As the holiday season approaches, our thoughts turn to gift-giving to special friends and family members. Gardeners and those who love gardens appreciate books that focus on garden and nature-related topics. Penn State Extension Master Gardeners of Butler County share a few of their favorite garden and nature books for novice and experienced gardeners.

Mary Alice Koeneke suggests three garden-related books. The first is “The Garden Primer” (Workman Publishing Co., 2008). This second edition of Barbara Damrosch's classic gardening book has everything possible to guide a novice, intermediate or experienced gardener.

The chapters provide fundamental information on nearly every gardening topic imaginable and in a logical sequence from general information contained in Chapters 1-4: What Plants Need; Planning Your Landscape; Gardening Gear, and How to Buy Plants to individual chapters on types of plants: annuals, perennials, trees, shrubs, bulbs, roses, etc., including houseplants.

Information on growing plants includes over 370 types and varieties. Appendices include plant zone hardiness maps, botanical and gardening organizations and societies, mail order sources, and additional references.

Her second recommended book is “Gardening for Butterflies” (Timber Press, 2016).

The Xerces Society, which edited this book, helps protect invertebrates by implementing education and conservation programs that bring scientific knowledge to people interested in learning about the value of invertebrates including butterflies and moths.

This book's nationwide scope provides details on what individuals can do to help save butterflies by incorporating native plants in their landscapes. Chapters explain the important role butterflies play in nature and why they are in population decline. How to design and plant a butterfly garden using native wildflowers, grasses, trees and shrubs that are attractive and beneficial to butterflies are described.

Butterfly gardening techniques are applicable to any sized landscape throughout the United States.

Suggestions for becoming active in Citizen Science projects that focus on butterfly conservation and appendices list additional reading recommendations and resources for more information are included.

“Wildflowers of Pennsylvania” (Venture Graphics, 2001) is authored by Mary Jo Haywood, RSM, PhD, Phyllis Testal Monk, M.Ed. and members of the Botanical Society of Pennsylvania and is Koeneke's third book choice.

While the book's focus is the northeastern region of Pennsylvania, it remains a valuable resource for those residing in or visiting anywhere in the commonwealth.

Detailed photographs illustrate the herbaceous plant species but not the flowering trees or shrubs, though a few are included.

Line drawings of leaf forms and flowering types are found inside the covers, and two glossaries are included.

The content is arranged according to the accepted taxonomy of plant families when the book was published in 2001. Although there have been many updates and alterations to the taxonomy of plants since then, this text remains quite usable.

Introduced (nonnative) plants are noted. Each species's description includes the scientific and common name; shape and size of leaves, petals, flowers; habitat and region of occurrence in Pennsylvania; and bloom period.

This book is a wonderful reference for those who use wildflowers in their garden and landscapes or those who simply wish to identify wildflowers while hiking or visiting Pennsylvania natural areas.

Paul Scanlon's favorite book for beginning gardeners is “The Vegetable Gardener's Bible” (Storey Publishing, 2009). This comprehensive text, written by Edward C. Smith, thoroughly covers topics related to successful vegetable gardening including planning basics such as companion planting, crop rotation, tools, and all about how to get higher yields with less work.

Soil health and pest and disease control, along with an index of vegetables and herbs, with planting and harvesting details, completes this book. This text serves as a refresher for planning each year's garden.  

Scanlon also suggests Rodale's “Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening” (Rodale Press, 2018 edition), edited by Fern Marshall Bradley, Barbara W. Ellis and Ellen Phillips.

This over 700-page technical reference is an indispensable resource for gardeners seeking to use organic practices. 

Carolyn Glendening suggests a genre of art books that illustrate the beauty of nature.

Beatrix Potter's “Art: A Selection of Art and Paintings” (Warne, 1990), written by Anne Stevenson Hobbs, compiles 200 full-color examples of Potter's artwork.

Gardeners may find interest in learning more about Potter, a gardener who kept beautiful journals and who made important discoveries that did not get attributed to her because she was a woman.

In addition to this book, other texts detailing Potter's work include “The Art of Beatrix Potter: Sketches, Paintings and Illustrations” (Chronicle Books, 2016) edited by Emily Zach, and “Beatrix Potter and a Life in Nature” (St. Martin's Griffin, 2016), written by Linda Lear and James Rebanks.

A fun book that I recommend is “The Steel City Garden” (St. Lynn's Press, 2013).

Written by Doug Oster, Western Pennsylvania's gardening celebrity expert, this book honors Pittsburgh's sports teams by illustrating how to plant a black and gold garden.

Annuals, perennials, vegetables, fruits, foliage, shrubs and trees in shades and hues of black and gold serve as the book's focus. Oster gives practical suggestions on how to design with and maintain these plants in the garden as well as containers.

Plants are organized alphabetically within their characteristics (annuals and perennials, fruits and vegetables, etc). The usual gold and yellow flowers and shrubs are included, but there are a few surprises, such as cornflower (Centaurea montana “Black Sprite”), golden rain tree (Koelreuteria paniculata), and radish (Raphanus sativus “Round Black Spanish”).

Oster provides examples of gardeners and their black and gold gardens. This book serves double duty for gardeners and sports fans alike.

Mary Reefer's favorite book is “Month-by-Month Gardening: Pennsylvania” (Cool Springs Press, 2001). Written by Liz Ball and George Weigel, this text offers step by step preparations for a successful gardening year, specific to our commonwealth.

For children, Diane Dallos recommends “From Seed to Pumpkin” from the Let's Read and Find Out Science Series (HarperCollins, 2015), written by Wendy Pfeffer.

For gardeners of all ages, “The Lorax” by Dr. Seuss (Random House Books for Young Readers, 1971) teaches a lesson in environmental stewardship. In addition to print versions, check for these books read aloud in online videos posted on social media.

Dallos recommends “Pennsylvania Butterflies and Moths: A Folding Pocket Guide to Familiar Species” (Waterford Press, 2018) as a take-along book while hiking. James Kavanaugh authored this tri-fold brochure sized, laminated text with bold photos that makes butterfly and moth identification easy.

For a serious textbook, the new edition of the “Penn State Extension Master Gardener Manual” (updated to include an index) is available for sale through the Penn State Extension (https://extension.psu.edu/master-gardener-manual). This comprehensive text is used by the Penn State Extension Master Gardeners for their training and as a reference.

These books are a brief foray into the hundreds of books for and about gardening.

In addition to print books, electronic books are available to read online or with an electronic device.

From serious to whimsy, books offer gardeners knowledge and beauty, with the hope of spring during the cold of winter.

Lisa Marie Bernardo, Ph.D., RN, is a Penn State Master Gardener of Butler County.