Right Rose Right Place: 359 Perfect Choices for Beds, Borders, Hedges and Screens, Containers, Fences, Trellises, and More by Peter Schneider

I'm an amateur gardener and roses are the plant that I find most intimidating. Gardening for me is a go-with-the-flow activity in which I try things and hope for the best. Roses have always seemed to me to be too high maintenance for my style, but after reading this book I think I may give them a try. There are certainly some lower maintenance climbing roses featured here that seem quite doable.

CantonWiki is having a meetup at the library on Wednesday, March 10 at 7:00PM. The goal is to meet CantonWiki people and to figure out ways to make the site better. Come to the Purple Room (in the Children's Library). You can see the agenda and RSVP on the wiki.

Photo by katielips used by Creative Commons license.

Black Plants: 75 Striking Choices for the Garden by Paul Bonine

I am currently in the midst of a multi-year project of turning our front yard into a front garden and I've selected black, white, purple, and silver for my color scheme. This book is an excellent resource for choosing plants with either black flowers or black foliage. While a number of these plants overwinter only in tropical zones, there are a great many that will thrive here in zone 6. What a striking contrast they provide to plants in a more typical color palette.

Elegant Enigmas: The Art of Edward Gorey by Karen Wilkin

While by no means an exhaustive collection of Gorey's works, this collection includes lots of information about Gorey himself and the many collaborators with whom he worked. The art included here is based around an exhibition of the same title which was shown at the Brandywine River Museum. Wilkin is a Gorey scholar and writes about many facets of Gorey as a person, including his influences, his attitudes, and his personality. Having been a fan of his work since I was a child, this glimpse into what he was like was quite interesting.

Do you know how much food you throw away each year? Ever wonder how much that's costing you? A new website, Love Food Hate Waste, has a ton of great information about how we can save money by wasting less. There are tips for making fresh produce last longer, recipes for using up the little bits of various foods you might have left over, and you can even add your own tips and join the community of folks to discuss and ask questions.

Photo by svacher used under Creative Commons license

The Knitter's Book of Wool: The Ultimate Guide to Understanding, Using, and Loving this Most Fabulous Fiber by Clara Parkes
Wool is one of the most-used fibers for knitting and this book contains all the info you could possibly want to know. There are dozens of varieties of wool outlined here, as well as advice for handling and use and twenty patterns that show off the beauty of this natural fiber.

Knit Along with Debbie Macomber: Summer on Blossom Street

Debbie Macomber's Blossom Street books have many fans and now you can knit and crochet ten projects inspired by the series. This book is designed with ease in mind - the print is large and you can easily refer back to the patterns without losing track of the stitches on your needles. The patterns are simple yet elegant and range from beginner to intermediate skill level.