What's in your garden?

By this time of year, your garden should be bountiful with the season’s harvest. These books offer both the new and seasoned gardener some additional tools in cultivating the very best gardens, now and throughout the year.

“All New Square Foot Gardening: Grow More in Less Space!,” by Mel Bartholomew (paperback, Cool Springs Press, 2006, 272 pages, $19.95). Do you know what the best feature is in “All New Square Foot Gardening”? Sure, it’s even simpler than it was before. Of course, you don’t have to worry about fertilizer or poor soil ever again because you’ll be growing above the ground. But, the best feature is that “anyone,” “anywhere” can enjoy a square foot garden.

“Weeds: In Defense of Nature’s Most Unloved Plants,” by Richard Mabey (hardback, Ecco, 2011, 336 pages, $25.99). From dandelions to crabgrass, stinging nettles to poison ivy, weeds are familiar, pervasive, widely despised, and seemingly invincible. How did they come to be the villains of the natural world? And why can the same plant be considered beautiful in some places but be deemed a menace in others?

“Founding Gardeners: the Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation,” by Andrea Wulf (hardback, Alfred A. Knopf, 2011, 349 pages, $30.00). A fascinating look at the founding fathers from the unique and intimate perspective of their lives as gardeners, plantsmen and farmers.

“Gardening for All Seasons,” by Anne Moyer Halpin (paperback, Creative Homeowner, 2007, 320 pages, $21.95). Shows both the novice and the experienced gardener how to design, grow and maintain beautiful gardens throughout the year.

“Mini Farming: Self-Sufficiency on a 1⁄4 Acre,” by Brett L. Markham (paperback, Skyhorse Publishing, 2010, 240 pages, $16.95). Describes a holistic approach to small-area farming that will show you how to produce 85 percent of an average family’s food on just a quarter acre — and earn $10,000 annually while spending less than half the time that an ordinary job would require.