I find really nice books at second hand stores.

I just finished "The Layered Garden: Design Lessons for Year-round Beauty from Brandywine Cottage" (2012) by Culp and Levine. It may be the first gardening book I've actually read cover to cover. The author has a very entertaining writing style, and he's an avid collector of hellebores and snow drops, so there's a lot of information on those. While I didn't necessarily feel that all of his methods are a good fit for most gardeners (e.g.,he treats foxgloves as annuals and buys them each year then rips them out once they're done flowering), I thought it was a good read and the photos are gorgeous. Also, it's worth a mention that the subject garden is in the Philadelphia area, so much of the information would likely be applicable to lower midwest gardens.

Not specific to cottage gardens but I find myself using my Perennials for Every Purpose by Larry Hodgson more often than any other book I've purchased over the past 10 years. It offers extensive growing/soil/moisture/maintenance information, as well as tips on companion plants which I've found valuable, helpful & informative over the years in maintaining my garden beds. There are also high-quality photos.

I like that it's sectioned off by garden purpose--no care, low care, drought resistant, perennials that attract pollinators & shade-blooming plants, among other categories.

I will have to look thru my books and see if I have any suggestions , but if there is a used book store nearby you can really get some great ideas !
There is a mc Kay's by us and I just bought 6 books for 13$. What a steal !
I know I enjoy the books by both the better homes and gardens magazine and southern living . Also I found a picture book of monets garden , full of inspiration !

Any book by Nancy J. Ondra, including her latest Five-Plant Gardens. As if, haha, but it is a great example of design ing with form and using restraint. As usual, fantastic photos by Rob Cardillo, the drawings are not as nice as the Design Primer but they do the trick.

Any book by Nancy J. Ondra, including her latest Five-Plant Gardens. As if, haha, but it is a great example of design ing with form and using restraint. As usual, fantastic photos by Rob Cardillo, the drawings are not as nice as the Design Primer but they do the trick.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions. I can't wait to check these out.

I did purchase one garden book for $13 on Amazon called "Cool Flowers" by Lisa Mason Ziegler. In it, she talks about how to grow hardy annual flowers. She gardens in Virginia and owns a cut flower business. The book is filled with step-by-step photos on how to start seeds indoor or outdoors. She also profiles her 30 favorite plants - pics and descriptions are provided. Would definitely recommend this book!

I really like English Cottage Gardening For American Gardeners by Margaret Hensel. Lots of great photos will definitely get you in the cottage frame of mind.

ThinMan

okay, I like the garden art of china by Yu Sianglin, Chen Lifang.

a lot of line art, history, and ideas to borrow

My gardening library has changed over the years, the books I still have are more on specific plants then general gardening. I have a few DVDs tho, one in particular is 'English Cottage and Country Gardens' bought from Amazon. I highly recommend it.

Annette