Contemporary color in the landscape : top designers, inspiring ideas, new combinations by Andrew Wilson — In addition to the directions and tips on using color, selecting a palette, creating intensity, harnessing contrast to create drama, color combinations, and information on other technical ways of using color in your garden, the photographs in this book would stand on their own. They're gorgeous, and terrific inspiration for gardeners or anyone who appreciates natural beauty.

Envisioning the garden : line, scale, distance, form, color, and meaning by Robert Mallet ; translated by Bryan Woy ; drawings by Yves Poinsot — Now that it's getting toward winter, it's a perfect time to work on garden plans for next year. It's hard to overstate the impact that careful planning can have on a garden space, but how many of us actually take time to do take all of these concepts into consideration before we start choosing varieties and planting? (Maybe it's just me who gets inspired and forgets to plan?) Either way, this book has a wealth of information that can help you create exactly the kind of garden space you desire.

Garden up! : smart vertical gardening for small and large spaces by Susan Morrison & Rebecca Sweet — Like a lot of gardeners, I have filled up the spaces in my yard and am often looking for more creative ways to use my limited space. This book has a wealth of ideas for small spaces like mine but also for large gardens. It starts with the basics - arbors and trellises - and moves on to less common techniques like living walls and growing edibles vertically. There's plenty of inspiration here!

Growing tasty tropical plants in any home, anywhere by Laurelynn G. Martin and Byron E. Martin — Have you ever wanted to grow oranges, olives, or avocados, but thought that because we live in Michigan, it wasn't feasible? Think again - it can be done! This book outlines which tropical plants are best for beginners, where to grow which tropicals, how to prepare them for eating or drinking, and much more.

Kitchen garden: month by month by Alan Buckingham — Month-to-month advice on growing produce in your backyard and obtaining a degree of sustainability. Useful illustrations and plant information are included. Vegetable, herb, and flower care instructions in a format that is easy to follow.

Trees and shrubs : a gardener's encyclopedia by senior consultants Geoff Bryant and Tony Rodd — A companion to Annuals and Perennials, this book provides the same kind of detailed information, but this time about trees and shrubs that a gardener might use in the garden and landscape. There are a wide variety of plants listed, including twenty species of Maples alone.

Annuals and perennials : a gardener's encyclopedia by senior consultants, Geoff Bryan and Tony Rodd — As a gardening enthusiast, I'm always looking for new plants I haven't yet grown and for ways to add color and texture to my gardens. This book provides terrific inspiration in addition to useful information. There's a chart that provides easy access to all the details about each plant, as well as detailed descriptions for all and color photographs for many of the listings in the encyclopedia.

Join us at the Library on Tuesday evening, April 19 for a presentation by Jodi Cook, a local horticulturalist and green living advocate. Jodi will be speaking on how your garden impacts our environment, and how you can become a responsible caretaker while still having a beautiful garden. The program will take place in the Community Room from 7:00-8:30PM, as part of the Library's Earth Week celebration.

Homegrown harvest: a season-by-season guide to a sustainable kitchen garden by Rita Pelczar, editor in chief — The idea of having a kitchen garden sounds so romantic, but is it really doable? It is! This book will take you through the entire year, from planning to harvest and on. It also contains a wealth of information about particular vegetables, fruits, and herbs that you might grow in your garden. The glorious full-color photographs make this book a treat just to look through, but you'll definitely want to start a garden once you do.

Practical bamboos: the 50 best plants for screens, containers and more by Paul Whittaker — Bamboo seems like such an exotic plant to grow here in suburbia, but there are actually some varieties that would be quite happy here. And not all bamboos are invasive, either! This book covers just about everything you could hope to know about bamboos.