Officially it's still winter, but I saw my first crocus this week and that seemed like a good enough reason to list some gardening books. :-) (I can't help but wonder that the crocus might be in for a surprise since we could still get a cold snap. Or worse).

I picked up this book because I like Jefferson, and because a good friend wrote a paper about historic gardens when we were in grad school. "A Rich Spot of Earth": Thomas Jefferson's Revolutionary Garden at Monticello, by Peter J. Hatch. I will admit here that I mostly just looked at the pictures (beautiful) because there was an awful lot of 'gardening' stuff (no surprise there) ;-) but I did learn that Jefferson grew artichokes! I spent a little more time reading the chapter on restoration since that fit in with my friend's paper. There are several books about Thomas Jefferson on my post for August 26, 2014.

I will admit I found this book to be a bit to much for my non-gardening self, but my neighbor, who does garden, enjoyed it, and, because it fits this trail so beautifully I decided to include it. Founding Gardeners: the Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation, by Andrea Wulf. It's all about the gardens of Washington, Jefferson, Madison and so forth. Lots and lots of information!

Do you like gardens with a twist? Those that appear random and wild, and with a surprise every now and then? You'll find many of them in Garden Whimsy, by Tovah

Martin and Richard W. Brown.

What do you do with a used up limestone quarry? You create a garden, of course! The Story of Butchart Gardens, by Dave Preston is a delightful story about an amazing woman who started small but ended up with on of the best known gardens in the world.

Reading Hermit With Dog