Hit the Dirt; Books on Gardening

Good morning. This is Sally from hit the dirt. I have a feeling that most gardeners love to read and they love to read about plants and plant collectors gardening and gardeners. What better time than the winter to catch up on a little reading in between pouring over the seed and plant catalogues and planning the garden for 1997. Besides is it easier to snuggle up in a chair or in bed with a book than a bunch of catalogues and lists and plans. So how about books for holiday giving to the garden is on your list. You can bring pleasure through thrift or by being wildly extravagant. There are some books that I categorize as bedside books well written often humorous entertaining and informative but don't necessarily make you feel compelled to have notebook and pencil at hand. Those who enjoyed pass along plants will want to read shake them Simmons down by Janet Lemke. Although about Southern native plants such as pecans persimmons and Osage orange the history and law will be enjoyed by those in other regions out of Lacey's essays are a delight. Home ground in the garden is a two of his collections on people places history and plans and while on the subject of Lacey a subscription

to his award winning quarterly newsletter homeground will be a yearlong gift. Another Southern writer who reaches beyond the bounds of her native Charlotte is Elizabeth Lawrence who wrote a column in The Charlotte Observer gardening for love. The market bulletins little bulbs in a Southern garden have become garden classics and give us a glimpse of the gentle art of gardening and communicating. For the perennial lover and Lovejoy has two books the year in bloom and the border in bloom. Thoughts on specific plants and plant combinations and has edited a third perennials towards continuous bloom which might be called a collection of gardeners across America sharing their knowledge of plants sources and design. There's a definite trend towards natural gardening using native plants and no chemicals attracting wildlife and disturbing the landscape as little as possible. Sarah Stein has followed her inspiring Noah's garden with the How to planting Noah's garden. The Brooklyn Botanical Garden has several inexpensive books of interest in this area native perennials.

While flowers region by region and how to use them lawns and there are alternatives and environmental gardening. Two books by Kendra's other natural garden full of ideas for using native plants in the natural habitat garden which concentrates on natural plant communities. The Rose Garden native plants for the American landscape is a new book by Peter Lowy with excerpts from throws journals with descriptions of a 50 native plants and their uses in today's landscape all accompanied by love his beautiful botanical illustrations. The 3000 mile garden is a delightful book containing the five year correspondence between Roger Phillips a garden writer and photographer living in London and maintaining a community garden in a famed London Square. And Leslie land a cookbook author living and gardening in Cushing Maine. For the Rosen throws Yes there is at last a book on growing them organically the organic Rose Garden by Liz Jewett. I've only seen a review of this book and given the passion people have for growing roses and constantly spraying them it is most

welcome. For the growers and uses of medicinal hubs there is an encyclopedia of medicinal plants adorning kinda sleep book. And for those interested in the discovery of plants there is Wade Davis is one river explorations and discoveries in the Amazon rain forest a biography of the great botanist Richard Evans Schulz director of the botanical museum at Harvard University. Don't let me stop you here. There are many more subjects many more books these are but a few do with the gift giving appetite and do what I do to throw in one feel self. This is Sally for hit the dirt.