Good reads

Elysium Artists folks love to read, so we thought we’d share our favorites with you, on the off chance that you hadn’t found these treasures yet. We recognize that all gardening is not done outside so we encourage you to grab a cat, a cup of tea and settle in for some inspiration from the pages of these books and magazines.

And if you have a favorite that we should add to our list, do share!

Magazines

Of course Horticulture and Fine Gardening are favorites. When we moved from the “family home” the big decision was what to do with my old copies of these two journals. I love them, and I've considered purchasing duplicate subscriptions just so I could file the beautiful pages away. I’ve also found that Taunton, the company that publishes Fine Gardening, prints many other gorgeous magazines and books. So check them out. They are worth your time.

BBC Garden’s Illustrated is passed between our neighbors. We love it. This is where we begin our list of gardens to be visited and we loved reading the article about gardeners complaining about the fox problem. How to deter… How to enjoy… Go figure.

And don’t miss The English Garden. You'll love the huge pages with beautiful color. We think this is the best photography we’ve found. Andrew Lawson, who we had the opportunity to meet at Sissinghurst and again at Rosemary Verey’s Barnsley House garden, is one of the photographers. The photography is simply gorgeous!

Books

A Garden Gallery; The Plants, Art, and Hardscape of Little and Lewis.

This gorgeous book is filled to the brim with photographs, art and the philosophies of George Little and David Lewis. Tropical plantings, concrete sculpture and paint bring this garden to life. Visit it if you can, and if you can't, buy the book. We did both.

Pruning by Christopher Brickell. This book walks anyone through the process of pruning roses, shrubs, fruit bushes and trees. We lost our first copy (permanently borrowed by a gardening nun) and searched for our second. If you find this out of print treasure, hold on to it.

A Year at North Hill: Four Seasons in a Vermont Garden by Joe Eck and Wayne Winterrowd. It isn’t often that you find a garden book where the writing shines as bright as the photographs. This one does. The writing is brilliant, the vocabulary enormous and I actually found myself stopping to consider the power of the writing instead of falling into the photos.

Tasha Tudor’s Garden by Tovah Martin. This is the book we went to find and reread after reading A Year at North Hill. We love it! Tovah walks us through this special garden while retaining Tasha’s privacy. Richard Brown’s photos amaze me and our only complaint is that we never get to see the greenhouse.

Tending Your Garden, A Year-Round Guide to Garden Maintenanceby Gordon and Mary Hayward is our newest favorite. A book that appeals to beginners and old timers with chapters like "Bed Maintenance", "Leaf Management" and Seasonal Checklists. And, this book is a hoot for folks that don't live in Vermont where the gardening season is just six months long.

Bookstores

Powell’s Books is a national treasure. Located here in Portland, Oregon, it is often our after dinner destination. A full city block, four stories tall, it is said to be the largest independent bookstore west of the Mississippi. We don’t go a week without a visit, and the garden section will blow your socks off. New and used, it is the perfect place to find that out of print book you loaned to a former neighbor. For those of you that live out of Portland, the website is stellar.

Publishers

Timber Press — This little gem, right here in Portland, Oregon, is a resource not to be missed. Get a hold of their catalog for a good afternoon of reading. You can order direct and I’ve found discounts on some of my purchases! Yahoo!