Gardening Books??

Hi Everyone!!
I'm new to this forum and site. And to gardening. I live in Brighton, which is a suburb of Boston, MA. I have a yard and a small area where a garden can be planted. But this year the peeps on the second floor beat me to the garden spot. So I was thinking of using containers or waiting till next year.

Which leads me to the main reason of this topic: What gardening books are people reading? I have several books in my library. But I've come across an interesting one called "Four-Season Harvest" by Eliot Coleman. I literary just started it. Apparently this Coleman guy lives in Harborside, Maine and gardens year round. That would be really cool to be able to do. Has anyone read it??

Hi Cattie.....When my son graduated from UCONN 20 years ago, he moved to Brighton....couldn't find a job as a landscape architect, so he delivered liquor for one of the stores in the area.....but he eventually moved back to CT when he found a job here...anyway, must confess I've never read a gardening book.....I used to read Horticulture magazine, but I started gardening as a child with my Grandma, then with my husband, so everything I learned was from other gardeners or experience....container gardening is certainly something you can start right now, whether it's flowers or veggie plants bred for containers.....

Robin - There are a ton of liquor stores around here. I don't think they deliver anymore but still they are many.

I used to watch my grandfather garden. Watch is the key word. I was never really allowed to touch the plants and vegetables. And I think that's why I have such a "fear" of growing my own stuff. But I'm out to change that. I really am. A friend gave me some produce and I absolutely loved it. Better than that stuff you get at the supermarket.

I like to read up on things before actually doing anything about it. I have a few books (not many) mainly for reference and understanding.

Good for you! Home grown veggies are the best, and flowers are planted for the soul! You'll do fine.

I think you'll find a lot of info right here if you search for whatever you want to grow. I used to read organic gardening magazine when I first started, you could see if your library has back issues of that, although I don't think its as good as it was 20 years ago. It's definitely a trial and error hobby, I'm still learning and I've been gardening for 25 years.

Cattie:
Have you checked out the Garden Bookworm on this site? Lots of reviews of gardening books. It's under "Products and Sources" at the top left of every DG page.

For a good all around plant dictionary, I love The Western Garden Book from Sunset press. It has sections on most plants that grow in the US because didn't the Good Lord blessed the great state of California with one of every USDA zone that there is and all the gradations in between.
For lilacs, can't beat the pamphlet on the subject published by the Arnold
arboretum.
If you are into native plants, there are several good guidebooks the peterson guide and others.
I like the "Expert" series of plant guides by Hessayon. There are seperate books for housplants {very extensive}, roses, trees and shrubs, water gardening, etc. Only thing about the outdoor ones is that Hessayon is a British gardener and you have to adjust some of his advice to your growing season. but there are good explanations, some excellent pictures and drawings of plants and each guidebook has a good section on plant care for the types of plants each book covers.
Depends on what kind of gardening you want to get into.
I live in a 4 season climate since I just moved this year to Florida from MA. You can grow stuff here year round. I would have liked to read his book while I was still living up there.
Check your library for gardening book titles. I know my garden club in Saugus donated many gardening books to the Saugus Public Library and they had a pretty good selection of them besides these. You can see if they have a particular book you are interested in and you can "try before you buy". That's what I am doing with books about Florida Gardening. Massachusetts Horticultural Society has a horticultural library out at their HQ in Wellesley as well as some lovely display gardens and a children's garden. You can check out what is growing there. Their perennial garden ought to be at its peak right now. Also, the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain has a huge selection of trees and shrubs and the aforementioned Lilacs {750 different plants} Check them out for Lilac Sunday which is in May.
If you're into natives, try the Garden in the Woods in Framingham. They sell native plants and have a great bookstore. Always take the chance to see what your neighbors are growing too. Gardeners always love to talk about their gardens! Hope this helps,
Martha

This message was edited Jul 20, 2015 9:03 AM

Do check with your local public library's gardening section.. You might start with annuals in a container & move on from there. How big is the house gardening spot. what at 2nd floor people growing. could you share next year?

Lots of great advice there.

If you like the idea of growing citrus or tropical plants indoors and moving them outside for the summer, you can learn a lot from the Lyman Estate greenhouse. The employees and volunteers are very helpful and they have a small bookstore inside. They have a wonderful herb sale around May, which is a great place to buy unusual herbs without trouble of growing them from seed.

When I finally could move from an apartment to a house, I started with growing tons of herbs and annuals in pots, and then started growing veggies the next year.

Their Hosta sale is great too, Rosemary. They have bunches of interesting things.
Martha