Garden reading
I have a great weakness for garden books. I sometimes find myself reading through works largely intended for reference. One of my favourite reference works is Adrian Bloom’s Bloom’s Best: Perennials and Grasses, (2010), another splendid book from Timber Press. For practical uses and quick reference I like the Taylor’s Guide series, with culture advice and clear photographs, sometimes of various seasonal features. A truly inspirational reference that changed how I garden is Adrian Bloom’s Gardening with Conifers, (2002). If you are skeptical about the sheer variety and multi-seasonal interest in conifers, I highly recommend it. Apart from many reference works I also enjoy garden memoirs. Currently on my bedside table: Penelope Lively’s Life in the Garden, (2017). Also books more widely about our relationships with plants: Charlotte Gill’s Eating Dirt: Deep Forests, Big Timber, and Life with the Tree-Planting Tribe, (2011). A wonderful book that deserves to be more widely known is Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass. Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, (2013). Read it and embrace abundance.
