ANy suggestions on good gardening books? And a question about pruning...

[screetch]

I just moved into a new house that has extensive landscaping -- and I have no idea how to care for it. I'm in Indiana - and that's where I grew up - but I've never had to care for landscape in this climate. We just moved back here from Florida, which is (obviously) completely different.

Any suggestions on good gardening books? I'm looking for good encyclopedia-type books, since I have no idea what most of what I've got is, a well as general how-to-garden. I have no idea how to take care of any of this!

Also, the house we moved to was vacant for almost a year, so except for basic upkeep, the flowers and shrubs were left to grow wild. There are a bunch of flowering shrubs that are incredibly overgrown and I'm not sure what to do about them with regards to pruning. I always stopped pruning by November in Florida, so I'm assuming right now is too late to do any pruning in Indiana. Correct? My aunt told me I could - and should - cut back my shrubs, but I don't want to weaken them before a frost (it was my understanding pruning brings them out of dormancy). She said if I wait till spring, I will mess up the flowering ability. Even if I didn't cut back on their shape, could I at least prune the scraggly limbs? The shrubs in question line our sidewalk and they look messy.

tia!

[fuzzy]

I don't have a good gardening book suggestion, but...WRT pruning...generally its best to wait until immediately after a flowering shrub actually flowers before you prune. So, late spring, if you have an early spring flowering shrub. The theory, so I'm told, is that if you prune now, you *could* prune off the some of the baby buds and end up with flower-less plants in the spring.

[screetch]

Thanks fuzzy, that's another thing I also read, though you explained it a little better. Still debating on whether I should trim the scraggly branches, though it seems like it might not hurt if flowering's the main issue.

[fuzzy]

Yeah, it is kinda a tough call. Another thing to consider it the "traffic" around the plants and the potential for snow drifts. The scraggly branches -- asuming you mean they kinda "stick out" -- could "catch" more snow, making it more likely that winter kill may occur. So its kinda a toss up, ya know?