CHECK IT OUT

Spring is a glorious time to grow a garden. To help make it happen,

numerous new volumes offer fertile guidance.

If you’re just starting to nurture a green thumb, Better Homes and

Gardens’ new “Step-by-Step Garden Basics” provides just about everything

you need to start, except plants and tools. Organized by season, with

color photos that illustrate step-by-step instructions for gardening

techniques, this user-friendly guide is a fine reference for cultivating

flowers, vegetables, annuals or perennials.

If it’s herbs you want to grow, “The Green Guide to Herb Gardening”

includes tips for propagating 10 popular varieties. Individual chapters

include herb history, magic and folklore, in addition to recipes,

culinary and ornamental uses, and herbal remedies.

Several recently published volumes concentrate on specific species.

For gardeners inspired by Monet and Renoir, “Impressionist Roses”

explores how to bring the Impressionists’ style to outdoor spaces. Roses

also star in “Monet’s Garden at Giverney,” a video tour of the French

site created by a painter who was as passionate about horticulture as he

was about art.

If the quintessential plant of the tropics is more your style, check

out “Ornamental Palm Horticulture” for information about growing more

than 200 indoor and outdoor palm varieties. Turn to “The Plantfinder’s

Guide to Garden Ferns” for descriptions and cultivation requirements for

hundreds of ferns, from giant tree varieties to delicate maidenhairs.

Gardeners with special sensitivities may be well served by

“Allergy-Free Gardening,” featuring an A to Z listing that rates each

plant for allergy potential.

Those with limited space might peruse “Country Containers,” a

collection of container planting ideas that show how a bit of seashore or

woodland can be brought into even the smallest garden.

Every gardener must deal with natural saboteurs, made easier with help

from “Pests.” Beginning with the soil, this environmentally enlightened

volume reveals how to prevent, manage and combat damage by bugs, birds

and other wildlife.

Some of the most current information about what to plant and when is

offered in such periodicals as Organic Gardening and Horticulture. Other

up-to-date advice is accessible on the Internet, at such sites as

https://www.gardennet.com, a gardening megasite with links to articles,

catalogs, information guides and details about major flower shows

throughout the year.

If your tomatoes are tasteless and your pansies are petal-less after

all your research, turn to “Rodale Organic Gardening Solutions.” Answers

to more than 500 questions from backyard gardeners, culled from 10 years’

worth of magazine columns, are in this hands-on guide covering everything

from starting seeds to controlling weeds.

* CHECK IT OUT is written by the staff of the Newport Beach Public

Library. This week’s column is by Melissa Adams, in collaboration with

Soon Jung. All titles may be reserved from home or office computers by

accessing the catalog at https://www.newportbeachlibrary.org.