Garden for Cutting

Parke, a gardener in New York state who has written for Horticulture , the New York Times and elsewhere, sensibly combines information about planting and cultivation with advice about the practical art of flower arranging--all inside two covers. A typically lovely Stewart, Tabori & Chang picture book, this one is laid out and illustrated so invitingly that it's all the hand can do to keep from plucking the delphiniums. But stay the hand--and keep reading. If you do, you will learn how grasses can serve in vases; how to harvest and dry flowers and foliage; and how to force blooming. Parke also includes chapters on bulbs and annuals, borders, and a compilation of plant ``profiles'' with reasonably detailed background information. Many gardeners will want to mull over this volume in the off-season. One reason: the photographs alone. Margonelli ( Invitation to the Garden ) has a special knack with flowers of purple and blue hues; his shots of shaded hydrangeas, campanula and violets are deep, sweet and still. (Dec.)