By:
Suzanne Ackermann

Source(s):
Chic Hinton cmh@mail.ifas.ufl.edu, (352) 392-1764, ext. 224

GAINESVILLE, Fla.— This holiday season, give the gift of knowledge from the experts at the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

“Choose from dozens of beautifully illustrated books on subjects ranging from gardening to wildlife,” said Chic Hinton, manager of the University of Florida-IFAS Extension Bookstore. “Treat yourself to convenient shopping by visiting the store’s Web site http://IFASbooks.ufl.edu or calling the bookstore at (800) 226-1764.”

In addition to books, there are videos and special cards to identify insects, such as Butterfly ID Decks. For gardening aficionados, consider the Florida Lawn Handbook, a popular guide for homeowners and yard-care professionals, or Your Florida Guide to Butterfly Gardening: A Guide for the Deep South.

Turn to Your Florida Guide to Shrubs: Selection, Establishment and Maintenance for selecting and maintaining healthy shrubs. The 116-page color manual, available for $14.95, includes exotic and native plants, shrub selection and a hardiness-zone map. Another popular item, Landscaping for Florida’s Wildlife, is a beautifully illustrated book that helps readers encourage birds, butterflies and other wildlife creatures in the yard environment. It also comes with a video series.

And don’t forget Your Florida Dooryard Citrus Guide, the most detailed manual about Florida citrus ever published. The $7 book was revised in 2001, and homeowners can benefit from its charts, appendices and color photographs.

If you or your friends are looking for lakeside property, consider a book on Living at the Lake. If you want to know all about mushrooms, ask for the book, Common Mushrooms of Florida.

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