My very favorite is Gaia's Garden, and my next favorite is Bringing Nature Home.

Southern Living Garden Book -- love it. I need to buy myself a new copy because I'll often bring it on nursery trips, to look up info on plants with which I'm unfamiliar. My current copy is getting pretty dog-eared.

I have an entire book shelf - floor to ceiling of my favorites. Elizabeth Lawrence is the author for Southern charming, old-fashioned reading. I also LOVE love love Joanne Gardener.

- Seed Folks by Paul Fleischman. It's about gardens and gardeners. You'll laugh you'll cry you will read it again and again (it's short).

There are so many that I have, for so many different aspects of gardening, I can't name one, I would still buy more, and would not give up one. I don't read novels. I enjoy :reading memoirs of gardeners, any garden how to- plants/hardscape/etc, flipping through any garden reference book of plants with pictures and care and propogating details, my father's old garden encyclopedias, and most any garden magazine. I have picked up many books at Borders for $2.99-$6.99, that are staples, but one I really love is Color Your Garden. It's still packed, so don't remember the author, but think she's in England. I do love books about English style gardening, because it covers so many of my favorite things. Aromatics, herbs and uses, knot gardens, cottage gardens, topiaries, the potager, and rustic, eclectic styles. I guess I really don't know what defines Southern gardening, or even Soutern Living magazine, I'll have to look into it since I am in the South now.

I have paid ton of library fine on Jerry Baker's "Giant book of Garden Solitions" and love both his books that library has.

Another book that I totally loved was encyclopedia(sp?) on gardening. It took each and every plant/fruit/vegetable and wrote in great detail about it...growing conditions...what it likes...etc. LOVED it.

I still think Jerry baker is the best. Which author would advise putting your dog food as manure? LOL

Thx

I got some of Jerry's books a few years ago as a PBS gift with pledge. They are full of useful information that we've used :)

Dora

Garden Bulbs For the South by Scott Ogden is one of my favorites. It has lovely photos and is interesting reading.

I like an old one: "Landscaping with Nature" by Jeff Cox. I think I got it used on Amazon Marketplace.

And of course "Bringing Nature Home" is one of my favorites in recent years. Here is an article by the same author.

Here is a link that might be useful: Article