Recommended Books?

[William Ryan]

Hi All,

I am  looking for some garden design inspiration, and was wondering what everyone's favorite books are on this subject. I manage a small botanical garden in North San Diego county (zones 10a/10b) and am always interested in learning more and developing my skills. We have a lot of unused space to fill. I love working with palms, cycads, and all sorts of tropical understory plants. I am not opposed to more general recommendations, but I am especially interested in works focusing on designing with tropical and subtropical plants. Some books that I have read and enjoyed on the subject:

Designing with Palms, Jason DeWees (very inspirational and informative, highly recommend)

The Mid-Century Landscape, Ethne Clark

Cycads of the World, David Jones

The Tropical Look, Robert Riffle

It seems like there is a lot of expertise on these forums, and I'm looking forward to getting more involved in the community!

 

[Darold Petty]

for small space gardens, I found a lot of helpful info from an old book, Gardens are for People" by Thomas Church. 

[William Ryan]

4 hours ago, Darold Petty said:

for small space gardens, I found a lot of helpful info from an old book, Gardens are for People" by Thomas Church. 

I remember coming across his name before, and liking a lot of his ideas. I made a mental note to look up his book, and then promptly forgot. This is why I have to write stuff down more.

Thanks for the recommendation!