Does someone you’re planning to buy a gift for like or want to garden? Or… do you think they might benefit from a few gardening tips? Here are some new books you might want to consider buying for them.
One positive aspect of the COVID-19 lockdown is that a lot of people paid more attention to their homes and the ground around them, and to the unique landscape where they live. The plants and animals right here in the Willamette Valley are unlike anywhere else on Earth, and here are books which can help you to keep a garden, right here, or elsewhere.
“The Beginner’s Guide to Growing Great Vegetables” by Lorene Edwards Forkner.
This book will help you grow veggies from the soil on down. Published by Timber Press in March of 2021, you can find this book at most sellers, or ask for it to be ordered if they don’t currently carry it. According to The American Gardener, “Lorene Edwards Forkner offers a comprehensive guide for growing vegetables and herbs filled with hands-on advice and time-tested techniques.”
“Under Western Skies: Visionary Gardens from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Coast” by Jennifer Jewell. 
Also from Timber Press, this book came out in May of 2021. If you look into this book, you are liable to come away feeling a bit visionary yourself. Sunset Magazine calls this book “both poetic and practical.”
“The Nature of Oaks: The Rich Ecology of Our Most Essential Native Trees” by Douglas W. Tallamy.
The Willamette Valley used to be almost all oak savannah, and oaks are still an important part of our ecosystem. NYT best-selling author Tallamy’s new book encourages us to be good stewards of our planet by planting oaks.
“The Hummingbird Handbook: Everything You Need to Know about These Fascinating Birds” by John Shewey.
Who doesn’t like hummingbirds — what with their nearly invisible wings, which make them look as though they are skimming the air? Well, Shewey loves them enough to have written this wonderful book about how to create a haven for them.
“Grow Bag Gardening: The Revolutionary Way to Grow Bountiful Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, and Flowers in Lightweight, Eco-friendly 
Fabric Pots” by Kevin Espiritu.
Keep things simple: put some dirt in a bag, hang it up and grow plants in it. No heavy lifting! No digging!
“Gardening in Summer-Dry Climates: Plants for a Lush, Water-Conscious Landscape” by Nora Harlow and Saxon Holt.
This book is all about choosing the best plants for your climate for a garden that thrives and supports the natural world. This is a wonderful guide to climate-adapted gardening.
“The Beginner’s Guide to Mushrooms: Everything You Need to Know, from Foraging to Cultivating” by Britt Bunyard and Tavis Lynch.
Do NOT count on a simple illustrated guidebook to safely introduce you to wild mushroom foraging. It is a sport only slightly less dangerous than hunting big game. There are three species of mushroom in Oregon that are more likely to kill you than a rattlesnake, a wolf, or a brown bear.
Let the great photographs in this guide help you find the best that Oregon has to offer. 
“A Woman’s Garden: Grow Beautiful Plants and Make Useful Things – Plants and Projects for Home, Health, Beauty, Healing, and More” by Tanya Anderson.
From making your own dyes from plants to growing those plants you make the dye from, Anderson tells you how to do it all.
“Micro Food Gardening: Project Plans and Plants for Growing Fruits and Veggies in Tiny Spaces” by Jennifer McGuinness.
McGuinness is quite an enthusiast for micro-gardening, and who can blame her? Raising cute little plants that actually yield meals? Too cool! 
“Tiny Plants: Discover the Joys of Growing and Collecting Itty-bitty Houseplants” by Leslie F. Halleck.
Garden Culture Magazine also has a lot to say about “micro-edibles.” Even if you have no yard at all, you can still garden.
“Complete Container Herb Gardening: Design and Grow Beautiful, Bountiful Herb-Filled Pots” by Sue Goetz.
Raising kitchen herbs in little pots is a more traditional form of “micro-gardening,” and having fresh herbs on hand can definitely improve a dish immensely.
By John M. Burt
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