The Greener View: Good Garden Books

You know, sometimes the internet is just not the best place to get information (in spite of the fact that you might be reading this article on the internet). Actual, real books written by actual, real expert people with real experience in real life (not just a bunch of clicks) can be at your beck and call 24/7 sitting right next to you on your bookshelf.

Christmas and the whole winter are perfect times to get and read gardening books. If you have a gardener in your family -- or maybe you need to drop some hints for yourself -- here are a few new books that will make every gardener happy.

"The Field Guide to Specialty Cut Flowers" is bound to become the bible of growing annual and perennial flowers for everyone from backyard gardeners to commercial flower farmers. It is written in an easy-to-understand format by two of the best in the business. Dr. Alan Armitage has written many books, and he helped create the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers 35 years ago. Kelly Garcia runs Terra Flower Farm, a cut flower farm near Chattanooga, Tennessee. The book covers 70 cut flowers that you can grow. It has detailed information on growing information, maintenance and proper harvesting for long-lasting cut flowers.

"Small-Scale Homesteading" is by homesteaders Michelle Bruhn and Stephanie Thurow, who are both Master Gardeners from Minnesota. They have taught thousands of people across the globe how to garden, preserve food, tend backyard chickens, cook from scratch and care for their families with natural homemade candles, lotions and soaps.

The next book is short at only 48 pages, but the title tells you everything you need to know. "How to Raise Monarch Butterflies: a Step by Step Guide for Kids" by Carol Pasternak does exactly what it says, but it isn't just for kids. Anyone who wants to raise monarch butterflies -- or for that matter, many other kinds of butterflies -- should get their hands on this book. Full-color photographs illustrate every step of the way to successful butterfly raising. This book is perfect for homeschoolers, public schools and libraries. Raising monarchs can be intensive work, especially if you don't what comes next, but with this book, you will be well prepared for every step of the way.

Having a garden of flowers and plants where only one color dominates can be a fun way to garden. White flowers in a garden are wonderful in the light of a full moon. A full garden of white flowers and plants can be magical. The new book, "White Gardens: Creating Magnificent Moonlit Spaces" by Nina Koziol is a complete guide to creating a stunning nighttime garden. Besides adding fragrant flowers and white or silver-leafed plants, this book also covers other nighttime gardening topics such as outdoor lighting and fire and water features. Nina has been an instructor at the Chicago Botanic Garden and the Morton Arboretum since 1988.

Would you kindly allow me to mention my book? The "Greener View Gardening" book is a gardening course for the homeowner who knows nothing about plants but still has to maintain a landscape. The book is filled with "What's This Mean To Me" and "Digging Deeper" sections that apply the book learning to everyday landscape problems. I have written this weekly newspaper column covering landscaping and gardening for over 33 years. I taught the Master Gardener and Master Naturalist programs at the University of Illinois. I have posted almost 400 YouTube videos, many of which match the chapters in the book.

If your local bookstore doesn't stock one of the books in this article, they can all be found on the National Garden Bureau website at ngb.org/garden-books.

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Email questions to Jeff Rugg at info@greenerview.com. To find out more about Jeff Rugg and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.