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Apr 19

[ARCHIVED] Gardening on the Mind

The original item was published from April 19, 2021 8:52 AM to April 19, 2021 9:41 AM

Spring is here and with the warming temperatures and mild weather, we’re seeking more time spent outdoors. Make your outdoor space more inviting by adding plants whether flowering or produce bearing. There are many options out there for growing a garden. Check out some of these books about gardening, perfect for creating your green space or just for lounging around in the fresh spring air.

Nonfiction
DB101815 The scentual garden: exploring the world of botanical fragrance by Kenneth Druse
A garden writer gives advice on planting for scent. He arranges both familiar and unusual garden plants, shrubs, and trees into 12 categories, giving gardeners a vastly expanded palette of scents to explore and enjoy, Also provides examples of garden designs that offer harmonious scentual delights. 2019.

DB101179 Kitchen garden revival: a modern guide to creating a stylish small-scale, low-maintenance edible garden by Nicole Johnsey Burke
A leading landscape architect shows home gardeners how to design and grow a small-scale vegetable garden, discovering which edibles grow best in kitchen gardens and sharing season-by-season advice on planting, tending, and harvesting. 2020.

DB 99339 A way to garden: a hands-on primer for every season by Margaret Roach
Moving through the calendar two months at a time, the author gives tips to help gardeners through every phase of growing. In addition to seasonal chores and practical advice, the author includes personal stories of her life in the garden. Some strong language. 2019.

DB 96127 The bee-friendly garden: design an abundant, flower-filled yard that nurtures bees and supports biodiversity by Kate Frey
A garden designer and a biology professor collaborated on this guide to creating gardens that nurture bees. They discuss the different species of bees, the problem of colony collapse disorder, and what attracts bees, and offer tips on planning and caring for bee-friendly flower and edible plant gardens. 2016.

DB 87665 The beginner’s guide to starting a garden: 326 fast, easy, affordable ways to transform your yard one project at a time by Sally Roth
A nature writer gives advice on starting a garden from scratch in stages, focusing on keeping things affordable and time-efficient. Breaking things into easy-to-tackle small projects, she includes tips on plant choices and how best to combine different plant varieties. 2017.

DB 83087 Small-space vegetable gardens: growing great edibles in containers, raised beds, and small plots by Andrea Bellamy
Focusing on the special challenges of gardening in containers and small plots, Bellamy gives tips on designing and building garden areas to make the most of small spaces. Offers advice on growing in tight settings and provides an A to Z list of plants, including container suitability. 2014

Fiction
DBC07221 The Darling Dahlias and the cucumber tree by Susan Wittig Albert
The country may be struggling through the Great Depression, but the good ladies of Darling, Alabama are determined to keep their chins up and their town beautiful. Their garden club, the Darling Dahlias, has just inherited a new clubhouse and garden, complete with two beautiful cucumber trees. When local blond bombshell Bunny Scott is found in a suspicious car wreck, garden club members Lizzy, Ophelia, and Verna decide to follow up on leads the sheriff is ignoring. Plus the town is all abuzz with news of an escaped convict from the prison farm, rumors of trouble at the bank, and tales of a ghost heard digging around the cucumber trees. If anyone can get to the root of these mysteries, it's the Darling Dahlias. Contains some strong language and some violence.

DB101504 The diva digs up the dirt by Krista Davis
Sophie's neighbor Natasha plans to shine on television--using Sophie's backyard. As the cast and crew of a makeover show bulldoze through her backyard, Sophie retreats to her perennial boyfriend Wolf's to replace a dead rose bush. But her tender deed goes awry when she digs up a purse belonging to Wolf's missing wife. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2012.

DB 87095 Sam the Man & the Rutabaga Plan by Frances O’Roark Dowell
Sam hates vegetables. When a school project pairs him with a vegetable he knows nothing about--the rutabaga--he is surprised when he grows fond of his new little friend and plans to keep him from rotting. Sequel to Sam the Man and the Chicken Plan (DB 85517). For grades 2-4. 2017.

DB 65281 The blue rose by Anthony Eglin
When Kate and Alex Sheppard explore the overgrown two-acre gardens of their newly acquired cottage, they find a rosebush with genetically impossible brilliant blue blooms. Mayhem and murder ensue as word of the discovery leaks out and others try to claim the plant. Some violence and some strong language. 2004.

DBC11242 Planted with hope by Tricia Goyer
Hope Miller finds her plans for the plot of land she is given behind her sister's pie shop changing after teacher Jonas Sutter asks if his students can use it to make a community garden.

DB 70191 Pushing up daises by Rosemary Harris
Master gardener Paula Holliday, a once-promising documentary filmmaker who moved to suburban Connecticut to start a landscaping business, undertakes restoration of the historic Halcyon estate. But when Paula unearths an infant's mummified body then discovers a rival business owner has been stabbed, she begins a sleuthing career as well. 2008.

DB 65395 Garden spells by Sarah Addison Allen
North Carolina caterer Claire Waverly uses the family's magical garden to enhance her cooking. Her sister Sydney never wanted the horticultural legacy and left home just like their mother did years ago. Now Sydney has returned with her young daughter after escaping an abusive husband. Some strong language. Bestseller. 2007.

DB 85040 Amish vines and orchards series by Cindy Woodsmall
Four novels of Amish woman Rhoda Byler and her struggles to use her gift for growing things while balancing her faith, her community, her business venture, and love. Contains A Season for Tending, The Winnowing Season, For Every Season, and Seasons of Tomorrow. 2014