WESTPORT – Some of my favorite holiday gifts of all time are books. I still own a tattered tome of Uncle Wiggly stories that my grandmother gave me one Christmas as a young girl. And along the way, I have collected some other treasured books that friends and family have given me for the holidays.
So, if you are searching for the perfect gift for your gardening friends this year, why not choose a book? In this age when we spend so much time on screens, it’s a gift just to hold a beautiful gardening book in your hands and marvel at the pictures. I have made it easy for you by compiling some of my favorite gardening books and asking some local experts for their recommendations.
Westonite Alice Ely, a UConn advanced master gardener, recommends some books that are not only beautiful but will get lots of use as gardeners will go back to them time and time again.
Who doesn’t need help when it comes to pruning? It’s certainly a topic I have gotten questions about since starting this column. Alice’s favorite book to revisit is “Guide to Pruning” by Cass Turnbull.
Native plants, also an important and timely topic, are explored in another of her recommendations: “Native Plants of the Northeast,” by Donald Leopold. The comprehensive book contains more than 700 species of native trees, shrubs, vines, ferns, grasses and wildflowers, with information on attracting butterflies, hummingbirds and other wildlife.
For veggie gardeners, Cathy suggests a book by Joe Lamp’l, a sustainable gardening expert who spoke at the Westport Library last summer. I was lucky enough to chat with Joe and learn some of the ideas he includes in “The Vegetable Gardening Book.” It’s a great read for those new to vegetable gardening and for those who want to fine-tune their skills. For even more book suggestions, check out Joe’s list here.
For Nathalie Fonteyne, president of the Westport Garden Club and UConn master gardener, any book by Doug Tallamy makes a perfect gift. Maybette Waldron, president of the Greens Farms Garden Club, agrees, calling Tallamy a steward of the earth. He is a leader in conservation who encourages people to use native plants in their yards and to support local ecosystems. Alice recommends Tallamy’s “Bringing Nature Home” as a book everyone should read and share.
When it comes to conservation, few topics are as important as composting. It’s something we should all learn more about. Paul Rossi, another Westport resident and UConn master gardener, recommends “Composting for a New Generation” by Michelle Balz. He says the book balances practical techniques and clear explanations of the “why’ behind composting.
If you would like an author-signed gardening book as a gift, Cathy Gilbertie-Knipper, who handles communications for Gilbertie’s Garden Center at 7 Sylvan Lane, has just the suggestion. The store is holding a book signing and reading with Clark Lawrence on Saturday, Nov. 22. Lawrence, who resides in Italy, will share stories from both his literary journey and his garden. Two of his books will be available for him to sign, including “Small Plot.”
And for herb enthusiasts, what better book is there than the one written by Cathy’s father, Sal Gilbertie? Along with Larry Sheehan, Sal wrote “Herb Gardening from the Ground Up,” which I found essential in creating my first herb garden 30 years ago. I even used some of the garden plans in the book as a jumping-off point to create my own design that I brought to life in my backyard. To this day, I often go back to this book for inspiration.
But my favorite gardening book of all time is “Tasha Tudor’s Garden” by Connecticut’s Tovah Martin. While Tasha has since passed away, Tovah spent time with the famous children’s illustrator in her 1740s New Hampshire farmhouse, where she lived an old- fashioned existence and cultivated beautiful gardens. The pictures alone in this book, captured by Richard W. Brown, are worth revisiting time and again. But it also includes some of Tasha’s secrets for growing antique flowers and will inspire anyone to spend more time in their backyard.
Another gardening idol of mine as a former member of the Garden Club of Newtown is Sydney Eddison, a past member herself, who still resides in town. I was lucky enough to attend a tea and poetry reading by Sydney, who has several books of poetry inspired by the beauty of Connecticut. My favorite, “Where We Walk: Poems Rooted in the Soil of New England,” is a perfect book to pick up instead of a cell phone when you have a few idle moments.
Do you have children on your gift-giving list? Don’t forget to nurture the gardeners of the
future with books that will inspire a love of nature. While every book by Eric Carle is a masterpiece, I particularly love “The Tiny Seed.” It comes both as a board book and paperback for the tiniest hands. And for older children, I recommend the classic tale “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I recently re-read this myself and found it just as delightful as I did as a young reader.
So, when purchasing holiday gifts this year, why not include a book that will make recipients remember that spring is just around the corner? And while you are at it, you just might want to pick up one or two of these for yourself.
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Kerri Williams
Kerri Williams is an award-winning writer and journalist. She has worked as a reporter at the Norwalk Hour, as Living editor at the Darien News-Review, and managing editor for the Norwalk Citizen-News. For Westport Journal, she is a reporter as well as a gardening columnist, writing “Cultivating with Kerri.” She recently published her first children’s book – “Mabel’s Big Move,” based on her daughter with special needs.
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