Architecture & Gardening

Books by the American Horticultural Society are wonderfully reliable, packed with information, and are nearly always filled with gorgeous photographs. Happily, all of the above applies to their newest offering, Homegrown Harvest, which focuses on the bountiful rewards of growing your own food. I’ll surely be making more room for winter crops in my yard after taking a peek inside this inspiring and super-helpful book. —S.B.

Nowhere is California’s cultural vigor, diversity, and independent spirit on better display than in the many forms of its buildings. As a way of engaging our imagination and deepening our understanding of the structures around us, Frozen Music invites readers to view architecture in a new way—not through architectural criticism but through literature. This new book explores the diversity of California architecture through excerpts taken from novels, memoirs, essays, poetry, and more. Examining structures from the early missions to present-day buildings to futuristic visions, the pieces in this collection move from romantic to speculative, comedic to philosophical.

Harriet Fasenfest’s A Householder’s Guide to the Universe takes up the banner of progressive homemaking and urban farming as a way to confront the political, social, and environmental issues facing the world. While offering plenty of useful advice on how to do common household chores sustainably, Fasenfest goes deeper to discuss the philosophy of “householding.” The book is organized in monthly installments according to season, and the author invites readers into her own home, garden, and kitchen to consider concrete tools for change. “Charming and inviting…sure to be a source of inspiration,” says Sandor Ellix Katz, author of Wild Fermentation.

As the second decade of the 21st century begins, we’re more compelled than ever to find refuge in our homes and personalize our living spaces with DIY projects that celebrate who we are and where we’ve been. In Crafting a Meaningful Home, Bay Area author Meg Mateo Ilasco shares 27 projects that tell personal stories and celebrate heritage, all easily created on a budget