UC Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County

UC ANR Publications

Garden Help

A wealth of invaluable reference materials is available from the University of California’s Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) Publications.

  • Both print and electronic versions are available for most.
  • Many smaller publications are free or low-cost.
  • Use the promotion code PRCLA43 at checkout for a 10% discount and to support our local program.

Below are some of the Master Gardeners’ favorite, Golden Trowel award-winning, reference books.

General gardening

Book cover for the "California Master Gardener Handbook, Second Edition," featuring gardening tools and flowers, with the title and editor's name prominently displayed.

The 2nd Edition of the California Master Gardener Handbook Second Edition has updated tables, graphics, and color photos throughout. The California Master Gardener Handbook has been the definitive guide to best practices and advice for gardeners throughout the West and is an invaluable reference tool for all California gardeners.

Cover of the book "Drip Irrigation in the Home Landscape," featuring a black drip emitter with a droplet of water on a textured light green background.

Make every drop count! Drip irrigation can increase plant performance and water savings, and its easy automation can make irrigation simpler while reducing weed and pest problems. Drip Irrigation in the Home Landscape is an easy-to-use reference guide that answers common questions about components, materials, design, installation, maintenance, and troubleshooting.

 

 

Trees and shrubs

Close-up of a pink rose on a book cover titled "Healthy Roses," featuring soft, velvety petals and a blurred background.

Use Healthy Roses, a best-selling guide for the rose enthusiast, to get sound advice on how to control pests and diseases using alternatives such as beneficial insects, traps and barriers, and less toxic pesticides such as soaps, oils and microbials. Learn about preventive measures such as careful selection of varieties, site selection and planting, proper watering, when and how to prune, and weed management.

Book cover displaying an oak tree with vibrant fall colors and the title "Oaks in the Urban Landscape: Selection, Care, and Preservation."

Oaks in the Urban Landscape offers a comprehensive look at the management of oaks in urban areas. Oaks are highly valued in urban areas for their aesthetic, environmental, economic, and cultural benefits. However, significant impacts to the health and structural stability of oaks have resulted from urban encroachment. Learn how to effectively manage and protect oaks in urban areas.

 

Pests and diseases

Book cover for "Pests of the Garden and Small Farm" featuring a garden scene with two people tending to plants, emphasizing sustainable pest management.

This classic handbook adapts scientifically based pest management techniques to the needs of the home gardener. Pests of the Garden and Small Farm covers insects, plant diseases, and weeds of fruit and nut trees and vegetables using minimal use of broad-spectrum pesticides.

A collection of four tree fruit pest identification cards, featuring images of pink flowering trees and various pests related to fruit trees.

Carry this pocket-sized set of 32 laminated Tree Fruit Pest ID Cards as a handy field guide for identifying major pests and diseases in California deciduous tree fruits and nuts. Each card includes a description and close-up photographs of life stages, with references to the appropriate UC IPM Pest Management Guidelines. Also includes information on important natural enemies.

Cover of the "Natural Enemies Handbook," featuring a landscape background and images of insects and flowers, with the title and subtitle highlighted.

The Natural Enemies Handbook is a comprehensive guide to help you understand how natural predators, parasites, pathogens, competitors, and antagonists can control pests in your landscape. The Quick Guide allows you to easily match natural enemies with specific pests in your crop or landscape. Beautifully and profusely illustrated.

Book cover featuring a close-up of a squirrel on a tree branch, with the title "Wildlife Pest Control around Gardens and Homes" in yellow text.

Wildlife Pest Control Around Gardens and Homes will help you determine when a control method is necessary and what your options are. The integrated pest management guidelines offer the widest range possible of both preventive and population reduction methods for common bird, mammal, and reptile pests. From cliff swallows to rattlesnakes, bats to voles, deer to woodpeckers, this volume will help you identify, appraise, and monitor your wildlife pest situation.

Book cover of "Pests of Landscape Trees and Shrubs," featuring a person inspecting plants, with red flowers and green foliage in the background.

Pests of Landscape Trees and Shrubs is the ultimate guide to managing insect, mite, weed, plant disease, and nematode pests. You will get valuable information on how to use environmentally safe, ecologically based IPM methods; landscape designs that prevent pests; how to select resistant varieties; advice on the use of less-toxic pesticides; and tips on planting, irrigating, and other plant-care cultural activities that help in avoiding problems.

A fan of colorful Landscape Pest Identification Cards, with a garden photo on the front card.

This set of pocket-size, sturdy, laminated Landscape Pest Identification Cards is a handy quick reference covering 80 common insects and mites, 40 diseases, 20 beneficial insects, and a variety of other disorders and invertebrate pests. Each pest is identified by a description and excellent close-up color photographs of important symptoms and life stages. Also includes descriptions of natural enemies and suggestions for least toxic management options.

Cover of the book "Abiotic Disorders of Landscape Plants" featuring a lush green landscape, a wooden structure, and a tall palm tree, with vibrant flowers in the foreground.

Abiotic Disorders of Landscape Plants contains a wealth of information to help you diagnose disorders caused by environmental, physiological, or other nonbiological factors. You will learn how to diagnose disorders such as nutrient deficiencies, salinity, pH, sunburn, air pollution, herbicides, mechanical injuries, lightning, wind, and hail.

 

Weeds

Book cover titled "Weeds of California and Other Western States," featuring a field of yellow flowers with rolling hills in the background under a blue sky. Authors are Joseph M. DiTomaso and Evelyn A. Healy.

Weeds of California and Other Western States: This encyclopedic yet easy-to-use guide is the most comprehensive guide to weed identification in the West ever published. Covering 262 individual entries, including a full description of 451 species and another 361 plants compared as similar species, representing 63 plant families, yet organized so the information you need is easy to find.

A stack of "Weed Pest Identification and Monitoring Cards" featuring images of various plants and a green landscape.

Based on the bestselling Weeds of California and Other Western States, this set of 48 Weed Pest Identification and Monitoring Cards is a handy field companion covering the most common weeds. Each is identified with a description and excellent close-up color photographs, along with habitat, distribution, and management tips.