The year's best garden books

In the same way that gardeners typically take advantage of the onset of cold weather to look back and evaluate the past season's successes and failures, we assess this year's harvest of new garden books. Which ones should be picked and shared with green-thumbed friends and relatives (or even kept for our own enjoyment)? And which are more likely destined to enrich the compost pile?

The ones below are the cream of the crop.

Ellen Spector Platt's Lemon Herbs (Stackpole Books, $19.95) proves the old adage, "less is more." The attractive guide covers only 18 lemon-scented plants, but does so in a comprehensive way that's never boring. Readers learn how to grow the plants (indoors and out) as well as use them in decorations and craft projects. You may want to read it only after a meal, though: It's easy to grow hungry reading the tasty-sounding recipes in the last chapter.

Containers aren't just for marigolds and cherry tomatoes anymore. Instead, think peach trees and a "winter salad bowl." Creativity is the hallmark of The Bountiful Container, by Rose Marie Nichols McGhee and Maggie Stuckey (Workman, $16.95). But the authors don't overlook the practical details, from temperature considerations to planting tricks and techniques.

In Flowers of the Bible and How to Grow Them (Citadel Press, $12.95), Allan A. Swenson discusses plantsmentioned in the Bible and how to grow them in variousregions of the US. He also explains basic landscaping and gardening techniques, lists biblical gardens that are open to visitors, and provides readers with invaluable resources to learn more.

Anyone undertaking a landscaping project will appreciate Trees and Shrubs for Flowers, Trees and Shrubs for Fragrance, and Trees and Shrubs for Foliage, by Glyn Church (Firefly Books, each $24.95). Although originally published in New Zealand, they have been nicely Americanized for US gardeners. The information is accurate, and the writer's enthusiasm for shrubs and trees - the backbone of the garden - is contagious.

Whether you have an acre, or garden on a plot not much larger than a postage stamp, Ornament in the Small Garden, by Roy Strong (Firefly Books, $24.95) will start you dreaming. The Brits are so much better at using ornamental features in the garden than we Americans, so sit back and learn from a true master.

Too many gardeners plant roses alone, without trying to make them an integral part of the yard. Landscape With Roses, by Jeff Cox (Taunton Press, $27.95), shows how to use roses along paths, with other flowers in the garden, and climbing up structures. It nicely balances practical details with inspiration.

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