I have two suggestions, one for technical information, and one not so technical. To know everything about AVs, I would get the three book series written by Mel Robey. They are usually available at your local library, and the first book in the series has been updated and republished. Mel will not only tell you about the 'sparkle' of some blossoms, but also explain what makes it sparkle. There are very indepth discussions of ph, fertilizer, what makes a 'chimera', etc. Growing to Show by Pauline Bartholomew is an excellent guide to help you grow the best possible plants you can, even if you have no intention to show them. It is available on Amazon, and also the AVSA website. Barbara

I don't know that there are any vegetable garden books specifically related to Oklahoma other than Louise Riotte's books. However, as written, they were intended for a national audience. I think it is just because we know she was from southern OK (Ardmore) that we treasure her books so much. I like all her books, and listed some of them in the previous thread about gardening books I'm going to link below. Many of my favorite gardening books that I rely upon are mentioned in the link below, but I have a couple of new favorites that I don't think I'd read at the time last year's book thread was written, so I'll mention them here. "The Texas Tomato Lover's Handbook" by Dr. William D. Adams, published in 2011. Dr. Adams enjoyed a long and distinctive career with the Ag Extension Service in Texas where he tested tomato plants year in and year out with the help of Master Gardeners in his county. He also maintains his own kitchen garden, and sells his excess produce at market. If there is anything you need to know about how to grow tomatoes in our climate and soils, he covers it in this book . I love, love, love this book so much that if I had to get rid of all my gardening books and could keep only one, this is the one I would keep. It would be really hard, though, for me to get rid of the next two. "Homegrown Vegetables, Fruits & Herbs" (a Creative Homeowner book), by Jim Wilson (of Victory Garden fame) and Walter Chandoha, published in 2010. This book was written/photographed by two men with over 100 years of gardening experience between them. Best of all, Jim Wilson gardened in the south, so the book is well-balanced for all regions of the country, which is not necessarily the case with all books geared toward a national audience. This book is outstanding. If I was a new gardener who was just getting into growing veggies, fruits and herbs, this book would tell me everything I needed to know in order to know where to begin, what to do and how to succeed. I've mentioned this next book many times before. Even though I've had it for almost 3 decades and practically have it memorized, I'd panic if my copy was misplaced and I couldn't find it. Dr. Sam Cotner's "The Vegetable Book: A Texans Guide to Gardening" was published in the mid-1980s, and I am on my second copy, having totally worn out the first copy about a decade ago. Dr. Cotner was the head of horticulture at A&M before his retirement, and that was the position he held when he wrote this book. I learned how to grow veggies from watching my dad do it, but he was very quiet and didn't talk about what he was doing or why he was doing it--he just did it. So, I learned the how from observing my dad, but from Dr. Cotner's book I learned all the why's and wherefore's. It was this book that taught me about the effect of soil temps and air temps on plants, which may seem elementary, but most of us don't know those things when we're just starting out. Once you understand the effect of air and soil temps on your plants and their productivity, everything else just falls into place. My favorite guide to growing herbs is "Southern Herb Growing" written by Madalene Hill & Gwen Barclay with Jean Hardy. No one was/is more qualified to write about southern herb growing than Madalene Hill and Gwen Barclay, except perhaps for Jim Long. All his books are great too. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention "Texas Gardener" magazine, which I've been reading for a couple of decades now. Although it covers all aspescts of gardening in Texas, I find its info just as appropriate for OK. It does cover all sorts of gardening, everything from lawns to trees and shrubs to water gardening, flowers, fruits and veggies. It seems to me that it has at least as much emphasis on fruits, herbs and veggies as on ornamentals, and I love it. So, that's my two cents contributed to this discussion. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: Previous Thread on Gardening Books

I've looked at this post several times, and I've had a LOT of trouble coming up with a "best lesson." Which means either I have parenthood-induced ADD, a very poor memory, or that I haven't learned much this year! We had a crazy year (flooding, car accident, depression, family issues), so gardening took more of a back seat than in other years. I feel like I missed out on a lot, yet I had so much enjoyment out of my garden anyhow, just watching it grow even though I couldn't fuss over it as much as usual. It didn't need my attention as much as I thought it did - fancy that, Mother Nature is self-sufficient. . . . I think I'd also have to say, "dream big, and start planning." My DH and I are thinking of moving next year, locally. He needs a dedicated music studio (his avocation is pipe organs and electronic music production), and I need a much larger property to garden. I'm mulling over the idea of eventually breeding and selling daylilies, which will NOT happen from a suburban back yard. So, with daylily seedlings on my windowsills, a bunch of daylily seeds in the refrigerator, and a wish list of new daylilies a mile long, I'm hoping to turn my dreams into some form of reality. On a more practical note, I need to find a way to start seeds indoors that is CAT PROOF. I winter sow, but there are times when I enjoy having those seedlings growing green through the winter months. It's a good thing I love my cats, because they are a pain with the seedlings. . . . Laurel

Like some here, I learn skills best in an interactive situation where I observe, then try, then get corrections. But an instructor is not always available to me, and books work reasonably well when no teacher is available for the skills I want to acquire. And even when they are, books enhance and expand the learning experience for me. I prefer to have both, but will take either when that is all I can get. What have I learned? Gardening, cooking, quilting, sewing were all skills I learned to varying degrees from books, though certainly I have had some instruction, too, particularly with sewing and tailoring. I'm getting mentally prepared to learn to knit, and I think I want to take up playing the recorder. I don't play any musical instrument. Knowing that I would give up quickly if I don't get to a rewarding level fast I thought, why not the recorder? Children learn quickly to play it on a simple level, yet this instrument is capable of producing lovely music in the hands of a musician. And best of all, no one could ever ask you to sing along! Rosefolly