Go Outside!

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 17:23:00 GMT

It's springtime! Time to leave the house and enjoy the outdoors! Two recent books you should know about if you're planning on going further than the park down the street are Botanic Gems: Indiana Public Gardens, Including Greater Chicago, Dayton, Cincinnati & Louisville by Alan McPherson and The Complete Guide to Kentucky State Parks by Susan Reigler.

Botanic Gems includes more than 40 gardens in or near Indiana. Before this book, I had no idea that there are so many public gardens in Indiana! There are color photographs and maps for each location. The book includes Evansville's own Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden.

The Complete Guide to Kentucky State Parks is truly complete. The parks are covered in regional sections: north central, south central, eastern and western. The parks closest to the Evansville area are in the western section, which includes Henderson's John James Audubon State Park, a favorite of my family. Kentucky State Parks fall into three categories: resort, recreation & historic sites. Each regional section in the book begins with a great chart that breaks down the parks vertically by those three categories, and the going across, by features like park acres, lake acres, lodge & dining room, cottages, campgrounds, golf, marina, swimming, trails, tennis courts, museums, etc. Following the chart, each park in the section gets its own write-up with photographs.

These books are great resources if you're looking for some outdoor fun!

Is Gardening Too Tame For You?

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:51:00 GMT

Do you find pansies and impatiens a little dull? Would you rather grow something that eats, than grow something to eat? If so, check out these books on carnivorous plants. Even if you're not interested in planting venus fly traps, pitcher plants or other insect-eaters in your yard, the pictures in these books are fun to look at!

The Curious World of Carnivorous Plants by Wilhelm Barthlott, Stefan Porembski, Rudiger Seine & Inge Theisen

Carnivorous Plants: Care and Cultivation by Marcel Lecoufle

Insect-Eating Plants & How to Grow Them by Adrian Slack

The Savage Garden by Peter D'Amato

Gardening With Carnivores: Sarracenia Pitcher Plants in Cultivation & in the Wild by Nick Romanowski

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Go Outside!

Is Gardening Too Tame For You?