Do you have one or two favorite cottage garden books which have been very helpful?
favorite cottage garden books?
I also have English Cottage Gardening, and echo cocoa-lulu's choice of one of my favorites. Another great cottage garden book is Tasha Tudor's Garden by Tovah Martin (photos by Richard Brown). Tasha passed away this summer, but has been an inspiration to many. This book about her and her gardens has beautiful photos and text. I find myself re-reading it several times every year...
I used to have a fantastic little book on Cottage Gardening that I had purchased through a gardening book club. Lost the book about six years ago. I can't remember the title or author, but know if I ever saw it again I would recognize it. Every so often I google cottage garden books but, so far, no luck.
My favorite is "An Island Garden" by Celia Thaxter. Other than that, I prefer picture books, because I'd rather see what something will look like instead of reading about it.
My current fav is "The Cottage Garden" by Christopher Lloyd and Richard Bird.
Primrose, I loved An Island Garden!!! The little paintings were so nice. I have given that as a gift once or twice.That was a quick snapshot of her life I believe. The garden didn't continue much after that.
I also really like Christopher Lloyd and Tasha Tudor. I have been able to order the most wonderful used books mostly for $3.48 which includes postage from
www.betterworld.com They have given millions to literacy programs all over the world too. Some of you might want to try them.
Thanks for the link, Gloria! I see lots of books I want!
I forgot to mention my favorite for this past year, and probably now my all-time favorite gardening book. I keep it in the bathroom (!), but it's called "The Gardener's Bed Book" by Richardson Wright. I think it was published in 1929, and he was the editor of House & Garden magazine in the 20's.
It has daily readings, some only a paragraph short, some a page long. This is an absolutely delightful read! I can't say enough good things about it. It's still in publication, and here's a pic from Google.
My favorite is "The Undaunted Garden" by Laura Springer. What a beautiful garden and it has great garden lists. I also like "On Gardening" by Penelope Hobhouse. I'll have to look for these other books. Always looking for a good read.
These may not truly qualify as "cottage" garden books, but:
The Well-Tempered Garden (Wisdom and Advice from a Legendary Gardener) by Christopher Lloyd (published by Lyons & Burford); and
Heirloom Country Gardens (Timeless Treasures for Today's Gardeners) by Sarah W. Heffner (published by Rodale)
Lloyd's book is just chock full of all sorts of information - sort of like sitting down with your grampa or older uncle who's been gardening since his feet hit the earth.
Heirloom Country Gardens was a gift from my sis many years ago - and I've kept it through many moves, and many years when I didn't have the ground to garden. It introduces different types of gardens, but always has a focus on the older and heirloom plants. It has a plant listing with info on growing them, as well as some great older recipes.
Robin, thanks for the tip on Heirloom Country Gardens - I'm going to be on the lookout for an inexpensive copy!