Stuff Your Shelves

Here you'll find an all-purpose but very detailed guide to making your habitat a bird's paradise. Handy charts list not only the berry-producing plants of a particular region but also their cultural requirements and the timing of the fruit crop, instructions for building various birdhouses (so you can easily verify, for example that a two-inch entrance is too big for an Eastern bluebird), suggestions for good windbreak plantings that will attract birds, advice for creating perches near feeders, wetland habitats and much more. An excellent resource section in the back and an index add to the book's usefulness. It even tells you how to raise your own mealworm larvae to attract insect-eating birds. That may take caring for birds to a level that some of us don't care to follow, but the bottom line: the birds will appreciate the humans who read this book.

A must-have classic for the gardener's library, DiSabato-Aust's best-selling The Well-Tended Perennial Garden, has been expanded to include more illustrative photos of plants and pruning techniques. Check out how Aust's garden has evolved since the first printing of the book. You'll find the encyclopedia of perennials, perhaps the best part of the whole book, especially helpful when you venture out into the garden. It takes the guesswork out of garden maintenance by offering pruning tips and timing for hundreds of perennials, from Acanthus to Viola. A 32-page journal section has been added for notetaking. So if you don't already own this book or your old one is worn-out, order yours now. Great item for gift-giving.

In Designing the New Kitchen Garden: An American Potager Handbook, landscape designer Jennifer Bartley offers a historical perspective on the origin and development of kitchen gardens and describes how to adapt design elements of European traditional potagers to suit American gardens. So what is a potager? According to French cooking-school owner Georgeanne Brennan, a potager is "a year-round kitchen garden whose purpose is to supply the kitchen with fresh vegetables and herbs on a daily basis." Filled with colorful photos and illustrations, the book covers everything kitchen-garden design ideas to plant lists and maintenance tips. Check out the nine design principles in creating a potager. This book would make a good gift for veggie gardeners or those interested in garden history and design.

Gardeners who want a great reference on natives will be glad to receive this book by the renowned perennials professor Allan Armitage. The listings feature more than 630 plants indigenous to North America. Information about plant origins, cultural requirements, garden uses, maintenance tips and hardiness are complemented by anecdotal comments from Armitage. He also shares his views on incorporating natives into the garden and touches on the "exotics vs. natives" debate. One fun and interesting feature is the etymology section under each plant description. This section will be fun and educational for those "plant geeks" who want to understand the meaning behind those Latin plant names. Plant sources and state-by-state native plant society listings are also included.

The term "groundcover" generally brings to mind plants that hug the ground. In MacKenzie's view, however, groundcovers are any plants that cover the soil no matter their height—that is, plants whose virtues are their breadth. That perspective expands the usual list of groundcovers to more than 1000 perennials and hardy shrubs. And that's what you'll find in this handy guide. MacKenzie, a plantsman whose nursery specializes in groundcovers and vines, suggests plants for specific garden uses, such as groundcovers that tolerate foot traffic, or that have specific characteristics such as drought tolerance or seasonal interest. From Abelia and English ivy to sedum and hardy ice plant, the A to Z section covers a wide range of plant types, plus recommended cultivars and care.

According to garden photographer and writer Derek Fell, "a great garden must display a sense of artistry, using the sky and soil as a canvas and plants and structures as 'paint' to create a visually exciting space that can be formal or informal in style, large or small in size." So to help you design the next great garden in your own backyard, Fell writes a book that, as its title would suggest, offers ideas and inspiration for incorporating various design elements in the landscape. Includes design elements like structures, edging and reflections, and design styles, such as English cottage and tapestry gardens. Fell's great photographs are the highlight of the book.

Southwest gardener Mary Irish fills a void in the arid Southwest perennial gardening literature with Perennials for the Southwest. Where this book is not strong on images, it makes up for it with rich information. Irish talks about perennial care and how to use these plants in designing a garden in the often rugged southwestern climate. The highlights are the 200-plus pages of plant descriptions, including succulents. Each plant description includes scientific name, garden use, size, bloom time, cultural requirements, hardiness (based on minimum root temperatures, not zones), wildlife attractors and the author's tried-and-true recommendations for best performance in this harsh landscape. A good reference for desert or arid gardeners.

Are you puzzled by a landscape problem in your yard and don't know how to resolve it? Bath's book provides the answers to more than 300 design situations. With each design solution, cross-references to related materials are provided so you can thoroughly utilize the book's information. A helpful feature of the book are the photographs of common landscape design problems. Bath explains highlights from the photos, using them as examples to illustrate her key points. Instructions are provided in the first few pages with details on how to use the book, such as interpreting the photographs and reading each chapter. A useful tool for the design-challenged gardener.

Billing itself as the "definitive illustrated reference guide," this 496-page tome says it covers more than 5,000 perennials and their cultivation requirements but it actually includes almost 7,000. Produced in conjunction with the American Horticultural Society by the award-winning British horticulturist and editor-in-chief Graham Rice, this book features accessible descriptions written by experts in various plant categories. It's sure to introduce the gardener to little-known plants worth getting acquainted with — like fairy wings (Epimedium membranaceum). Inevitably, there are plants — like St. Bruno's lily (Paradisea lusitanica)—that aren't commercially available in the U.S., but there are plenty that are in the trade and just haven't received the attention they deserve.

Do crushed eggshells repel slugs? Does gravel in the bottom of containers aid drainage? Does hot pepper spray deter pests? Jeff Gillman, an associate horticulture professor and nursery manager at the University of Minnesota, has the answers to those and more in this fascinating book that answers the myths about pest control, fertilizers and more. Gillman conducts his own often painstaking research to find out what works and what doesn't in the garden. The gardener on your list will love this book. Read an in-depth interview with the author.

While a few of the homes discussed in this book fit the small category (one is 1,084 sq. ft. on a small city lot), the term "not so big" refers to the authors' vision that houses shouldn't dominate their landscapes. The goal, Messervy and Susanka say, is to enhance the attributes of a site to provide a feeling of "home" in the landscape, not just indoors. You won't find how-to plans for your landscape or handy bullet points and tips. Outside the Not So Big House is more about concept and idea. Here you'll find wise council about the subtle details that go into transforming a landscape into an extension of home—from something as small but important as creating "psychological space" on the doorstep of your home, a transitional landing area between inside and out, to creating focal points and views in the landscape that can be appreciated from both inside and out.