The Explorer's Garden: Rare and Unusual Perennials [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Daniel J. Hinkley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 1999

Daniel J. Hinkley’s fascination with plants goes back to his childhood in Michigan, where he studied horticulture before moving west to Washington to earn his master’s degree. He writes for numerous horticultural publications and is in high demand as a speaker throughout North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. Dan has been awarded the Scott Gold Medal, the Liberty Hyde Bailey Award, and the Veitch Memorial Medal, among others. Founder of the original Heronswood Nursery in Kingston, Washington, with his partner, Robert L. Jones, he now brings his expertise to Monrovia Growers as well as to several design firms, including Gustafson Guthrie Nichol Ltd., Portico, and The Berger Partnership, where he serves as horticultural consultant. He currently gardens at Windcliff, their home in Indianola, Washington, on five acres of high bluff overlooking Puget Sound.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

If, like so many other gardeners the world over, you're enamored of Dan Hinkley's Heronswood Nursery catalog, you'll love the Explorer's Garden. Heronswood is a wildly successful nursery in Kingston, Washington, that offers many of the most beautiful and unusual plants available anywhere. My guess is that once The Explorer's Garden is read through for pleasure, it will be used over and over again as a supplement to the catalog, as it thoroughly describes the plants Hinkley offers at Heronswood, and offers information on how best to grow them.

The Explorer's Garden is part sheer adventure, part the story of Hinkley's intense love and appreciation for the flora of Planet Earth. While fascinating for the botanist with its tales of plants growing in their native habitats at the far corners of the world, The Explorer's Garden also satisfies the gardener by emphasizing which plants are most garden-worthy. Out of the many masterworts (Astrantia) now available, Hinkley tells us that the cultivar known as "Margery Fish" or "Shaggy" is one of the best of the lot. He sorts through the virtues of the many hardy geraniums, distinguishing G. sylvaticum "Amy Doncaster" for its deep-blue upturned flowers with white eyes; he calls G. phaeum exceptional for its striking, purple-blotched foliage. This is just the kind of information gardeners need to know. We may grow plants better by understanding from whence they hail, but it is experienced guidance in choosing amongst the hosts of available plants that keeps us reading, notepad to hand.

And if you think that this book will help you to fill up your garden with the best perennials, just remember that Hinkley has two more books to follow in The Explorer's Garden series. So leave some room, on your bookshelf and in your garden, for trees and shrubs. --Valerie Easton

From Booklist

Hinkley, an exhilarating garden writer, is also a modern-day plant explorer who frequently treks to remote realms in pursuit of plant species to grow, propagate, and introduce to the world of gardening. At his Heronswood Nursery outside Seattle (a mecca attracting keen gardeners from near and far), the private gardens and lushly landscaped display gardens allow visitors firsthand encounters with a surprising array of praiseworthy plants growing in breathtaking splendor. Now in his own inimitable style, Hinkley sets pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard, as the case may be) to discuss the merits of a wide range of garden-worthy perennials. Graced by the author's formidable knowledge of botany, the book promises to satisfy the most demanding tendencies of today's gardeners with remarkably evocative portraits of rare and wonderful species, accompanied by glorious color photographs. Tackling the topic at hand with unequaled capability, Hinkley offers detailed cultivation advice on a vast number of alluring specimens to thrill and delight the fancies of garden lovers. Alice Joyce

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 380 pages
• Publisher: Timber Press; 1st edition (August 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881924261
• ISBN-13: 978-0881924268
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 7.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #970,898 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a Fine Book!, November 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Explorer's Garden: Rare and Unusual Perennials (Hardcover)

A well researched, well thought out guide to some wonderful plants that, to quote the author's witty prose, should be on a good many gardener's 'lust list'. Good photography, HONEST descriptions of the plant (without 'catalog-ese') and cultural information all add to a fine addition to the hort books out there.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars informative and a great companion to the Heronswood catalog, October 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Explorer's Garden: Rare and Unusual Perennials (Hardcover)

This is an excellent book. Dan Hinkley is a funny and engaging writer and speaker. I highly recommend this for the gardener who appreciates subtle yet beautiful flowers and foliage. Many of the plants that he discusses are from Asia where he has travelled extensively. The book is a great companion to the thick Heronswood Nursery catalog and web site since it has a number of photos. Dan discusses care and propagation of the plants as well.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Explorer's Garden: Rare and Unusual Perennials, August 9, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Explorer's Garden: Rare and Unusual Perennials (Hardcover)

This book does what it aims to very well: it describes (and includes photos of) some very unusual plants. However, please be aware that many of these plants do not have mass appeal; that is why, after all, they are still rare and unusual, rather than having been picked up by your local garden centers.

I found myself using this book mostly as a specific adjunct to the Heronswood Nursery catalogue, looking up some photos and cultural information for a few of the plants listed in the catalogue. If this is YOUR intended use, please be aware that you may be able to get this information for a lot less money by just using Heronswood's website, now that it is expanded to include a good variety of plant photos.