New garden books from our local public libraries are great sources of information and inspiration.  Those below are available at Schlow Memorial Library but can be accessed from any of the other Centre region libraries.

Homescaping : Designing your landscape to match your home, by Anne Halpin (Rodale 2005; Schlow Call No. 712.6 HAL).  People who are confident at selecting and arranging furnishings for inside their homes sometimes do not recognize that the same principles of contrast, unity, and balance apply to selecting and arranging plants and garden features.  “Homescaping” makes garden design logical and accessible: novice home landscapers will see how certain houses call for particular plants and styles of grouping them.  An excellent guide for anyone interested in successful garden design.

Sunset: Before & After Garden Makeovers, by Vicki Webster (Sunset Books 2006; Schlow Call No. 712.6 SUN).  Transformation stories are fascinating, and seeing the visual evidence is even better.  Here are the pictures (and text) demonstrating how plain houses isolated in plots of grubby lawn are converted into welcoming homes embowered with beautiful gardens.  Inspiring, fun, and full of ideas.

The Victory Garden Companion, by Michael Weishan with Laurie Donnelly (Collins 2006; Schlow Call No. 635 WEI).  The “Victory Garden” is a long-running TV classic, but this book’s title is a bit misleading: it’s a free-standing compendium of basic and advanced information and advice, beautifully illustrated.  Topics are diverse – from how to lay a slate path to the best blueberry plants, to forcing spring-flowering branches indoors.  A valuable book to browse through – gardeners of all levels will find it useful.