If you’re planning on building a new garden, no matter how big or small including gardens made entirely in containers, the best place to start is with a landscape garden design book. A landscape garden design book will tell you how to check the area you plan to garden to determine:
1) Amount of sun and shade
2) Soil requirements
3) Mulch requirements
4) Amount of structure to provide
5) Spatial considerations for your garden
6) Problems with local pests
All of these garden specifics will help insure that the plants you put in your garden will have the best chance of survival.
Here’s my list of the best basic garden landscape design books and later I will provide some specific garden landscape design books. The basic garden landscape books have been around for years and so helpful they are still sold. The specific books provided later may come and go but if you look for one of the type you won’t be sorry.
Best Guide to Western Landscape : The Sunset Western Landscaping Guide
You may think that your little patch of desert or alpine cottage won’t be covered but you are wrong. This books covers the essentials above plus add local suggestions like the hanging egg chair for your garden, hanging flower pots and more.
Best Guide to Eastern Landscapes: The Creative Homeowner Southeast Home Landscaping
This book covers the southern parts of the US but not the northern and since I haven’t lived there I can’t make a recommendation. This guide provides sample garden designs , many of the above essentials and guides to basic structure creations such as building arbors and paths.
Best Guide to the Garden Design Process and Garden Plans
Ortho has two books “All About Landscaping” and “Flower Garden Plans” that introduce newcomers to gardening to the process of building a garden plan. The many garden plans they provide both in diagram and from pictures of gardens are wonderful input to building a beautiful garden.
BestShade Garden Design Book
“Gardening in Shade” from the American Horticultural Society is the best guide I found to how to plan a shade garden and which plants will grow in dry shade as well as wet shade-there is a big difference.
Best Herb Garden Design Book
Herbs are some of the best perennials for your gardens because they provide food for wildlife, are often drought tolerant and often adapt to many soil conditions. If you’d look bees, birds-especially seedeaters, dragonflies, and butterflies, consider an herb garden or herb additions to your garden design. I liked “The Herb Garden” by Sarah Garland best.
Best Border Book
Borders are gardens you plant at the edges of your yard or house and often have your cutting flowers or establish your style for your yard. “The Border Book” by Anna Pavord is my favorite because of the creative designs suited for a variety of garden conditions.
Best Arid Garden Book
Waterwise Florida Landscapes is a free booklet put out by the Florida Water districts to encourage people to use plants to help reduce their watering requirements during drought times. This excellent pamphlet provides only one design but contains many helpful hints for creating a drought tolerant garden including many of the drought tolerant plants.