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Garden Planning and Indoor Plants

© Diana Pederson

Once the holiday season is over, many of us get a good case of cabin fever. Here are some books that will please any gardener on your shopping list.

The first book, Mix-&-Match Gardening, written by Lindsay Thomas, was published by Barrons in 1998. The book's title should tip you off to the fact that there is something unusual about this book. It contains 49 garden plans for everything from year-round gardens to woodland gardens. Each plan provides a picture showing the garden, a brief statement telling you what site would be suitable, and a page giving descriptions of the plants used. Alternative varieties are also provided. These plans take up approximately one-half of each page.

The bottom half of the page consists of plant descriptions and photographs, arranged alphabetically. The gardener can flip through these pages to match up plants to the various plans. Garden tips are also provided at the start and end of the garden plan section.

Mix-&-Match Gardening will enable you to spend many a pleasant evening contemplating future gardens. You'll be able to test your ideas out about mixing plants without risking a penny on plants you later decide against. I believe this book will be used many times over the lifetime of the gardener.

Barrons has also published an excellent book on Indoor Plants written by Halina Heitz. Although the publisher suggests this as a book for beginners, it is suitable for all houseplant lovers. It is lavishly illustrated with both photographs and drawings by Ushie Dorner.

The first section, All About Indoor Plants, provides the reader with information on everything from climate zones to hydroponics and first aid for plants. The text information is illustrated so the reader can quickly understand the topics being discussed. The next section provides pictures of plants and descriptions of their needs. It also includes warnings about poisonous plants for those with children or pets. The plants are grouped according to a common characteristic such as "flowering plants" or a specific plant genus such as "Orchids."

I appreciate the writing style of this author and heartily recommend this book for the indoor gardener on your holiday gift list this year. Although I have several books about houseplants, this is one that I turn to frequently for information on the care of houseplants. I'm sure your gift receiver would be pleased with this book.