Continued: Read 'em and reap

"Why is it that spring and summer gardens get so much attention, while autumn gardens often seem like nothing more than an afterthought?"

That's an excellent question raised by authors Nancy Ondra and Stephanie Cohen and deftly answered in their new book, "Fallscaping: Extending Your Garden Season Into Autumn" (Storey Publishing, $22.95).

With no-nonsense text and serviceable photos, Ondra and Cohen detail some of the best fall plants -- from the old-standbys (asters and chrysanthemums) to more surprising late-flowering annuals, perennials, shrubs and trees. They also look beyond the blossoms to include plants with stand-out foliage, showy seed heads and colorful berries.

Not being a fan of one-size-fits-all gardens, I found the chapters on fall planting combinations and fall garden plans less appealing. But the book more than makes up for what I consider its shortcomings with detailed plant information and excellent how-tos on everything from saving seeds, to deadheading, to extend bloom-time. It also contains some quirky suggestions that no late-season gardener would want to miss, such as spray-painting seed heads -- those still attached to plants in the garden! -- to add some sparkle.

CONNIE NELSON

"Rose people are crazy," according to one of the rose-aholics profiled in "Otherwise Normal People: Inside the Thorny World of Competitive Rose Gardening" (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, $22.95).

It's easy to imagine Christopher Guest making one of his mockumentaries about this quirky cast of characters -- except they're all real: Clarence, who's bent on training sparrows to eat the Japanese beetles off his roses; John, who grooms his show blooms using a fishing-tackle box filled with Q-tips, nail scissors and cosmetic brushes; Keith, the breeder who supervises "rose sex" at Jackson & Perkins.

Author Aurelia Scott scrutinizes this highly competitive, male-dominated world with a wry yet affectionate eye, weaving in intriguing tidbits of rose history and lore. Nongardeners will scratch their heads at such obsessive devotion to a single, finicky plant, but true rose lovers will find this a fascinating read.

KIM PALMER

"1001 Gardens You Must See Before You Die," edited by Rae Spencer-Jones (Barron's, $34.95), joins a spate of books based on things to do before you die: movies, paintings and buildings to see, books to read, places to visit, etc. I guess this is a new category of book -- the End Times genre.

A friend said the title depressed her. "Why not 11 gardens to see before you die? I might actually have a chance of doing that," she lamented. I consoled her with the fact that there are many more achievable titles in this genre, such as "300 Beers to Try Before ... " or "50 Places to Play Golf Before. ... "

But we were talking about "1001 Gardens," a chunky doorstop of a book that has gorgeous color photos throughout. There are one or two gardens per page with a brief, standardized profile of each that lists designer, owners, garden style, size, climate and location, followed by about three paragraphs of concise description. Though international in its scope, it does include Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin in Wisconsin and the private Medina garden of Wally Marx. (Unfortunately, there are no pictures of Marx's massive, impressive garden.)

The book's index appears in the front, while the addresses of each garden are listed in the back (unfortunately without Web contact information). And guess what? After reading this hefty volume, you'll feel as if you've visited all 1,001 gardens.

JARRETT SMITH

The daisy-splashed cover boards of "Garden People: The Photographs of Valerie Finnis" by Ursula Buchan (Thames & Hudson, $35) are an apt entree to the world of British horticulture and the work of gardener-photographer Finnis.

In "Garden People" are those inimitable Brits -- the men in ties and tattersall shirts; the women in tweeds and extremely sensible shoes -- who love to grow things in a country that seems like one big garden.

Armed with a Rolleiflex camera and a great eye and affection for flowers and their cultivators, Finnis managed in her long (1924-2006) lifetime to get down on film many of England's greatest and most wonderful gardeners, both posed and working in their green, color-drenched worlds.

This book is a perfect place to lose yourself on a winter evening.

LARRY HANSON

"Beyond the Windowsill: Add Style to Your Home With the Beauty of Indoor Plants" by Jon Carloftis (Cool Springs Press, $24.99) is more than a primer on choosing and caring for houseplants. This book is about where in your house to put plants and how to work them into your decor, considering your style, space and the problems plants could solve for you. It's filled with inspirational photos and specific plant suggestions for a variety of interior situations.

CHICAGO TRIBUNE