It seems lately that if people are not talking about their vacations, they are talking about their gardens.
I confess I am not much of a go-hard-at-it, get-your-hands-dirty person. I am more the good intentions armchair kind of gardener, and the library has just oodles of books for reading and imagining my yard as a showcase.
I am very fond of grey plants and the library has Elegant Silvers: Striking Plants For Every Garden by Jo Ann Gardner and Karen Bussolini
(ANF 635.968 GAR). Here are glossy photographs of some common and some not so common silver foliage plants, as well as fairly detailed information on their habits and cultivation requirements.
Have a look at the photograph of the Bismarckia Nobilis (silver palm) on page 46. I think I'll have to move to Florida so I can have one of these in my yard. Oh wait, I already live in paradise so maybe moving house for one plant is not what I want to do. I'll just enjoy the photo.
Maybe I'll try some plants from Best Garden Plants For British Columbia by Marianne Binetti (ANF 635.909711) instead. Take yourself out to your back garden and settle in with an iced tea and one of these titles.
Reparations by Stephen Kimber. 2006. (FIC KIM)
Two boyhood friends, one black, one white, grow up and apart.
Twenty-five years later they meet again in a courtroom.
Super-Sized Kids: How to Rescue Your Child From The Obesity Threat by Walt Larimore, Sherri Flynt, and Steve Halliday. 2005. (ANF 618.92398 LAR)
Parents are the key to getting their children off to better health and
fitness.
Booking Passage: We Irish & Americans by Thomas Lynch. 2005. (ANF 305.89162 LYN)
A writer's return to the old country, written as part travelogue, part reminiscence, part history, reveals the binding ties of family, faith, language, and home place.
Where Have All The Birdies Gone? by Aaron and Charlotte Elkins. 2004. Mystery. (MYS ELK)
Lee Ofsted is playing on the American golfers' team for the Stewart Cup Tournament, and struggles to keep on her game when a long-time caddy is found murdered and her own life is threatened.
What The Dog Did: Tales From A Formerly Reluctant Dog Owner by Emily Yoffe. 2005. (ANF 636.70887 YOF)
Yoffe's daughter decided their family really needed Sasha, a neurotic rescued beagle who knew nothing about being a pet, so Yoffe goes out to learn all she can about dogs.
- For more information or to request books online, go to www.virl.bc.ca