Collecting contributions from 100 distinguished horticulturists, the handsome and lavishly illustrated American Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants is a truly definitive gardening reference. With its 1,092 tiny-print pages, this may not be the book to tuck into your pocket as you weed and mulch, but what this encyclopedia lacks in portability, it certainly makes up for in scope. Hardy and tender plants, heirloom varieties and the latest hybrids--they're all accounted for here, with growing tips and background information about native habitats and ornamental features. You'll also find a fascinating section about botany, as well as information about basic gardening techniques such as mulching, staking, pruning, propagating, and protecting plants for winter. But the encyclopedia's main attraction is the individual plant entries--more than 15,000 of them, embellished with 6,000 full-color photographs and illustrations. From the visual glossary of leaves to the map of growing regions, The American Horticultural Society A-Z of Garden Plants provides an unsurpassed wealth of botanical information, making it the yardstick by which all other gardening references must be measured.

Although primarily a reference text, Pruning & Training is also a stroll through an arboretum, intertwining beautiful and descriptive photographs with explanatory text. If you've ever wondered how a tree, shrub, or vine was trained or formed, this book will explain every how-to for every plant that stirs your experimental side. If you're saddled with an overgrown orchard, poorly maintained landscaping, or heavy frost damage to trees and shrubs, you can renovate them through pruning. Solid background material is provided, including growing habits (and how to take advantage of them), advice on pruning tools, and basic and specialized pruning techniques. The reference is organized by ornamental trees, fruiting trees, ornamental shrubs, soft fruits, climbing plants, and roses. Each section discusses specialized methods for the subject plant type and includes a plant-by-plant dictionary. With the American Horticultural Society's stamp of approval, you can be sure that Pruning & Training does not neglect pollarding, coppicing, and pleaching.

There are countless books about lifestyles that are inaccessible, either because they are engulfed by abstract ideas or are set in palaces, real or imagined. The Outdoor Living Room: Stylish Ideas for Porches, Patios, and Pools is a rare exception: gorgeous photographs of beautiful outdoor spaces that are accessible, or at least seem to be. Split up into sections that can appeal to anyone-Modern, Classic, In Town, Romantic, or Whimsical--this book can move even the most hardened city dweller, or bring dreamers out of their country homes. The book has a distinct magazine-like flavor, but the rigor of the photographic summation of elements in each section offsets this. The text is uninspiring, usually describing the photographs or making vague generalizations, but no matter, because the photographs are what this book is all about. They are beautiful and plentiful, whetting the appetite for sunny days in our own outdoor living rooms. - Juliette Cezzar

Smith begins with his own story: his family's love of gardens and experience in the nursery business, his own education at the great gardens of England, and his discovery that we all have, as he says, a longing for our agrarian past. After walking us through his own garden home and explaining why he made the choices he did, Allen introduces his 12 principles of garden design, discussing such topics as a sense of enclosure, framing the view, texture, pattern, rhythm, and, of course, color. Then, with step-by-step projects, he shows readers how to apply the principles in their own garden homes.