Collecting reference books for creativity

This is a response to James' posts about inspiration from physical artifacts and how to organize them. My home bookshelf is almost full, but it still houses a bunch of reference books that can be used for my creative projects. Most of those artifacts come from immediate family members, though some of them have been purchased at Booksale.1 Gardening Through the YearOne of the books that I got from Booksale was Gardening Through the Year by Ian Spence. While this guidebook is mostly aimed for gardeners in the United Kingdom (where this book was first published), it features close-up photos of plants that are ideal to grow during each month. Right before the book's index, it even has a plant directory with small photos and detailed descriptions. This jacketed hardcover may not be applicable for my gardening activities because of different climates, but it can be useful for incoporating floral motifs into my creative works. The New Webster's Dictionary of the English LanguageMoving on…