Books, Books, and More Books

[Forest]

I had no idea how many hundreds of books there are out there on the subject of gardening; there are at least ten shelves devoted to gardening at my local book store. And going online to find the proper book for what I need is even worse; there are thousands of books to choose from. How do I know which one to buy? I just want to learn the basics about growing a small flower garden in my back yard, so can you please direct me or tell me which book you suggest as being the best on this topic? I certainly don’t have time to flip through every book to see if it might be right for me, so to save me the time and effort and money, I’m coming to you for your advice. I don’t want a book that reads, “Gardening for Dummies”; I’m a bit more educated than that; but I also don’t want a book that goes into extreme details that I don’t need. What are your favorite books on the subject?