By Maria Barker, Access Librarian
The warm days and greenery outside have made it clear that Spring is here. If you are like me, the onset of this season gets you wondering about what it takes to turn a plot of dirt into more than just mud. Whether you are looking for tips to improve your gardening game or need fundamentals on keeping a plant alive, the latest Featured Collection on Gardening and Agriculture holds some inspiration and information to help you and your plants grow. Our selection includes publications from the Texas document, US document, and Main collections. In case you are looking for a quick read, we also selected several pamphlets from the US and Texas Document collections that introduce a subject or provide a brief overview of some gardening basics.
To search for these books and more, check out our catalog at www.tsl.texas.gov/catalog. If you are interested in checking out a title on our Featured Collection shelf, please visit the Reference Desk in room 109. Below is the complete list of titles you’ll find on our Featured Collection shelf this month.
| Title | Author | Call No. | Collection |
| Gardening in south Texas | Renton, Paul A. | 635.9 R298 1971 | MAIN |
| Grasses, pods, vines, weeds : decorating with Texas plants | Steitz, Quentin | 747.98 ST37G OVER-T | MAIN |
| Harder than hardscrabble : oral recollections of the farming life from the edge of the Texas Hill Country | Sitton, Thad, 1941- | 976.4287 H218s | MAIN |
| Herb gardening in Texas | Meltzer, Sol | 635.7 M496H | MAIN |
| How to grow native plants of Texas and the southwest | Nokes, Jill | 635.9 N699H | MAIN |
| Landscapes and gardens for historic buildings : a handbook for reproducing and creating authentic landscape settings | Favretti, Rudy J. and Favretti, Joy Putman | 712.6 F279L | MAIN |
| Landscaping with native Texas plants | Wasowski, Sally | 635.951764 W282L | MAIN |
| Neil Sperry’s Complete guide to Texas gardening | Sperry, Neil | 635.09764 SP37N | MAIN |
| Perennial gardens for Texas | Ryan, Julie | 635.9 R955 | MAIN |
| Adventures in Texas gardening | Scheick, William J. | Z TA475.8 SCH25ad | TXD |
| Beautiful, tough, and Texan : let your landscape shine with Texas superstars | Texas Department of Agriculture | A900.8 B385 | TXD |
| Blood oranges : colonialism and agriculture in the South Texas borderlands | Bowman, Timothy Paul | Z TA475.8 B684BL | TXD |
| Butterflies and how to attract them to your garden | Damude, Noreen. | P400.5 B982 94/06 | TXD |
| Butterfly gardening for Texas | Ajilvsgi, Geyata | Z TA475.8 AJ51bu | TXD |
| Cheryl Hazeltine’s central Texas gardener | Hazeltine, Cheryl | Z TA475.8 H338ch | TXD |
| Designing a wildscape | Foss, Diana | P400.5 D46 1997 | TXD |
| Doug Welsh’s Texas garden almanac | Welsh, Douglas F. | Z TA475.8 D744we 2011 | TXD |
| Easy edibles : how to grow and enjoy fresh food | Barrett, Judy | Z TA475.8 B275ea | TXD |
| Easy gardening, planning | McCraw, Dean | Z TA245.7 L47 NO.1576 | TXD |
| Farm workers and the churches : the movement in California and Texas | Watt, Alan J. | Z TA475.8 W34fa | TXD |
| Go Texan spotlights Texas superstars : scene-stealing landscape plants born to thrive in Texas | Texas. Department of Agriculture | A900.8 G534 | TXD |
| Growing good things to eat in Texas : profiles of organic farmers and ranchers across the state | Walker, Pamela | Z TA475.8 W153gr | TXD |
| Heirloom gardening in the South : yesterday’s plants for today’s gardens | Welch, William C. | Z TA475.8 W446he | TXD |
| Landscaping with edible plants in Texas : design and cultivation | Beesley, Cheryl | Z TA475.8 B392La | TXD |
| Perennial garden color | Welch, William C. | Z TA475.8 W446pe 2013 | TXD |
| Texas gardening the natural way : the complete handbook | Garrett, Howard | Z UA380.8 G192te 2016 | TXD |
| Texas roots : agriculture and rural life before the Civil War | Jones, C. Allan. | Z TA475.8 J712TE | TXD |
| Texas wildscapes : gardening for wildlife : the Texas A&M nature guides edition | Bender, Kelly Conrad | Z TA475.8 B432wi | TXD |
| What makes heirloom plants so great? : old-fashioned treasures to grow, eat, and admire | Barrett, Judy | Z TA475.8 B275wh | TXD |
| Yes, you can grow roses | Barrett, Judy | Z TA475.8 B275ye | TXD |
| Your vegetable garden : it’s only as good as the seed that you plant | Texas. Department of Agriculture | A900.8 Y88 1987 | TXD |
| Attracting hummingbirds to your garden using native plants | – United States. Forest Service | A 13.2:H 88/4 | USD |
| Growing vegetables in the home garden | United States. Science and Education Administration | A 1.77:202/3 | USD |
| Indoor gardening : artificial lighting, terrariums, hanging baskets, and plant selection | Cathey, Henry M | A 1.77:220 | USD |
| Minigardens for vegetables | United States. Science and Education Administration. | A 1.77:163/5 | USD |
| Xeriscape landscaping : preventing pollution and using resources efficiently | United States. Environmental Protection Agency. Office of Water. | EP 1.2:L 23/6 | USD |
| Yearbook of agriculture: Gardening for Food and Fun | United States. Department of Agriculture. | A 1.10:977 | USD |
| Yearbook of agriculture: The Face of Rural America | United States. Department of Agriculture. | A 1.10:976 | USD |