When making a list, check it twice for gardeners, then consider books
Most gardeners value gardening books as a Christmas gift. Here are some titles to consider as a gift for your gardener.
For butterfly lovers
Butterflies, and especially the initiative to save monarchs, are of major interest to many gardeners, so they should have a general butterfly resource book such as “Butterfly Gardening for The South” by Geyata Ajilvsgi. It’s the perfect, basic how-to text to get a butterfly garden started. It is a great resource on what plants are the favorite sources of nectar and as egg-laying sites.
More essential information is provided by “Field Guide to Butterflies of North America” by Jim Brock and Kenn Kaufman, which helps identify the many species that live in Texas, and “Caterpillars in the Field and Garden: A Field Guide to the Butterfly Caterpillars of North America” by Thomas Allen, Jim Brock and Jeffrey Glassberg, which explores the importance of caterpillars in increasing butterfly populations.
For bird lovers
If the gardener on your Christmas list is interested in birds, consider “Attracting Birds to Southern Gardens” by Thomas Pope, Neil Odenwald and Charles Fryling Jr. This has great advice on how to make a landscape more desirable to visiting and breeding birds, including hummingbirds.
If you think your gardener would want even more information about hummingbirds, consider “The Hummingbird Book: The Complete Guide to Attracting, Identifying, and Enjoying Hummingbirds” by Donald and Lillian Stokes.
For basic plant/vegetable information
For a guide to help the gift recipient make decisions about what plants to select and how to arrange them to make their landscape attractive and consistent with the family’s needs, take a look at “Texas Home Landscaping” by Greg Grant and Roger Holmes. The authors organize the topics by the landscape problems they address. Instead of wading through a whole book to find an answer, you can look up the challenge, such as planting in the shade, a green screen to block a view, providing autumn color and many other specific problems.
For specific information about individual ornamental plants, there are several books I recommend:
“Native Texas Plants: Landscaping Region by Region” by Sally Wasowski
“Neil Sperry's Lone Star Gardening” by Neil Sperry
“Perennial Garden Color” by William C. Welch
For vegetable and fruit gardening, check out Sam Cotner’s “The Vegetable Book: A Texan's Guide to Gardening” and “Growing Fruits and Nuts in the South: The Definitive Guide” by William Adams and Thomas Leroy.
For a short write-up on every tree your gardener will experience in Texas, consider “Texas Trees: A Friendly Guide” by Paul Cox and Patty Leslie. It is an excellent resource.
The recommended books can be found at area bookstores and at internet sites in addition to some area nurseries. Those that are out of print are often still available at used book outlets.
As pleased as gardeners are when they receive resource books as presents, a gift certificate to their favorite nursery is also very much appreciated. Some nurseries sell the books that I have identified, so they fit together well.
A gift certificate allows gardeners to purchase their plants when they are ready to plant them. Plants always fare better
This week in the garden
It is later than recommended to plant the seeds of spring blooming wildflowers, but it is better to plant the seed now than wait a whole growing season. Plant the seed in full sun where it can make contact with the soil.
Plant onion transplants in the vegetable garden now. If they are planted every 2 inches in a row, the middle two plants can be harvested as green onions in the winter to make room for full-size bulb development for harvest in May.
Consider using a live Christmas tree to decorate for the holidays and then plant it in the landscape. Arizona cypress, Deodar cedar, Italian stone pine and Aleppo pine are good choices for a large landscape tree. Sheared ornamental cedars and rosemary are often used for small landscape plants after the holidays.
Cyclamen are very decorative for color in the shade. Be prepared to cover them with fabric if the forecast predicts temperatures of 30 degrees or less.