Gardening & Landscaping
Scope
Thomas Ford Memorial Library has a large collection of materials about gardening and landscaping. We define gardening broadly and collect materials on plants, gardening methods, tools, and plant pests and diseases. Care of trees, shrubs, and lawns is included. We also collect materials on residential landscaping, building garden structures, landscaping history, and famous gardens.
Books from the Collection
This is only a sample of the many books to be found in the library.
Best Garden Plants for Illinois by William Aldrich, 635.09773 ALD (2006)
Essential Garden Maintenance Workbook by Rosemary Alexander, 635 ALE (2006)
Flower Confidential by Amy Stewart, 338.1 STE (2007)
Fruit: An Illustrated History by Peter Blackburne-Maze, 634 BLA (2003)
Garden Insects of North America by Whitney Cranshaw, 635.0497 CRA (2004)
Gardens in Time by Alain le Toquin, 712.09 LET (2006)
Gardening with Heirloom Plants by David Stuart, 635 STU (1998)
Great Gardens, Great Designs by George Plumptre, 712 PLU (1994)
Growing Shrubs and Small Trees in Cold Climates by Nancy Rose, 635.976 ROS (2001)
Hardscaping: How to Use Structures, Pathways, Patios & Ornaments in Your Garden by Keith Davitt, 717 DAV (2006)
Landscapes and Gardens for Historic Buildings by Rudy Favretti, 712.6 FAV (1997)
New York Times 1000 Gardening Questions & Answers, 635 NEW (2003)
Organic Lawn Care Manual by Paul Broadway Tukey, 635.9647 TUK (2007)
Pattern Garden by Valerie Easton, 712.6 EAS (2007)
Pots in the Garden by Ray Rogers, 635.986 ROG (2007)
Resourceful Gardener’s Guide, 635 RES (2001)
Rodale’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of Perennials by Ellen Phillips, 635.932 PHI (2004)
Small Space Gardens by David Stevens, 712.6 STE (2003)
Truth About Garden Remedies by Jeff Gillman, 632.96 GIL (2006)
Winter Garden by Val Bourne, 635.953 BOU (2006)
You may find most books on gardening and landscaping in the nonfiction collection under these Dewey numbers:
[insert content below into table]
635 Gardening
635.6 Vegetables
635.7 Fruits
635.9 Garden plants
635.93 Flowers
635.9647 Lawn Care
635.965 House Plants
635.97 Trees and Shrubs
712 Landscaping
Reference Books
Though reference books stay in the library, the staff can use the collection to help you wherever you are. Call the reference staff at (708) 246-052 or e-mail a request to the library. We can answer your questions by phone or scan the information to send by email.
American Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants. R 635.9 AME
American Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Gardening: The Definitive Practical Guide to Gardening Techniques, Planning, and Maintenance. R 635 AME
Common-Sense Pest Control by William Olkowski. R 635.0496 OLK (1991)
Dirr’s Hardy Trees and Shrubs: An Illustrated Encyclopedia by Michael A. Dirr. R 635.977 DIR (1997)
Hillier Gardener’s Guide to Trees & Shrubs: A Directory of More Than 4,000 High-Performance Trees and Shrubs for the Garden. R 635.977 HIL (1997)
Native Trees for North American Landscapes by Guy Sternberg. R 635.977 STE (2004)
Tree & Shrub Handbook: Selection, Care, Pests, Diseases. 2nd ed. R 635.977 TRE (2002)
Magazines
These magazines regularly include news and advice in the areas of gardening and landscaping. Current issues may be read in the Reading Room. Older issues may be borrowed for three weeks.
American Gardener
Better Homes and Gardens
Birds In Bloom
Chicagoland Gardening
Fine Gardening
Garden Gate
Herb Quarterly
Horticulture
House and Garden
Midwest Living
Southern Living
Sunset
Databases
The Masterfile ELITE database from EBSCOhost is a great source for current gardening and landscaping information. It includes the contents of many of the magazines in the library as well as many other helpful publications.
The easiest way to search the database is by keywords. Searching for specific words, like “pruning” or “verbena,” is usually the best approach when researching gardening topics in this database. If your results are insufficient, try broader terms.
Feel free to ask the reference staff for assistance with this database. We can recommend keywords, walk you through a search by phone, or do the search and send you the results by email.
Websites
This site from the University of Illinois Extension Service is aimed at vegetable gardeners. While there is little information on specific plants, these are good guides to planning, planting, harvesting, and preserving vegetables. Pest and composting information is also included.
The University of Illinois Extension Service has produced an easy to use website with information for raising roses in the Midwest.
The University of Illinois Extension Service has put together advice for kids, their parents, and teachers. The site is colorful and includes instructive photographs.
National Gardening Association
This big website looks a little overwhelming. Most of the really good links are in the left column, including the Plant Finder, the Weed Library, and the Q and A Library. Along the top is a link to a section about gardening with children.
This website helps travelers. The portal section includes links to over 2700 botanical gardens, preserves, parks, and other nature sites in the United States and Canada. Each entry provides a description and contact information for the garden, as well as links to websites. The calendar section helps users identify special events at the gardens.
The popularity of container gardening is growing. The Master Gardeners at Colorado State University have written useful guides to help novices, especially those with little space.
The gardeners at Cornell University have divided their website into three section: flowers, vegetables, and lawn care. In each area they provide basic growing guides for specific plants, such as bleeding hearts, coreopsis, peppers, or Swiss chard. Garden design, pest advice, and lawn care calendars are also provided.
Lectures
Thanks to funding from the family of Pauline Kennedy, the Library hosts lectures on gardening and landscaping. Check our events page for current listings.
Local Resources
There are several area organizations that may help you with your gardening and landscaping information needs.
Western Springs Gardening Club (add contact info)
Morton Arboretum
Garfield Park Conservatory
Chicago Botanic Garden
Study Guide prepared by Rick Roche, Adult Services Librarian, March 2007, last updated April 2007.
More Guides | Investment | Government | Knitting | Another | Another | Another | Another | Another
