# All right Gardeners, Plant Books for the Deep Midwinter **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 10, 2004, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-right-gardeners-plant-books-for-the-deep-midwinter/228360 "2004-02-10T00:50:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![toque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9e8a1a/32.png) [@toque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toque)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2004, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-right-gardeners-plant-books-for-the-deep-midwinter/228360/1 "2004-02-10T00:50:20Z")
It’s cold and bleak and I won’t be able to put spade to soil for another 3 months, so please recommend me some books to carry me through. I just finished _The Orchid Thief_, and I’ve been reading _In the Land of the Blue Poppies_ by Frank Kingdon Ward. I’m also a big fan of Michael Pollan’s _Botany of Desire_. So let’s share some more books about plants and gardening to keep us enthused for spring! ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2004, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-right-gardeners-plant-books-for-the-deep-midwinter/228360/2 "2004-02-10T03:52:58Z")
Michael Pollan wrote another book: _Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education_. It’s about his creating his own garden – and, naturally, all kinds of other stuff as well. I liked it very much. ---
**Author:** ![artemis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@artemis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/artemis)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2004, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-right-gardeners-plant-books-for-the-deep-midwinter/228360/3 "2004-02-10T04:29:55Z")
_The Essential Earthman_, _One Man’s Garden_, and _Henry Mitchell on Gardening_ by Henry Mitchell. _Home Ground_ and _The Gardener’s Eye_ by Allen Lacy. _Making Things Grow Outdoors_ by Thalassa Cruso. _Green Thoughts_ by Eleanor Perenyi. Most of the books are collections of essays; Thalassa Cruso’s book is an exception, being more a story of how she and her husband transformed a long-neglected estate back into a pleasant piece of property over a period of several decades. The authors come from all over, and have very strong (and in some cases, sharply contrasting) opinions on gardening matters. I read many of these books years ago, and they’ve still stuck with me. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2004, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-right-gardeners-plant-books-for-the-deep-midwinter/228360/4 "2004-02-10T04:50:03Z")
One of my all-time favorites is [Gardens of Obsession.](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1841880930/qid=1076388214//ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-3646478-9417416?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) I think good taste is highly overrated. ---
**Author:** ![Caprese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2004, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-right-gardeners-plant-books-for-the-deep-midwinter/228360/5 "2004-02-10T12:21:35Z")
Really enjoyed The Orchid Thief and have owned Making Things Grow for years, rereading it every now and then. Does anyone else get Green Prints? It is a gardening magazine unlike any other, it is not glossy, not full of adverts, very down to earth (no pun intended.) Sometimes it can be a bit Chicken Soup for the Gardenerish, but sometimes, especially in the middle of February, I am in the mood for that kind of stuff. [Green Prints](http://greenprints.com/) ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy154](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/ad7895/32.png) [@quiltguy154](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy154)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2004, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-right-gardeners-plant-books-for-the-deep-midwinter/228360/6 "2004-02-10T13:29:54Z")
Not exactly about gardening, but related and a most enjoyable read. :“A Book of Bees”, by Sue Hubbell. As a longtime gardener I’ve come to be fascinated by honeybees, and how and what they do for us. Where would we _bee_ without them? It’s just a smattering of tech stuff, with a lot of warmth, good humor, common sense and the joys of nature. I highly recommend it. ---
**Author:** ![toque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9e8a1a/32.png) [@toque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toque)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2004, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-right-gardeners-plant-books-for-the-deep-midwinter/228360/7 "2004-02-10T23:55:06Z")
Some good suggestions here! I’ve been meaning to read “A Book of Bees” for a long time but completely forgot about it. And I’ll definitely check out the other Michael Pollan book.