Interesting question. I think for the most part pictures sell the book but I also think there must be some content to tie it all together. I would think the publisher would insist on a theme. That said, the most cherished gardening books in my collection are those by Henry Mitchell which have no pictures. I think the reason I like them so much is though he has a great command of the English language he writes as the common man, a gardener who is not perfect and that I can identify with. You might want to keep that in mind when you write your book - people want to read something they can identify with and relate to.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bittersweet Gardens

Thank you eddie, that's good advice.

If it's primarily pictures, like a coffee table book, you have to be able to take very good pictures. The writing has to be very concise, interesting, and informative. Do you take pictures now?

Yes, I have been taking pictures. I need to focus on one gardening subject, but my digital camera with the anti-shake feature has really improved the quality of my photos.

Do you want to sell a book or write a book? I'm with Eddie; there are a million garden picture books, but once you've glanced through them, then what? The books I treasure, the books I come back to, the books that will mean something to horticulture twenty years from now, are the (alas) handful of excellent volumes of gardening prose (often collections of columns). Most of these books (Mitchell, Lawrence) don't have a picture in them; the pictures are in your mind. Mind you, there are great gardening books that also have excellent pictures; see Hinkley's The Explorer's Garden.