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Tis the season to do anything but work in your garden. Most of you probably have many inches of snow covering your garden by this time so your gardening fancies must be fulfilled in other ways. Even if you don't get snow in your location, the rainy season will keep all but the most dedicated gardeners indoors. In an effort to assuage your gardening angst and offer a few ideas for this gift giving season, here are some of my favorite books for gardeners.

Pat Welsh's Southern California Gardening : A Month-By-Month Guide

by Pat Welsh

<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0811822141/thewelchwritecom>

This is my favorite gardening guidebook for Southern California. Ms. Welsh has taught me everything I need to know about gardening in a state so different from Ohio, my home state. The month-by-month format allows me to see at a glance what should be done in the garden so that I can easily catch up when other concerns take me away from my garden.

I am so glad to see this new addition as the original book has been out-of-print for several years.

American Horticultural Society A To Z Encyclopedia Of Garden Plants

by Christopher Brickell

<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0789419432/thewelchwritecom>

An amazing compendium of plant information. Just what you need at hand when you want to look up the care, feeding or sunlight requirements for that plant you just found.

Sunset Western Garden Book

<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0376038500/thewelchwritecom>

Another one of my indispensable gardening reference books from the people at Sunset magazine <http://www.sunsetmag.com> . This was one of the first books I picked up when I started gardening again back in 1995. I find myself referring to it almost every day either for my own knowledge or looking up information for a friend or neighbor.

 

People With Dirty Hands : The Passion for Gardening

by Robin Chotzinoff

<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0028609905/thewelchwritecom>

This collection of real-life stories about gardeners and their gardens is fascinating. I found myself bolting through it in a few days. In the best compliment to any book, though, I have returned to read it again and again. As all of us gardeners know, gardens are really just an outward expression of the gardener who created them. "People with Dirty Hands" reinforces this by introducing you to some very interesting gardeners and their gardens.

Gardens of Obsession : Eccentric and Extravagant Visions

by Gordon Taylor, Guy Cooper

<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0297823736/thewelchwritecom>

This book takes you on a flight of fancy to some of the most eclectic gardens in the world. We can all use a good recharge of our gardening sensibilities and this book is one way to accomplish that. While we may never end up developing gardens as quirky as these, perhaps we can take a few small examples for them to use in our own gardens.

There are too many good gardening books to mention in this short space, but a trip to your local bookseller, whether online or down the street, can help you to engage in a little gardening thought, even if the ground is too frozen or muddy to work outside.

Keep digging!

Douglas