the Gardener's Paradise

Can an early spring confuse nature's clock?
With an early spring across the country, how is nature responding? Purdue entomologist Tom Turpin and horticulturalist Kristin Schleiter of the New York Botanical Garden discuss how an early spring affects flower buds, beetles and bees.
Listen to Talk of the Nation

New books and a pick for kids 

Cherry blossoms as botanical diplomacy
Spring has sprung and thousands of tourists are flocking to the nation's capital for the Nationall Cherry Blossom Festival. But there is a rich story behind the famous tree that connects the United States to Japan. Guest host Jacki Lyden talks with Adrian Higgins about his feature article "Hidden Zen" in last week's Washington Post Magazine.
Listen to Tell Me More

Cherry Blossoms: the Official Book of the National Cherry Blossom Festival (2012)
By Ann McClellan, photography by Ron Blunt

This book is a stunningly beautiful record of the nation's biggest springtime festival and an object d'art to grace coffee tables. This is the 100th anniversary of the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

Hardcover

At the community garden, it's community that's the hard part
Listen to All Things Considered

NPR's Backseat Book Club pick for kids
Seedfolks
By Paul Fleischman

One by one, a number of people of varying ages and backgrounds transform a trash-filled inner-city lot into a productive and beautiful garden, and in doing so, the gardeners are themselves transformed. Illustrated by Judy Pedersen.

"Most of us have heard the phrase 'it takes a village' to refer to the idea that many hands from many places are usually needed to get things done. Our next book could well be called 'it takes a garden.' Now that spring is in the air, the next selection for NPR's Backseat Book Club is a small book with a big message." — Michele Norris, All Things Considered.

Soft cover
Hardcover

Perennial favorites -- those books you'll reach for every year

All New Square Foot Gardening
By Mel Bartholomew

"Bartholomew, author of the popular Square Foot Gardening (1981), has refined his original square-foot gardening concept by adding ten improvements, including a new location for the garden that is closer to the house, a special soil mix, and six-inch deep, 4' x 4' above-ground boxes with grids. His techniques do not require heavy digging or fertilizers and feature advice on using vertical gardening to save space." — Library Journal


Hardcover
Kindle

Tool Time

Lynne Rossetto Kasper & Sally Swift of the Splendid Table share their favorite tools for the garden below.

Leonard Steel Nursery Trowel

"Trowels are often dissapointingly wimpy. You need one with a tapered tip but with enough width at the base to really move some dirt when you need to. A good trick for keeping the blade clean and sharp is to have a dedicated small bucket of sand mixed with a little motor oil you can dip the blade in and out of to clean it when you have finished with the day's work. Take care of the wood handle by keeping it as dry and possible and oiling it every once in a while as well."

Corona Clipper 7-Inch Razor Tooth Folding Pruning Saw

"Folding saws are one of the most ingenious designs ever. Small enough to pop in a back pocket, or keep in the car for drive-by cuttings, they stay sharp, and when locked and extended can take down even small trees with a little muscle. I've been known to cut through sheet rock and even slice bread on a picnic with mine. Is there a more perfect tool????"

Kuhn Rikon 4-Inch Nonstick Colori Paring Knife, Orange

"Yes, a paring knife with a sheath is a must have for the gardening tool kit. You will cut flowers, open seed packs, cut plastic ties and plastic pots and save your teeth! Remember, brightly-colored plastic is a gardener's best friend. It makes for searching for misplaced tools a snap."

Mud Glove

"Sexist though it may seem, I'm going out on a limb and declaring these 'lady gardening gloves.' they fit our hands and come in funky colors — period!"

More tool suggestions

Birds

Bird Songs Bible



Also available:
The Backyard Birdsong Guide: Western North America

The Big Year
Steve Martin, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson combine their comedic talents in this warm and funny romp about three amateur bird watchers who engage in a year-long contest to see who can spot the most species of North American birds. But what starts as a friendly competition quickly turns into an all-out, cross-country race for the prize that forces each man to come to grips with his life. Rashida Jones, Anjelica Huston, Dianne Wiest, JoBeth Williams co-star.

DVD

Blu-ray

More backyard birding