Garden Library

Source:  via Pinterest, found at The Sweet Life on Etsy

"I'd leave all the hurry, the noise, and the fray,

For a house full of books, and a garden of flowers"

-Andrew Lang

Short on bookshelves,
my library is stacked on a table in our living room.

I aspire to one day have a library table like those I've gleaned from the internet on Pinterest.

As I prepare to plant our fall/winter garden I go to my books for inspiration.  Some were gifts, some are references, and some I picked up just because they are beautifully photographed and/or illustrated.

Some of my favorites...

• English Gardens in the Twentieth Century:  good reference for traditional english design, includes historical and color photographs

• Charleston Gardens and the Landscape Legacy of Loutrel Briggs:  one of my favorite landscape designers, includes photographs and an index of his work

• The English Roses:  a catalog of David Austin's rose varieties, includes beautiful photographs and descriptions

• The Charleston Gardener:  full of photographs showcasing some of Charleston's private gardens

• Landscape Plants of the Southeast:  my go to reference book which I often borrow (have permanently stolen) from my husband...every other page is dog-eared

• Shrub Roses and Climbing Roses:  another David Austin book with a great glossary and photographs.  A gift from my husband

• On Gardens and Gardening:  a sweet little book from a dear friend full of inspiring gardening quotes

Maybe one day I'll get around to planting our rose garden...until then I daydream with my books


What are your favorite garden reads?

Marilyn doing a little reading in the garden
Source:  Awesome People Reading