What to do if it's too cold or wet or hot to be in the garden?
Read about being in the garden, of course!
General Horticulture
Gardening Australia's Flora: The Gardener's Bible,
Various, ISBN 9780733310942.
Comprehensive, two volume set.
Covers both native and exotic plants.
Yates Garden Guide, Various, ISBN 0207198209. A general gardening guide for Australia.
Principles of Horticulture, Adams and Early, ISBN 0750660880.
UK based, but contains easy to understand botanical science and some basic chemistry related to horticulture.
Allaby, ISBN 0198608764.
All the words.
Botany for Gardeners,This book is a delight--and thank you, Wendy, for drawing my attention to it! It gets into the guts of plants, so to speak, covering the botanical basics of plant structure, adaptations, nutrition and reproduction. Ideal to snuggle up with in bed at night--that's how readable it is.
Resurrection in a Bucket: the Rich and Fertile Story of Compost.
Margaret Simons, ISBN 186508588-X
Another book you can read in bed. This is a woman who loves her compost. And I love anyone who loves compost.
A Primer of Ecological Genetics
Conner and Hartl, ISBN 087893202X
The part of me that craves doing a science degree in horticulture or botany made me buy this book. I had no choice.
Native Plants
Field Guide to Australian Wildflowers,
Denise Greig, ISBN 1864363347.
Great photos. Contains over 20,000 species.
Native Plants of the Sydney District, Fairley and Moore, ISBN 0864172613.
The key isn't brilliant, but the photos really help with ID.
Field Guide to the Native Plants of Sydney, Robinson, ISBN 0731812115.
The classic, with a superb key. Combine this with Fairley and Moore and you'll find your way.
Australian Native Plants: Cultivation, Use in Landscaping and Propagation, Wrigley & Fagg, ISBN 1876334908. Not a field guide, but as the name suggests, a practical guide to gardening with natives. Hugely comprehensive. Pride of place on the bookshelf!
Burnum Burnum's Wild Things, Sainty et al, ISBN 0646398792. Not only native plants but also reptiles, frogs and birds. For your back pocket when you go bushwalking.
Orchids
Dendrobium and its Relatives, Lavarack, ISBN 0731812948.
Dendrobium, Dockrilla and friends. Good photos and clear explanation of cultural needs.
Aquatic Plants
Waterplants in Australia: Field Guide, Sainty and Jacobs, ISBN 0958105510
Aquatic and Wetland Plants: A Field Guide for Non-Tropical Australia, Romanowski, ISBN 0868406325
Both of these books are valuable if you've a native pond. You don't want to introduce weeds--which is easy to do. (Some aquatic plant nurseries don't really know what's native and what's not....)
Vegetables
The Australian Vegetable Garden: What's New is Old, Blazey, ISBN 1864365382.
Published by the Diggers' Club, suppliers of heirloom vegetable seeds, this book helps you grow real vegetables, unlike the muck you buy at the supermarket.
Fruit and Vegetable Gardening in Australia, Pollock, ISBN 1740335708.
Big list of herbs, vegies and fruits, with techniques, recommended cultivars and organic advice.
Propagation
Let's Propagate!, Stewart, ISBN 0733303501. Covers both native and exotic plants and
is very comprehensive. It's one of my most used books. Angus is another Gardening Australia presenter.
Growing Australian Native Plants from Seed: For revegetation, tree planting and direct seeding,
Ralph, ISBN 0646428667.
Pests and Diseases
What Garden Pest or Disease is That? (Organic and Chemical Solutions for Every Garden Problem), McMaugh, ISBN 1864366990
Indispensible. You'll wonder how you gardened without it!
Weeds
Environmental Weeds: A Field Guide for SE Australia,
Blood, ISBN 0957908601
Field guide to weeds in Australia,
Lamp and Collet, ISBN 090960553X
Insects
A Field Guide to Insects in Australia,
Zborowski and Storey, ISBN 18763344967