LibGuides: Landscape Design: Reference Sources

Why use reference books?

Reference books give you:

A quick introduction to your subject by covering a lot of points briefly;
In-depth background on some of the major elements of your topic;
Vocabulary to use for searches in other resources;
Bibliographies that can give you ideas for other resources;

Landscape Design Reference Books

The following is just a sampling of reference works available in the STCC Library. These books circulate to students for four weeks (faculty have longer borrowing times). If you would rather photocopy pages instead, there are two copiers on the 2nd floor of the library, including a color copier near the Circulation Desk. There is also a copier on the third floor.

The American Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants by Christopher Brickell, Judith D. Zuk
Call Number: SB403.2.A45 1997
Packed with six thousand photographs and illustrations, this comprehensive reference for the American gardener includes detailed, cross-referenced descriptions of more than fifteen thousand plants and all the major regions of North America.
Armitage's Garden Annuals: A Color Encyclopedia by Allan M. Armitage
Call Number: SB422.A68 2004
Armitage selects proven specimens from nearly 200 genera of plants and evaluates their garden-worthiness and beauty. He has illustrated the entries with more than 1300 color photos, with more than two dozen lists of plants suitable for particular situations or uses, including plants for cool-summer areas, plants for dry situations, edible plants, container plants, shade plants, vines, and flowers for cutting.
A Color Atlas of Plant Structure by Bryan G. Bowes
Call Number: QK642.B68 2000
Includes sections on the plant cell, plant histology, apical meristems, the green leaf, the stem, the root and sexual reproduction of plants.
Encyclopedia of Gardens: History and Design by Candice A. Shoemaker
Call Number: SB465.E63 2001
This resource intends to describe and analyze a range of subjects and individuals related to the history of gardens and garden design. Entries are arranged alphabetically and fall into three main categories: individuals (architects, designers, plant collectors, and writers), places (countries, regions of the world, and particular gardens), and topics (garden elements, periods, and styles).
Garden Insects of North America: The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Bugs by Whitney Cranshaw
Call Number: SB605.N7.C73 2004
This work allows gardeners to identify insects they encounter according to family, (many) to genus, and (sometimes) to species. The bulk of the text groups insects by their interaction with a plant (e.g., leaf chewers, leaf miners, flower/fruit/seed feeders, sapsuckers, gall makers, stem/twig damagers, trunk/branch borers, and root/tuber/bulb feeders).
Oxford Companion to the Garden
Call Number: SB450.95.O94 2006
Note the cover...it's The Blue Stairs at Naumkeag in Stockbridge..Covering all aspects of the garden, the 1,750 alphabetical entries includes gardens, biographies of garden designers and landscape architects, horticulture and plant cultivation, garden elements and styles, a history of gardens, etc.
The New Oxford Book of Food Plants by J.G. Vaughan and C. Geissler
Call Number: SB175 .V38 1997
A reference book about the many edible plants we grow, buy and eat, containing facts about cereals, sugar crops, oil seeds, nuts, legumes, fruits, vegetables, spices, herbs, sea-weeds, mushrooms and wild food plants.