The trees in front of the library are just beginning to bloom.  So spring is here despite the ever-changeable weather.  As the weather improves, everyone’s attention turns to the out-of-doors.  The library has an extensive collection of gardening books and it makes great sense to take advantage of your public library to find new ideas for your gardens and home.

 

Two books might just be a good place to start.  Even those of us who regularly murder plants with either too much attention or not enough will find Kate Frey’s “Ground Rules” and Julie Moir Messery and Sarah Susanka’s “Outside the Not So Big House” inspiring with their gorgeous full-color photographs and pages of helpful advice.

               

Kate Frey is a gardening expert who brings her knowledge to both amateur and professional alike in “Ground Rules: 100 Easy Lessons for Growing a More Glorious Garden.”  She divulges the secrets she’s learned through decades of gardening including lessons on garden design, healthy soil, plant choices, container planting and attracting pollinators.  By following these 100 simple rules, even the worst purple-thumb will have a gorgeous home garden.

               

Landscape designer Julie Moir Messery and best-selling author Sarah Susanka combine their skills to teach you how to bring your house and garden into harmony.  In “Outside the Not So Big House,” this duo teaches you everything you need to know about the design concepts essential to extend your home beyond its four walls. 

 

Vividly photographed and illustrated with helpful drawings, this book teaches you how to make the most of your site, open-up the house to the garden, and how to bring it all together.  Using twenty homes from across the country to illustrate these ideas, Sarah Susanka’s interior design inspirations for a not-so-big-house are brilliantly combined with Julie Moir Messery’s landscaping to create the perfect space.