Check out some of these new titles about gardening:

¢ “Foliage” by Nancy J. Ondra, with photographs by Rob Cardillo (Storey, $24.95): Beautiful photography helps Ondra drive home the point that flowers alone do not a garden make. Foliage lends structure to a space, she explains, while ensuring season-long interest. Chapters are organized by color, shape and texture, and they illustrate the characteristics of dozens of plants, and instruct on selection and appropriate plant combination.

¢ “First-time Gardener” by Kim Wilde (Collins, $24.95): Step-by-step advice coupled with illustrated instructions make this a wonderful guide for beginning gardeners. Hardscaping, planting, sowing, seeding and pruning techniques are covered in detail, along with basics such as soil, climate and sunlight requirements. Novices also will learn the intricacies of plant-combining and the how-tos of containers, which remain popular.

¢ “Tending Your Garden: A Year-Round Guide to Garden Maintenance” by Gordon Hayward and Mary Hayward (Norton, $39.95): Divided by season, this nuts-and-bolts guide covers every necessary garden chore and tells you when and how it needs to be done. Chock full of tips and anecdotes, it also makes for good reading; the authors both are full-time gardeners and garden designers. Beautiful photography and some sketches nicely illustrate the how-tos.

¢ “Pots in the Garden: Expert Design and Planting” by Ray Rogers (Timber Press, $29.95): Filled with discussions about color, form and texture, this book doesn’t merely make plant and arrangement suggestions. Rather, Rogers instructs on design principles, pot selection, planting techniques and more, inspiring the reader to find his own style and develop his own applications. Photographs by Richard Hartlage are plentiful and present a wide variety of pots and plants.

¢ “Inside Out: The Art and Craft of Home Landscaping” by Jeff Hutton (Breakaway Books, $24.95): Flipping through this beautifully photographed book is enough to motivate readers to rethink their walkways, plantings, decks, patios, walls and fences. Hutton, a landscaper and novelist, applies the principles of interior decorating to the outdoor landscape, focusing on lines of sight, flow and color. What’s more, his down-to-earth writing style makes this a guide that can be read cover to cover, instead of merely referenced.