Make your library grow with 4 new garden books

The movement toward growing your own food continues to gather momentum. This is reflected in this year's selection of gardening books.

A garden book should be part-inspiration and part-education. All of the following fulfill this requirement.

In "City Farmer" (Greystone Books, $15.95), Lorraine Johnson explores the many aspects of urban gardens and farming.

Johnson lives in Toronto. Much of this book covers activities to the north, but there is plenty of useful information throughout.

In essay style, the book discusses Johnson's encounters with a wide array of urban interpretations of the back-to-the-land movement. Of particular interest is the chapter "Rethinking Convention." Johnson explores how rooftops, front yards and even walls can support crops and feed a population that is hungry for fresh food. Johnson also looks at school gardens, guerilla gardening, and raising chickens and bees in the city.

"The Edible Front Yard" (Timber Press, $19.95) is the name of Ivette Soler's full-color guide to the "mow-less, grow-more" plan for a beautiful bountiful garden. Soler is probably best-known for her blog, The Germanatrix, at www.thegerminatrix.com.

Soler, a garden designer and writer, lives in Los Angeles. Much of the irresistible photography in the book reflects her Western location. But there isn't anything wrong with that. Eastern gardeners have much to learn from the Western plant palette, though I found myself getting a little glossy-eyed at combinations of agave, artichoke, bulbing fennel, purple basil and various thymes. It's nice work if you can get it, but in our climate, we can't — unless you put tender desert plants in containers.

A similar entry is devoted to citrus, another no-go in our zone. When I was out West this summer, one of the most beautiful garden combinations I had ever seen was lemons with purple African agapanthus planted at their feet. We can only dream about that kind of drama.

But if you are looking for visual inspiration, this book hands it over in spades. If offers an extensive encyclopedia of ornamental edibles and a chapter on herbs and flowers that complement the edibles. A chapter covers assessing what you have to work with, design, maintenance and the fundamentals of building good garden structure and support systems.

Sprinkled throughout are ideas for building folding trellis screens, solarizing soil, starting a carpet of thyme, espaliering a fruit tree and other helpful hints. This is a great book to get you fired up about the upcoming growing season.

Rebecca Rupp's "How Carrots Won the Trojan War: Curious (but True) Stories of Common Vegetables" (Storey Publishing, $14.95) is simply a lot of fun.

It is peppered with little-known, mostly historical facts about common vegetables that are delivered in a breezy, conversational style. This is a great bedside book that you can open to nearly any page and find something entertaining.

"Historically, foremost among American carrot fans was industrialist Henry Ford, whose passion for vegetables was perhaps second only to his fondness for the automobile. Ford was anti-milk ("the cow is the crudest machine in the world") and anti-meat (he promoted soybeans in lieu of beef and oatmeal crackers as a substitute for chicken), but he was devoted to the carrot, which, he was convinced, held the secret to longevity. At one point, he was the guest of honor at a 12-course, all-carrot dinner, which began with carrot soup and continued through carrot mousse, carrot salad, pickled carrots, carrots au gratin, carrot loaf and carrot ice cream all accompanied by glass after glass of carrot juice."

And Rupp adds interesting notes of a more modern nature as well. "Water and dirt repellent protective sprays like Scotchgard were inspired by the cleanliness-conscious cabbage. When scrutinized under an electron microscope, cabbage leaves prove to be covered with miniscule lumps and bumps, which in turn are coated with tiny, water-shedding wax crystals. Water, poured on a cabbage, simply rolls down the surface of these waxy bumps, collecting grime as it goes, which is why cabbage leaves are so sparklingly clean after a rain."

Michele Owens has done a rare thing with "Grow the Good Life: Why a Vegetable Garden Will Make You Happy, Healthy Wealthy and Wise" (Rodale Books, $24.99). She made "why" the focus rather than "how."

Owens, a contributor to the Garden Rant blog and various magazines, lays out her personal manifesto for why a vegetable garden should be part of your life.

She covers the practical to the spiritual and all parts in between. Owens is matter-of-fact, sometimes wise and sometimes very funny. She considers such topics as health, flavor and economics, but she also treats beauty and happiness as important.

Here she speaks about the prevailing concept of the suburban front yard: "It's easy to read in most yards something approaching paranoia about the natural world, as well as the desire for impeccability raised to lethal standards. There is no fruitfulness or mystery or joy, no sense of welcome to the other species that might possibly share such a yard, the way the birds share my vegetable garden. Nature is a cornucopia, but the average American landowner is a miser who disapproves of the feast."

This book beautifully presents the reasons this attitude should change. If you know anyone flirting with the idea of breaking soil for a new garden, this is the perfect gift.

DECEMBER IN THE GARDEN - December 16

PLANT

      Trees and shrubs may be planted throughout the month if the ground remains workable

PRUNE

     You may prune trees that have gone dormant. Remove congested growth that is growing toward the interior and any crossing branches that may rub, inviting open wounds and disease. Shrubs and trees are often easier to prune when their structure is revealed after leaf drop.

FERTILIZE

There is no need to fertilize any outdoor plants at this time

OTHER

Some tips when selecting a Christmas tree

 Buy early and buy local

   Pick the tree up and bump the trunk on the ground. You should see some brown needles fall, but not green needles. Green needles falling indicate the tree has dried out.

   Run your hand along a branch to see if needles pull off easily. Needles should appear flexible and fresh and not come off in your hand

  Check the trunk for splits and straightness. A cracked trunk will dry out faster. Branches on the trunk 6 to 8 inches from the ground will have to be removed to accommodate most ring style Christmas tree stands

    Whether you have cut your own tree this year or bought it at a lot, cut a sliver off the butt to enable the tree to take up water when you are putting it in the stand. If you have to wait awhile before it goes up place it in a bucket of water on the north side of the house.