garden

In this novel, the titular "Gardener” is the book’s author, Mrs. Mabel Osgood Wright and “The Commuter” is based on her husband, James Osborne Wright. The dedication reads “This Book belongs to the Commuter.” The story is filled with people who love family and nature, and the black-and-white photos invite the viewer into this genteel world. The Gardener is inspired to make her husband’s home a place of beauty and serenity. Mabel Osgood Wright (American, 1859-1934) was a remarkable and accomplished woman.

This charming and lovely limited first edition (number 748 of 1500 numbered copies) is considered a classic in the field. Louise Beebe Wilder, an important figure in American gardening history, was greatly influenced by renowned British gardener Gertrude Jekyll. Wilder’s description of plants and her designs and artistry are still relevant to today's gardeners. Wilder writes about the seasons during one year in her garden at Balderbrae in Pomona, New York, which she and her husband purchased in 1910.

This is not a typical book on gardening methods, but rather a meditation on how each of us responds to a garden as a place, and on the importance of gardens to humans’ well-being. Chapter topics include the “social side of gardens” and "gardens of well-known people." Author Hildegarde Hawthorne was the granddaughter of Nathaniel Hawthorne and a prolific writer in her own right. The book is richly illustrated with drawings and black-and-white photographs. The last chapter speculates about America’s future gardens. Will we have stately gardens similar to those in England, Italy, and France?

A rare collection of items related to the Bostwick Gate and Shutter Company, this assortment of ephemera includes the patent for Alfred Clark’s Collapsible Gates, his identification card for his entry into the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle Internattionale, and a miniature brass sample of the known “Bostwick Gates.” Highly regarded for his ingenious folding gate design, this trade catalogue directly connects Cooper Hewitt’s existing World’s Fair collection with affordable practicality in industrial design.

The first edition of Peter Henderson’s Gardening for Profit was published in 1867, two years after the Civil War ended, and sold 100,000 copies. It’s considered the first book written on market gardening in the United States. Market gardening is defined as small scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers, from less than an acre to a few acres. In today's world, you may meet a market gardener at your local farmer's market. 

Beautiful Gardens in America (both the 1915 and 1924 editions) is Louise Shelton’s most important work and a noted work of twentieth century American gardening and cultural history. This 1924 edition includes 11 color and 274 half-tone photos (a large increase from the 1915 edition) of notable American gardens of the time. Both photos and gardens were carefully selected by the author and cover many regions of the country and varying climatic conditions.

This elegantly illustrated book has eight direct color photographs and 64 half tone plates depicting roses and rose gardens. The author, Harry Higgott Thomas (1876-1956), started out with a career in banking but switched his focus and went to study at Kew Gardens and became one of the best known names in garden writing. The< color photographs are by Henry Essenhigh Corke who combined his botany knowledge with the family photography business to become a pioneering photographer of plants.

This slim book about native plants found in the Phoenix regional area, circa 1933, was written at a time when the population of the city was just under 50,000 people. It’s a self published book with the author providing both text and simple pen and ink illustrations of the plants throughout the book, including the book’s cover.

Did you know that several types of plant bulbs, such as hyacinth, tulips, crocus, daffodils, amaryllis, snowdrops, and irises, can grow and bloom successfully in just water and provide a beautiful display in your home? The equipment invented to do that is the bulb vase. This book’s unusual subject (it is the only book on bulb vases in the Botany and Horticulture Library!) details the history of these vases from the 1700s through their prominence during the Victorian era and into present day.

The photos of the garden furniture shown in this book inspire ideas that make it easy to beautify the home grounds with attractive outdoor woodwork.