I suggest that you visit your local library and browse through the dozens of books on herbs they're likely to have. Take a note-book with you, or photocopy relevant pages. It's a good try-before-you-buy place to go. There are also hundreds, if not thousands, of websites with the sort of basic information you need - though not all will tell you which parts of the plant are used. For the most commonly-used culinary herbs, like oregano, rosemary, basil, chives, coriander, parsley, sage, bay, thyme, mint - it's the leaves which are used. The flowers of all of these are also edible. Commonly used seeds are: pepper, sesame, fenugreek, coriander, dill, fennel. Commonly used roots are: ginger, turmeric, arrowroot. Do NOT assume that because one part of the plant is edible, all parts of the same plant are edible! When in doubt, ASK. Below are some websites you could look at - I picked them at random after a google search for 'herb uses cooking' (I had a choice of 4,830,000 sites!): http://www.mountainvalleygrowers.com/kitchenherbgarden.htm http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/food/cooking/fresh-herbs-cooking-guide http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A505513 http://www.yankeeharvest.com/spice_mill/yhspgloss.html Here is a link that might be useful: basic herbs

This question comes up a lot! The two most commonly suggested books are Ortho's All about Orchids and the Sunset publisher's book on Orchids. Several forum members, including me, are also quite fond of Orchids Simplified by Henry Jaworski. FLAME 747 suggested "An Introduction to Orchids" published by the South Florida Orchid Society. Other excellent sources include: Taylor's "All About Orchids" (great pictures); Rebecca Northen's "Home Orchid Growing" Orchid Growing Basics (Schoser) Gardener's Guide to Growing Orchids (Ritterhausen) Orchid Growing for Wimps (Zachos) Jack Kramer's "Orchid Growing Indoors" In addition, Mary Noble has several good books for beginners: You can Grow Orchids, You Can Grow Cattleya Orchids, and You Can Grow Phalaenopsis Orchids." All are excellent for the beginner. If you want to know more about species, then The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Orchids, edited by Alec Pridgeon is also a good source. For a more detailed listing, and a suggested reading list for more experienced growers (intermediate level and advanced), check out Linda's Orchid Page at She has many good suggestions.

Find your local library. There isn't one book that I'm aware of that covers all of your requests, and a lot of the books that come close are older. Just as there is a history of rose breeding, following changing tastes, there is a history of rose book writing, following changing tastes. In general, a current, generic rose book seems to be written for roughly Oklahoma. There is an entire chapter on irrigation, a sentence or two on winter protection, and mention of chemical fungicides. A similar book from the 50's or 60's says you should consider watering roses if it hasn't rained for a while, has a chapter on winter protection/hardy varieties, and a reasonable discussion of the fungicides current at the time it was written. The target audience is somewhere like suburban Philadelphia, with the understanding that some people live in colder places. The intervening decades saw the rise of the specialized rose book. Some are on specific rose classes. Some are on rose growing in certain regions. If they cover topics pertinent to your interests, they can be excellent. So in roughly chronological order: Roy Shepherd, History of the Rose - an older book, and not particularly one to sit down and read cover to cover, it is still an excellent reference book on classes and their development. Author is from northern Ohio. Jack Harkness, Roses - an at times hysterically funny, chatty book on the development of roses from roughly 1850 to 1950, or the period of time the author either experienced first hand, or could get stories from others. An English book that makes absolutely no pretense of being anything else, it is definitely the most entertaining rose book I have ever read. Suzy Verrier, Rosa Gallica, and Rosa Rugosa - more than you ever wanted to know about two classes of hardy roses, these books both start with a general care section, and then go on to list cultivars, most of them with photographs. When I did information tables for the local rose society, Rosa Rugosa was the book I had to watch because it was by far the one most likely to 'accidentally' wander off. If there is one book you should look at, I'd say it is Robert Osborne's. Hardy Roses was re-released fairly recently in an expanded edition, and renamed something like Canadian Roses. Unless you are interested in hybrid teas, I'd recommended avoiding the standard books at first. There just isn't any reason to learn HT care just so you can then learn the differences between HTs and hardy roses.

I second the BHG book. I have given it to several novices. I find it very helpful myself, and I've been gardening for decades. One of the things that I like about it is that it doesn't recommend just "usual" plants and sprays, but covers native plants and organic treatments. It is a really good book for gardeners.