Reddit reviews Better Homes and Gardens Gardening Made Simple: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide to Gardening

I would really suggest that you save your money, don't buy a shelf of books, and instead patronize your local public library at first.

The trouble with landscaping how-to books is that they can tend to be slightly biased, if only unconsciously, towards a particular style of landscaping. Very few landscapers work in all idioms, everyone has their own personal, if subconscious, preferences. One likes the Japanese minimalist look, another prefers Prairie Style, this one adores classic Gertrude Jekyll cottage gardens, and that one is only comfortable with native plants.

It's therefore difficult to find a single book that is truly comprehensive. A book is only going to give you that particular author's ideas about landscaping, and if he's never heard of, or doesn't practice, things like, say, native plants, xeriscaping and gray water use, or using vegetables in the front yard, and if his is the only book you read, you'll never hear about them.

And buying an entire shelf of books is expensive.

So what I'd do (and what I did, ages ago) is check out and read everything the library has on their shelves. That's an excellent way to get a good overview.

As for the nuts and bolts of landscaping, it's just gardening. You don't need a book on "landscape gardening", you just need a book on gardening.

This was my bible for a long time. My daughter has it now. Check used bookstores, it's worth it.
http://www.amazon.com/Better-Homes-Gardens-Complete-Gardening/dp/0696025566

This is a decent upgrade.
http://www.amazon.com/Better-Homes-Gardens-Gardening-Simple/dp/0470638540/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1408298853&sr=1-1&keywords=better+homes+gardens+gardening

There are other resources on the web. The National Gardening Association put out an awesome monthly magazine during the 1980s and 90s, I am still desolate that they stopped. But they do have a good website.

http://www.garden.org/

If you're in the U.S., you can contact your local university extension office. It's their federally mandated, taxpayer-funded job to help homeowners with garden problems. They will have planting guides, charts, brochures, and tons of free advice. Find your office here. Or you can Google "[city or county] university extension office master gardener" and look around for a phone number or email.