From The Garden Bookshelf-The Unexpected Houseplant

The Unexpected Houseplant

By Tovah Martin with photographs by Kindra Clineff.
Timber Press, 2012


I have to admit that I had just about written off the growing and care of house plants as an endeavor I should simply leave to others with greener thumbs than mine.  I have never been accused of outright premeditated botanicide but, on the other hand, my friends know that, through a combination of stupidity and negligence, I'm perfectly capable of inflicting great injury on even the hardiest and most street-smart of indoor potted plants.  Friends and family abandoned the idea of bringing me gifts of indoor plants long ago as a hopeless cause.  And, I never get any house-sitting requests from friends who need a little plant care while they're away on vacation.  They never call.  And for good reason. Because I've never been able to master even the simple basics of nurturing a houseplant, like the whole overwatering--underwatering thing, they know that the plants would probably have a greater chance at survival if they grew legs and went searching for food and water on their own.

But now, there's this great new book by Tovah Martin that gives me hope that, with just a little intervention, even a serial begonia killer like me might once again hold his head high among indoor gardening society.

From The Garden Bookshelf

Nicole de Vesian- Gardens: Modern Design in Provence

by Louisa Jones with photographs by Clive Nichols and Vincent Motte

Actes Sud, 2012 

Everyone has their list of favorite gardens that they have visited over the years.  And most of us also have a wish list of gardens that we would like to visit someday.  Sitting at the very top of my wish list for many years has been La Louve, the Provencal garden of Nicole de Vesian.  I have collected many photos and magazine articles about this garden but the new book by Louisa Jones, with many of the photographs by Clive Nichols, is the first complete monograph to date on de Vesian's contemporary masterpiece and probably the closest I will come to a real visit to this garden without actually hopping on a plane to France.

From The Garden Bookshelf

Garden People: The Photographs of Valerie Finnis

by Ursula Buchan with Anna Pavord and Brent Elliott
Thames & Hudson 2007

I simply loved this book!  Although not a recent release--it was published in 2007--it's a photographic history of a class of gardeners who pre-date the "age of the garden designer."  These were real plantsmen, as both men and women were referred to in those days, whose knowledge of horticulture was only complemented by their eccentricities.

From The Garden Bookshelf

Private Gardens of Connecticut
by Jane Garmey, photographs by John M. Hall
The Monacelli Press $65 ISBN 978-1-58093-241-7


There is no argument that Connecticut is fertile ground for great gardens.  Both the topography of the land and the variation in climate (three hardiness zones are represented here), have given rise to a large number of superb gardens, from the shoreline along Long Island Sound, to the hills and valleys in the northwest corner of the state.  Much of the landscape is still rural and even the largest cities in Connecticut are relatively small.  It's no secret that a large part of Connecticut's rural character has remained that way because so much of the state is within easy commuting distance of New York City.  Over the years, Connecticut has been the place for New Yorker's to establish their bedroom communities and country retreats. And with them came some magnificent gardens.