I have over 60 gardening books on the shelves overlooking my desk.  They peer at me everyday willing me to open them and harness their power.  I love gardening books.  I have a weakness for vintage gardening books.  The following is a list of the books on my shelves and over time I will make it a point to review as many as possible.  Once a book is reviewed I will link the title to the review post so that you can see what does and does not work for me.  I will remind readers that I live in the maritime Pacific Northwest and some books are regional specific and some are not even available outside of the western United States.

All Purpose Gardening

Sunset Western Garden Book (3 editions, including a 1954 1st edition that I picked up at Powell’s Books in Portland, OR)

The Green Thumb Garden Handbook – Doc & Katy Abraham (2nd edition)

Better Homes & Garden New Complete Guide to Gardening

Better Homes & Garden Gardening in the Shade

Horticulture Gardener’s Desk Reference – Halpin & Macmillan

The New Gardener – Pippa Greenwood

Encyclopedia of Gardening – American Horticulture Society

Suburban Farmer’s Handbook – Jack Kramer

Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades

Square Foot Gardening

Technical Manuals:

Manual of Woody Landscape Plants – Michael Dirr

Manual of Herbaceous Ornamental Plants – Still & Stipes

Nursery Management: Administration & Culture

Botany for Gardeners – Capon

Dirr’s Hardy Trees & Shrubs – Michael Dirr

Greenhouse Operation and Management – Nelson

Dictionary of Plant Names – Coombes

How to Identify Plants – Harrington & Durell

Regional Specific:

Propagation of Pacific Northwest Native Plants – Rose, Chachulski, Haase

Plants of the Pacific Northwest – Pojar & Mackinnon

The Pacific Northwest Gardener’s Book of Lists – Ray and Jan McNeilan

Low Water Use Plants for California and the Southwest – Shuler

Pests & Diseases:

Landscape Plant Problems – Cooperative Extension Washington State University

Pacific Northwest Integrated Pest Management Manual – Cooperative Extension Washington State University

Western Garden Problem Solver – Sunset

The Gardener’s Guide to Common-Sense Pest Control – Olkowski, Door, Olkowski

Flower Garden Problem Solver – Ball & Ball

Landscaping:

Infinite Spaces: The Art and Wisdom of the Japanese Garden

Better Homes and Garden Home Landscaping

The Garden Design Book

The Ultimate Garden Planner – Peter McHoy

The Border Book – Anna Pavord

Home Landscaping: Northwest Region – Holmes & Marshall

Special Collection of Backyard Makeovers – Sunset

Landscaping with Fruits & Vegetables – Fred Hagy

Landscape Design & Construction – Black & Decker

Western Landscaping Book – Sunset

Residential Landscape Architecture – Booth & Hiss

Herb Garden Design – Swanson and Rady

Small Spaces, Beautiful Gardens – Keith Davitt

Better Homes and Garden Step by Step Landscaping

Turf Grass:

Handbook of Successful Ecological Lawn Care – Sachs

Irrigation:

The Complete Irrigation Workbook – Franzak & Foster

Technique:

Pruning & Training – Brickell & Joyce

Plant Propagation – Alan Toogood

Indoor Gardening:

The House Plant Expert – Dr. D.G. Hessayon

Indoor Gardening

Ortho’s Guide to Successful Houseplants

Simon & Schuster’s Guide to Houseplants

Container Gardening:

Container Gardening – Sunset

The Ultimate Container Gardener – Stephanie Donaldson

Plant Specific:

The Rose Bible – Reddell

Rose Gardening – Traditional Home

Better Homes & Garden

Gardening in the Shade

Pictorial Guide to Perennials

Others:

Western Fertilizer Handbook

Growertalks on Retailing – Ball

The Soul of Soil – Chelsea Green

Outdoor Water Features – Alan & Gill Bridgewater

The Garden Color Book – Paul Williams