Gardens

Each year as we anticipate spring, our thoughts turn to gardens. We have the Chicago Botanical Gardens to visit and enjoy. Visiting gardens promises a return to a state of wonderment with freedom to explore and discover. Most gardens also promise tranquility and peace.

Our Library has numerous garden books including specialty gardening. Here are three books on specific kinds of gardens:


Creating a Garden of the Senses by Jenny Hendy
This special book was written for the gardener who wants to create a sensory paradise. Ms. Hendy shares ways to use fragrance, touch, sound, taste and visual drama in your garden. She includes 250 exquisite photographs of flowers, gardens and water features.


Delia's Kitchen Garden by Delia Smith and Gay Search
In the beginning there are basic chores to do before planting vegetables: preparing your soil, starting a compost pile. Then there are tips on sowing seeds indoors and outdoors. The two authors take us through the year of the life of a kitchen gardener. Seasonal recipes are included.


Shade by Keith Wiley
Even though every garden has some shade, many are heavily shaded. Keith Wiley, an award-winning garden expert presents shade gardening in a positive light. He recommends using wild woodland plants from around the world to create colorful gardens in shaded areas.


Here are two fascinating books of fiction; one about a gardener for royal gardens in 17th century England and the other about tulip fever in the 1630's in Amsterdam.


Earthly Joys by Philippa Gregory
John Tradescant's fame and skill as a gardener are unsurpassed in 17th century England. He is also a valued servant for Sir Robert Cecil, adviser to King James the 1st. He witnesses the making of history from the Gunpowder Plot to the accession of Charles the 1st.


Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach
In 17th century Amsterdam, the populace is intrigued with the newly discovered exotic tulip. Wealthy merchant, Cornelis Sandvoort, has one love, his beautiful and young wife, Sophia. As he yearns for an heir, he commissions a portrait of the couple by a talented young painter, Jan Van Loos. As the portrait grows on canvas, a love grows between Sophia and Jan. Events move toward a climax, bringing to life a world of art, beauty, lust, greed, deception and tulips.