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Books and References for Deep South Gardens

The following books are recommended for Gulf Coast gardens. Some may be out of print but may be available through your local library.

Garden Design

  • Gardens of New Orleans. Lake Douglas and Jeannette Hardy. Chronicle Books, San Francisco. 2001.
  • Gardens of the South. Southern Accents Press. Simon and Schuster, New York. 1985.
  • Growing a Beautiful Garden: A Landscape Guide for the Coastal Carolinas. Henry Rehder and Henry Rehder, Jr. Banks Channel Books. 1997.
  • Houston Garden Book: A Complete Guide to Gardening in Houston and the Gulf Coast. John Kriegel. Shearer Publishing, Fredericksberg, Texas.
  • Landscaping with Wildflowers. Jim Wilson. Houghton Mifflin Company. 1993.
  • Perennial Gardens for Texas. Julie Ryan. University of Texas Press. 1998.
  • The Southern Garden. Lydia Longshore. Bullfinch Press. 2001.

Gardening

  • Gardening in the Coastal South. Marie Harrison. Pineapple Press, Florida. 2003.
  • Gardening in the Humid South. Edmund O’ Rourke and Leon Standifer. Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge, LA. 2004.
  • Gardening in the Lower South. H. Harold Hume. The MacMillan Company, New York. 1938.
  • Gardens in Winter. Elizabeth Lawrence. Claitor’s Publishing Division, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, reprint 1997.
  • Gulf Coast Gardening with Randy Lemmon. Randy Lemmon. Our House Press. 2005.
  • Mississippi Gardener’s Guide. Norman Winter. Cool Spring’s Press. 2001.
  • Month-by-month Gardening in Mississippi. Bob Polomski and Felder Rushing. Cool Springs Press, Nashville, TN. 2002.
  • South Carolina’s Gardener’s Guide. Jim Wilson. Cool Springs Press, Nashville, TN. 1997.
  • The New Orleans Garden. Charlotte Seidenberg. University Press of Mississippi, Jackson, MS. 1990.
  • The Perfect Mississippi Lawn: Attaining and Maintaining the Lawn You Want. Steve Dobbs. Cool Springs Press. 2002.

Native Plant Identification

  • Louisiana Trees and Shrubs. Clair Brown. Louisiana Forestry Commission, Bulletin No. 1 Baton Rouge, LA. 1945.
  • Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. Albert Radford, Harry Ahles, C. Ritchie Bell. The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC. 1968.
  • Trees of Georgia and Adjacent States. Claud Brown and L. Katherine Kirkman. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon. 1990.
  • Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of Louisiana. Charles Allen and Newman, Winters. Allen’s Native Ventures, LLC, Pitkin, Louisiana. 2002.
  • Wildflowers of Mississippi. S. Lee Timme. University Press of Mississippi, Jackson, MS. 1989.
  • Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry. Richard D. Porcher. University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, South Carolina. 1995.

Plants for Mississippi

  • Dirr’s Trees and Shrubs for Warm Climates: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Michael Dirr. Timber Press, Oregon. 2002.
  • Flowers Native to the Deep South. Carolina Dormon. Claitor’s Bookstore, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Reprinted 1995.
  • Garden Perennials for the Coastal South. Barbara J. Sullivan. The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC. 2003.
  • Gardening With Native Plants of the South. Sally Wasowski. Taylor Trade Publishing, Lanham, Maryland. 1994.
  • Identification, Selection, and Use of Southern Plants for Landscape Design. Neil Odenwald and James Turner. Claitor’s Publishing Division, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 1987.
  • Landscape Plants in Design. E. C. Martin, Jr. Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, New York. 1983.
  • Landscaping with Native Trees. Guy Sternberg and Jim Wilson. Chapters Pub. Ltd. 1996.
  • Natives Preferred. Carolina Dormon. Claitor’s Bookstore, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 1965.
  • Paradise Found: Growing Tropicals in Your Own Backyard. Norman Winter. Cooper Square Press. 2001.
  • Passalong Plants. Steve Bender and Felder Rushing. The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 1993.
  • Some Like It Hot: Plants that Thrive in Hot and Humid Weather. F. Brian Smith and PJ Gartin. Wyrick and Company. 2004.
  • The Southern Heirloom Garden. William Welch and Greg Grant. Taylor Publishing Company, Dallas, Texas. 1995.
  • Tough-As-Nails Flowers for the South. Norman Winter. University Press of Mississippi. 2003.
  • Tough Plants for Southern Gardens. Felder Rushing. Cool Springs Press, Nashville, TN. 2003.
  • The Southern Gardener’s Book of Lists: The Best Plants for All Your Needs, Wants, and Whims. Lois Trigg Chaplin. Taylor Trade Publishing, Lanham, Maryland. 1992.
  • The Southern Living Garden Book. Edited by Seve Bender. Oxmoor Hous, Birmingham, Alabama. 1998.

Plants for Wildlife

  • Attracting Birds to Southern Gardens. Thomas Pope, Neil Odenwald, and Charles Fryling, Jr. Taylor Publishing Company, Dallas, Texas. 1993.
  • The Wildlife Garden. Charloette Seidenberg. University Press of Mississippi, Jackson, MS. 1995.

Written by Robert F. Brzuszek, Assistant Extension Professor, The Department of Landscape Architecture, Mississippi State University.