Lake & Garden: A wealth of books for garden dreaming

This is the time of year when gardeners at Smith Mountain Lake and beyond daydream and plan for the upcoming growing season. It’s also the time when a comfortable chair next to a roaring fire and a good book that draws you in and engages your mind and spirit are welcome amenities.
    Following are my recommendations for excellent garden reference books to both educate and inspire as well as information on a garden trilogy written by Beverley Nichols, a master British wordsmith and humorist.

GREEN IS BEAUTIFUL    
SMALL GREEN ROOFS: LOW-TECH OPTIONS FOR GREENER LIVING
Nigel Dunnett, Dusty Gedge, John Little, and Edmund C. Snodgrass.
Timber Press, Portland, Oregon, 2011. 256 pp.
Publisher’s price, paperback: $24.95.

Green or living roofs aren’t just for large, institutional buildings. As more people recognize the environmental benefits of living roofs, including water conservation, energy savings and storm water management, homeowners are creating them on a smaller scale. Whether for a small garden shed or the roof of your home or garage, Small Green Roofs is a valuable source book for information on the nuts and bolts of designing and planting a living roof, as well as an inspirational resource for ideas.  


50 BEAUTIFUL DEER-RESISTANT PLANTS
Ruth Rogers Clausen, Photography by Alan L. Detrick.
Timber Press, Portland, Oregon, 2011.  253 pp.  
Publisher’s price, paperback: $19.95.

What’s not to love about a book with this title, especially considering the proliferation of deer at SML? One of the best ways to come to a truce with garden dining deer is to choose plants they are less likely to eat. Here’s your reference material. A “quick look” feature for each of the 50 listed plants gives you the USDA hardiness zones, plant height and spread, and a ranking of its deer resistance. The cultural information and design tips are complemented by Alan Detrick’s excellent photography. Fill your garden with these plants and the deer will likely go elsewhere for lunch.


CONTINUOUS CONTAINER GARDENS
Sara Begg Townsend and Roanne Robbins. Storey Publishing, North Adams, Massachusetts, 2010.  271 pp. Publisher’s price, paperback: $19.95.   

It’s not difficult to create containers brimming with flowers in the summer. But what about one by the front door that arrests your interest in all seasons, including winter? For design ideas, plant recommendations, tips and inspiring photographs, turn to Continuous Container Gardens, a beautifully illustrated, informative book that will inspire you to extend the working season for the containers in your garden.    


CONTAINER CONFIDENTIAL
THE VEGETABLE GARDENER’S CONTAINER BIBLE
Edward C. Smith.
Storey Publishing, North Adams, Massachusetts, 2011. 263 pp. Publisher’s price, paperback: $19.95.

You want a few homegrown, organic vegetables, but you don’t want to commit your life at the lake to hoeing, weeding, feeding and watering a vegetable patch (and then compete with deer for the harvest). The Vegetable Gardener’s Container Bible may be the answer. As the name suggests, this “Bible” answers any question you might have about growing vegetables in containers, and some you may not have thought of but are glad to know the answer. Useful topics covered in the book include succession planting in containers, winter protection to extend the growing season, ornamental herb and vegetable plant combinations, self watering and recommendations for specific hybrids that are well suited to contained growing conditions. Next summer, I expect to see lots of produce growing on docks!


CONTAINER CONFIDENTIAL
THE VEGETABLE GARDENER’S CONTAINER BIBLE
Edward C. Smith.
Storey Publishing, North Adams, Massachusetts, 2011. 263 pp. Publisher’s price, paperback: $19.95.

You want a few homegrown, organic vegetables, but you don’t want to commit your life at the lake to hoeing, weeding, feeding and watering a vegetable patch (and then compete with deer for the harvest). The Vegetable Gardener’s Container Bible may be the answer. As the name suggests, this “Bible” answers any question you might have about growing vegetables in containers, and some you may not have thought of but are glad to know the answer. Useful topics covered in the book include succession planting in containers, winter protection to extend the growing season, ornamental herb and vegetable plant combinations, self watering and recommendations for specific hybrids that are well suited to contained growing conditions. Next summer, I expect to see lots of produce growing on docks!


THE ALLWAYS TRILOGY: DOWN THE GARDEN PATH, A THATCHED ROOF, AND A VILLAGE IN A VALLEY
Beverley Nichols. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon, 2005. 295 pp, 289 pp, and 292 pp. respectively. Publisher’s price, hardcover: $24.95 each.

Reading Beverly Nichols is like gliding along a smooth road through gentle, rolling scenery with a witty, articulate companion by your side. While his words appear to flow with an obvious natural grace and wit, in fact Nichols labored over everything he wrote, editing and honing the text to bring it to perfection. Readers are the happy beneficiaries of that toil. In the Allways trilogy, you’ll share the joys and triumphs he experienced creating a garden for his thatched country cottage in a village in Cambridgeshire, England. You’ll meet quirky villagers, and the bane of his life, Mrs. M.  Describing one effort to avoid becoming engaged in a conversation with Mrs. M., Nichols writes, “I averted my eyes from her, and drew from my pocket a piece of paper on which I pretended to make notes. I did not wish to make notes, and actually I wrote only the word ‘William’ over and over again. But I wrote it very firmly, frowning as I did so, in the hope that Mrs. M. would go away.” Can we not all relate?


DIRR’S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TREES AND SHRUBS
Michael Dirr. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon, 2011. 952 pp.
Publisher’s price, hardcover: $79.95

Weighing in at 8 pounds, this comprehensive encyclopedia is the gold standard for reference books on trees, shrubs and other woody plants. A master plantsman who has worked in horticulture for almost 40 years and introduced more than 40 cultivars, Michael Dirr’s knowledge is first hand; you know you can trust what you read. Both the writing style and the information are compelling. More than 3,500 full-color photographs help for plant identification and recognition. This is an important and valuable book, truly Michael Dirr’s magnum opus, and well worth the price.