Elisabeth C. Miller Library

Archives: Book Reviews

  • Designing with Conifers

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    rakerr2

    Richard Bitner has written three books about conifers in the garden; I think the best is the most recent, “Designing with Conifers.” Organized by notable features such as shape, color, or bark, the author uses his own photographs to illustrate a wide range of planting options. He clearly detests foundation plantings: “Why this mandatory dress…

  • Conifers of the World: The Complete Reference

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    rakerr2

    James Eckenwalder graduated from Reed College in Portland, making him a one-time Pacific Northwest resident, although he is now on the faculty at the University of Toronto. “Conifers of the World: The Complete Reference” is an ambitious effort that was years in the making. It is an excellent reference book in a single volume. Tropical…

  • Conifers around the World

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    rakerr2

    It is a nice balance that a publication of equal stature to the RHS encyclopedia on cultivated conifers has been recently published on conifers in the wild. “Conifers around the World” authors Zsolt Debreczy and István Rácz have been working together since 1975. The predecessor to this current title was published in 2000 in their…

  • Encyclopedia of Conifers

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    rakerr2

    The moment I opened this massive, two-volume set, I was immediately engaged. Page after page of high quality photographs show the seemingly endless variety of cultivated forms of conifers–it’s mesmerizing. “Encyclopedia of Conifers” illustrates nearly 5,000 different cultivars, along with the species they are derived from–often with multiple photos from different times of year, or…

  • The Fragrant Path: a Book About Sweet Scented Flowers and Leaves

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    Lena Youkhana

    One of my favorite books on fragrance is The Fragrant Path by Louise Beebe Wilder. Published in 1932, and re-issued in 1990 (the Miller Library has both editions), I don’t think there is a garden fragrance book today that’s any better. Why? No other author is as skilled a writer, nor as comprehensive on this…

  • A Handbook of the World’s Conifers

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    rakerr2

    A Handbook of the World’s Conifers, by Aljos Farjon, was published in 2010 and is described by the author as “not a monograph purely for taxonomists. Its content aims at a much wider audience.” This is accomplished in part by discussing the ecology, conservation, and uses of all species along with the etymology of the…

  • Dates: A Global History

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    Rebecca Alexander

    Dates: A Global History is another title in the Edible series from Reaktion Books. An unusual aspect of the fruit (technically a berry) of the date palm tree is that it may be harvested at three different stages of ripeness–the ultrasweet dates one usually finds for sale in groceries are at the final stage, when…

  • Lemon: A Global History

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    Rebecca Alexander

    I’ve always wondered about the warty etrog (citron, or Citrus medica) used as part of the Jewish observance of Sukkot (etrog represents one of The Four Species mentioned in the Biblical description of this festival; the others are palm, myrtle, and willow): what purpose did the fruit serve beyond the ritual, and how was this…

  • Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life

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    Rebecca Alexander

    Part biography, part garden photo essay, and part ventriloquist’s act, Marta McDowell’s Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life (Timber Press, 2013) provides a window into Potter’s world. If you have read her children’s books, you will have a lasting impression of the charming adventures of rabbits, hedgehogs, kittens, and ducks but you may not think of Beatrix…

  • Seattle’s Orchards: A Historic Legacy Meets Modern Sustainability.

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    rakerr2

    Audrey Lieberworth enjoyed an active, outdoor childhood in Seattle, but not until she left for Scripps College did she realize “…just how much the connections I made with these [Seattle] landscapes as a child had shaped the person I had become.” The result of this revelation is her senior thesis, “Seattle’s Orchards: A Historic Legacy…