The original idea for this article was an in-depth review of a single book, much like last December’s Planting in a Post-Wild World. But I struggled to pick just one, and finally decided to alert readers to several new books worth exploring this winter. I discovered several of these books among the list of winners of the American Horticultural Society’s Book Awards of 2023. The AHS chooses three winners and several honorable mentions each year, and the summaries and comments by members of the awards committee were my primary source of guidance for this article.
100 Plants to Feed the Birds (Laura Erickson, Storey Publishing 2022)
*** American Horticultural Society Book Award Winner, 2023
Many of us gardeners are bird-lovers, and if you fit that category, you’ll definitely want to consult this book. But it will be useful to all of us who now choose plants with the needs of our ecosystem in mind. The author identifies 100 native shrubs, trees, perennials, annuals, and grasses that provide food, shelter, or nesting materials for birds, and it details what each plant provides as well as the particular birds it benefits and attracts. Also included is basic information about each plant’s required growing conditions and native range.
Laura Erickson is a bird expert. She has received the Roger Tory Peterson award from the American Birding Association, served as science editor at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and is an editor of two birding journals, Bird Scope and Birdwatching.
Bloom: The Secrets of Growing Flowering Houseplants Year-Round by Lisa Steinkopf (Cool Springs Press 2022)
***Honorable Mention, American Horticultural Society Book Awards, 2023
If you have a houseplant that blooms year-round, you know the joy they can bring to a winter day. Who wouldn’t want more of them? It turns out, however, that quite a few year-round bloomers are kind of finicky. But this book shows you the tricks to getting these recalcitrant bloomers to do just that. The author, Lisa Steinkopf is known as “The Houseplant Guru,” and you may be familiar with her blog, thehouseplantguru.com. She is the author of two other books, Houseplants and Grow in the Dark. Here’s what renowned horticulturist Allan Armitage has to say about Bloom:
“I confess! I am far more at home in my outside garden than I am tending plants indoors. From orchids and African violets to amaryllis and kalanchoe, I need help. And now I have it. I have always been a fan of Lisa because she explains what to do in an easy-to-understand style. In this book, she also explains why I should be doing it. The in-depth discussions of photoperiod and types of lights are enlightening, and the plant-by-plant guides are invaluable. I recommend this book for anyone wishing to bring the outdoors in.”
―Allan Armitage, author of Armitage’s Garden Perennials
Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden by Camille T. Dungy (Simon & Schuster 2023)
This is not a how-to book; rather, it is a meditative story of one woman’s efforts to transform her manicured yard into a diverse and lively garden. Camille Dungy, who is a poet and professor at Colorado State University, referred to these back-breaking efforts as her “prairie project,” a process that led her to reflect on diversity among humans, as well as a number of today’s most contentious topics. For those of us who think our best thoughts in and amongst plants, Dungy’s ruminations will resonate. As Dungy explained in an NPR interview,
For a politically-engaged person, “a garden can be a balm,” she says. “A garden can be a place of rest and beauty, and a retreat from that persistent, difficult work. But a garden also teaches me patience, and teaches me that … the work of a politically-engaged person often requires true patience. And the garden supports my belief that that patience can very frequently pay off.”
Dungy has also written Guidebook to Relative Strangers: Journeys into Race, Motherhood, and History, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award.
American Roots: Lessons and Inspiration from the Designers Reimagining our Home Gardens by Nick McCullough, Allison McCullough & Teresa Woodard (Timber Press, 2022)
If you long to visit the home gardens of expert gardeners, this book is for you. The authors visited 20 home gardens across America and reported on each one with lots of photographs as well as tips from the gardeners who created and maintain them.
A Gardener’s Guide to Botany
by Scott Zona (Cool Springs Press, 2022)
***American Horticultural Society Book Award Winner, 2023
Reviewers have hailed this book as helpful to readers at “all levels” of prior botanical knowledge. One reviewer also noted that “a chapter on seed dispersal offered insights into the complex interrelationships of plants and animals.”
American Horticultural Society Book Awards, https://ahsgardening.org/gardening-programs/national-awards/book-awards/
“She ripped up her manicured lawn and challenged the norms of gardening stories,” National Public Radio, https://www.npr.org/2023/05/05/1172727763/garden-gardening-book-writing-soil-dungy (5/5/23)
A Way to Garden Podcast and NPR Radio Show/Books, awaytogarden.com/Margaret Roach/American Roots with Nick McCullough
“Gardening Book Reviews Spring 2023,” Horticulture Magazine, www.hortmag.com
Camille Dungy, Colorado State University/colostate.edu/people
simonandschuster.com/books/Soil/Camille-T-Dungy/9781982195304
