Customer Reviews

Armitage's Native Plants for North American Gardens

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4 star:		(1)
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This A-Z encyclopedia features over 600 species of native plants for the American gardener. All of the plants included here are perennials which are available to purchase in nurseries and mail-order catalogs. This was the author's major criteria for inclusion and some popular plants were omitted because they are not easily obtainable in the trade.

Plants are arranged by their botanical names (beginning with "aconitum" - monkshood and ending with "zizia aurea" - golden alexanders). Each plant profile includes a general description covering several paragraphs followed by comments on habitat, hardiness, garden site, garden maintenance, popular species for the garden, recommendations for propagation and etymology. Most, but not all, are accompanied by excellent color photographs.

The author's conversational, laid-back tone and occasional humor make this book a pleasure to read and includes more than enough information for the reader to determine whether or not the plant would perform well in their own garden. An extensive "Sources" directory includes the addresses, phone number and websites of 87 nurseries throughout the U.S. Separate listings for plant societies and internet sites are also provided. A "Useful List" directory lists plants in categories such as "drought tolerant," "rabbit resistant," "plants that attract butterflies," etc.

Printed on heavy, glossy paper, the weight of the book is surprising and should hold up to frequent use. This is a useful reference for home gardeners interested in learning more about native plants.

Good presentation of native plants, but could have more photos of some of the more obscure species. The book is slanted more toward the southeast and east U.S. Representation of western species is not as strong as it could be, but overall a very interesting book.

Very enjoyable and informative book. The enjoyment comes from the author's inclusion of personal perspectives of the native plants and the informative comes from the basic and beyond scientific information. Included is identification of the plant, habitat and propagation. Also mentioned are the cultivars of various plants. Good information for the beginning native plant gardener.

This is a good book for the gardener who wants to "go native" with attractive flowering plants. When I purchased this book on line, I was looking more towards the "native" side of prairie use and not ornamental horticulture use per se. I think the mistake is mine; Armitage does a wonderful job of discussing and displaying attractive native flowering plants for the garden area. If you like this book and want more detai. look into his defining book on perennials: Herbaceous Perennial PLants, A Treatise on their Identification, Culture, and Garden Attributes. I believe it is without equal.

I gave this book as a gift and have heard wonderful things about it. This book is very useful for help planning for choosing native plants and for figuring out where to plant natives in a garden.

I received this book very quickly and in excellent condition, exactly as described. I find Armitage's books (this is my third) to be informative, beautifully illustrated, and entertaining to read. The author is witty and opiniated, besides being very well informed. I look forward to ordering more of his publications, especially if Amazon makes them available!

Really great book. I got it from the library and just couldn't get enough of it. ...so I bought it and am glad I did. Great conversational writing makes it a joy to read. Really helps you figure out what plants will work best for you.

This book is an encyclopedia-like resource about north american native plants. I use it regularly for my questions in my gardening business. It includes wonderful pictures and has very useful info like habitat, hardiness, garden site and maintenance.

My family and I have been trying our best to identify the Native Plants and Herbs in our community, this by far is the best book that we have found for that purpose with very good photos!

I found this book an excellent reference to have for studying native plants. It should be in your personal library.