immediate list of objectives so I'll have to check that book out as well.

Red - Glad to hear the book comes recommended and...Nice link. They have quite a bit of information in that one little spot. I'll have to check out the county extension. At CCC they have a class that explores TV shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Battlestar Galactica, and Dr. Who but no gardening classes. I do love some Dr. Who but I'll pass on the side order of existentialism. York might be a stretch unless they have a class available on Saturday. Will it be at York Tech? I took Phlebotomy there on Saturdays about uh... 10-11 years ago so I familiar with the location. Gee.. when did I get old enough to have those types of spans between events?

I know what you mean......I took those classes like 10 years ago.....it seems like so long when you type it that way! lol

Clemson just built a new building over on Congress st in York that they are giving Master Gardener classes from.
If you go back to that link and look for continuing education classes it will give you the dates for the next class. I can't temember if it was during the week or not. I need to check on that! lol

The classes I took (Assc. Degree) in Horticulture Technology were mainly for Landscape Architecture or Greenhouse propagation for wholesale business.
We didn't spend any time hardly on plants per say....it was more focused on trees and shrubs.
The Master Gardeners program is really where you would want to start to learn about plants and propagation on a home gardening level.....not that the other information isn't needed...I just didn't know how in depth you were wanting to go with your education.

If you go to NC State's website...I am almost certain they probably have the same kind of information as Clemsons website....and maybe even more...but, for sure more information related to NC gardening.

I know where Congress is. That is quite a bit closer than York Tech too. I putzed around earlier and couldn't find any info but if I find out it is on a Saturday I might have to consider marking it on my calender.

I would love to get degree in horticulture. I think a Master Gardener class would be a good start and fun too. I'm sort of that all or nothing type though so I am looking to learn every single thing I can. The science of it all excites me, probably way more than it should.

I looked up the county extension here a little earlier and found lots of links including one to information put out by NC State. Still digging around in there. I found a few long lists of links though:

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/chatham/staff/acooke/landscape.html

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/Publications/lawngarden.php

Great resources. That just got off a page from that second link (houseplant selection and care)that tell you how to tell what type of lighting you have in a room by using the light meter in a camera.

Anyway, I appreciate the tips. I have a handful to keep me busy for a while now. I'm still open to any other resources. I'll just have to bookmark and take notes!

-Tina

It's cool to find something that makes you want to learn more! It means that is for sure what you should be going for.....as it's a lot harder to not do your homework if you actually like what you are doing! lol

I remember my Greenhouse management class.....the professor always made me nervous...and, I am not graceful what so ever under pressure.
One day he asked the class to do a problem, and a messed it up....when he came over...right in front of everyone in class he said, " I thought you had to have high school level math in order to get into this program". He was a jerk! lol
He made me cry...I was a very timid 22 when I took those clesses. I was a full time mom/full time student/part time worker.....so it was a little stressful to say the least.

Been there, done that. At one point in time I was taking courses toward a computer programming degree, trying to earn my EMT certification, taking ERT classes on the side, and volunteering just about full time with a rescue squad to pay for the EMT/ERT classes. Shortly after I received my certification I added working with Gaston Life Saving in Gastonia. Add to that three kids and a house to take care of and I was a mess.

Needless to say, you would have thought once I thinned out my activities that I would have walked away a little wiser. I finished my EMT course, dropped the paid job in favor of the volunteer work (looks better on a resume and the state basically pays you by paying for any EMS related courses), switched to a nursing degree and continued ERT classes.

Finally one day I woke up and while standing in the eye of a chaos storm within my home I spent an entire day dropping classes and informing everyone I would not be returning.

I actually did try to go back for fine arts a few semesters later thinking that without the other stress I could handle a few art classes, just to keep me in the adult world a little. That was fun while it lasted but hard to justify as far as the time away from home went.

The hardest thing is, I love learning and I am absolutely intrigued with getting down to the molecular level of how things work. I feel so at home in an academic environment. I figure I can wait until the kids get older though. Until then I am going to order my books and read, read, read, and prepare myself to sleep through my classes.

Speaking of which.....

I got one more book yesterday, three more today, and I have two more on the way. The ones I have received look like such wonderful reference tools so far. I'm ready to dig in. Can ya tell?