Author: Geyata Ajilvsgi, Foreword by Chess Ezzell McKinney
I gave this book to my mother-in-law, who lives in the South. She has created a fascinating butterfly garden and praises this book.

Author: Christopher D. Brickell, David Joyce
This is the most comprehensive work I have found on pruning. Different classes of roses are discussed, as well as shrubs, climbing plants (inc. Wisteria and Clematis), vines, fruit trees, berries, and trees. Christopher Brickell is the former General Director of the Royal Horticultural Society. If you are interesting in doing any of your own pruning, this would be the book to have.

Author: Terence Conran, Dan Pearson
My friend Mirja gives Dan Pearson high accolades: "He is unusually poetic and coherent at the same time about gardening. He intertwines the spiritual with the visual in such a way that it is technical, giving service to his aspirations. He is unusual in the sense that he is not swallowed by romantic attributes, but wears the touch of them well. Professionally speaking, he is soft and coherent-which makes an interesting if not cruelly fascinating combination."

Author: Barbara Damrosch, Karl Stuecklen (Illustrator)
A lush album of landscape plans for more than 300 flowers and plants, chosen for a wide variety of locales and soils. The chapters include: A Garden Primer, A fragrance Garden, A Colonial Garden, A Butterfly Garden, A Moon Garden, A Children's Garden, A Garden of Old Roses, A Zen Garden, A Shakespeare Garden, A Grey Garden, A Garden of Love, A Hummingbird Garden, A Secret Garden, A Medieval Paradise Garden, A Grass Garden, A Victorian Garden, and a Winter Garden. I am very fond of this book. The book was written with a lot of love and insight.

Author: Ken Druse, Margaret Roach (Editor)
If you have a collector's mind, this book will appeal to you. A well written and beautiful book.

Author: David Hicks, Dana Hyde (Photographer)
A book with a lot of insight on design. Garden's Illustrated of April 2000 clearly describes David Hicks, "Between the enormous and the theatrical, lies the theatrical, a mode in which Hicks excelled. The elements he liked to use in his interiors-empathetic verticals, powerful forms with strong shapes such as obelisks, pyramids and large vases- appear in his gardens and the dramatic statements they make are quite often achieved in topiary or cement rather than in expensive stone."

Author: Penelope Hobhouse
Penelope Hobhouse has a fabulous sense of color and design, as well as a thorough knowledge of her plant materials. I can not recommend her books highly enough.

Author: Penelope Hobhouse with Simon Johnson
If you are interested in ornamental horticulture, try to read this book.

Author: Tony Lord
Gardeners have been copying the border and plant combinations of Sissinghurst for years. Now, for the first time, all the elements that lie behind the famed garden's horticultural distinction are examined in unparalleled depth, as Lord reveals how the design, development, planting, and maintenance of each area of the garden is achieved. 200 color photos. Absolutely stunning. The elements of the garden are highly abstract yet genuine and easy to connect to. The White Garden is a true masterpiece of beauty and imagination.

Author: Ann Lovejoy, Mark Lovejoy (Photographer)

Author: Marcus H. Schneck
Practical and beautiful, this book shows how to attract butterflies to a back yard garden--and turn it into a fluttering paradise. Marcus Schneck explains the life cycles, migration patterns, and mating behavior of these creatures, and offers invaluable information on everything from pesticide-free garden maintenance to the use of feeders.

Author: Xerces Society, Sierra Club Books, Smithsonian Institution
An informative guide. A good read if you are interested in butterfly gardens.