Archive.org has a host of old gardening books (from mid-19th to mid-20th Century) available in many formats and on a host of topics. I happened across a few in my Pinterest feed and gone completely down the rabbit hole in this treasure trove of information. Sure some ideas might be out of date, but you never know what you might find when you explore these catalogs. I’ll be sharing more catalogs as I find them in the coming weeks. –Douglas
Historical Garden Books: Landscape garden series by Ralph Rodney Root (1921) – 44 in a series
Download in Text, PDF, Single Page JPG, TORRENT from Archive.org
PREFACE TO THE LANDSCAPE GARDEN SERIES
“I never had any other desire so strong and so lie to covetousness, as that one which I have had always, that I might be master at last of a small house and a large garden.” — Abraham Cowley, 1618-1667.
GARDENING is one of the most inexpensive and entertaining pastimes the year round. The gardening year is divided into four regular seasons: winter, or planning time; spring, or planting time; summer, or enjoyment time; autumn, or the season for the harvest of vegetables and fruits. A study of the average home grounds in America seems to show that few people have grasped the principles of garden design or have given to this phase of home making the attention that it deserves.
The object of the Landscape Garden Series is to sei-ve as a guide to garden care and planning. It is not the object of the authors to cover each subject, of this series, in an exhaustive manner, but rather to include in these books such information as will be found helpful in planning and caring for private places.
It has been the endeavor of the writers of this series to avoid sentimental effusions upon incidental details of gardening. Such articles and books upon the subject of^ gardening have done untold good in arousing interest in this fascinating pastime, but it has seemed to the authors of this series that their inspirational literature is not supplemented frequently enough by clear exposition of the fundamental theories of good planning, and by practical information as to how these ideas may be carried out.
The material in these booklets has been arranged so that each phase of landscape work can be studied conveniently and the separate books used as a part of the garden equipment. There is necessarily some duplication in the various papers of the series. It was thought best, in many cases, to permit this dupHcation, especially when such repetition assists in driving home certain fundamental principles.
If through these books a desire can be created for better designed home grounds, and if these books will assist the home owner in making this desire a reality, the authors will feel well repaid for the thought and care which has been required in the arrangement of the material.
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