Garden Plants of Japan [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Ran Levy-Yamamori (Author), Gerard Taaffe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 2004

Japanese plants have had an unmistakable influence on the gardens of the world. Who can imagine gardens without flowering cherries, hostas, Japanese maples, or magnolias? For all the popularity of these plants in international gardens, however, few gardeners know the full story of Japanese plants — their history and uses in gardens in Japan, their horticultural merits for gardens of all kinds, even the meaning and symbolism of their native names. Now for the first time, a color encyclopedia provides an authoritative overview of the Japanese garden flora. Garden Plants of Japan serves as a manual for horticultural advice, a source of inspiration for armchair gardeners, even a guidebook for travelers to Japan. Sumptuously illustrated, it explores the entire palette of plants cultivated in Japan, carefully noting which plants are authentically Japanese and which are transplants. The selection of plants and the amount of detail and insight are unprecedented.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Passionate plantsmen Levy-Yamamori and Taaffe have gleaned a deep knowledge of the native species that grow in Japan's climate zones, which range from alpine to warm-temperate. Providing a geographical context for the diversity of Japan's thousands of wild plants, they shed light on important cultural and symbolic plant associations. Such observations carry over into a well-illustrated and extensive encyclopedia of trees and shrubs, vines and herbaceous plants, grasses and ferns. Each entry covers cultivation requirements and illuminating details about how plants are used in gardens or bonsai, along with illuminating horticultural points of interest and historical background. Alice Joyce
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"The authors develop an extensive plant encyclopedia, a kind of guided tour of the plants Japanese gardeners enjoy and, in many cases, revere."—Marty Ross, Horticulture, May 2005 (Marty Ross Horticulture )

"Spend an hour with this book, and you'll be wondering why we all don't grow the delicate, fragrant, early-blooming Japanese apricot ... as well as a whole garden's worth of little-known pines, bamboos and flowering cherries."—Valerie Easton, Seattle Times, November 17, 2004 (Valerie Easton Seattle Times )

"There's something here for everyone intrigued by Japan or by plants."—Josephine Bridges, Asian Reporter, July 12, 2005 (Josephine Bridges Asian Reporter )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 440 pages
• Publisher: Timber Press (October 15, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881926507
• ISBN-13: 978-0881926507
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.9 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #936,093 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Illustratred Encyclopedic Guide to Japanese Plants, November 29, 2004

By 

Henry Berry "Henry Berry" (Southport, CT) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Garden Plants of Japan (Hardcover)

Visually appealing with its hundreds of bright color photographs and encyclopedic in its scope and content, this reference also has the clarity of organization and practicality of a garden handbook. Each of the listings of the hundreds of Japanese plants gives notes on appearance, cultivation, and use (e. g., ground cover, attractive spring flowers, potted plant) of the particular plant along with the Japanese and English names, interesting points, and related plants. As noted in the Foreword by E. Charles Nelson, the Japanese, with their insular culture, had no desire to go abroad seeking foreign plants--nor did they need to with the variety available in their homeland. Yet American gardeners and others readily took to Japanese plants when Japan opened up to the West, and continue to do so increasingly in recent years. This attractive, complete, useful reference fully satisfies an interest in the variety of Japanese plants. Both authors have extensive backgrounds and solid reputations in horticulture.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent work and useful sourse for any gardener!, July 26, 2010

By 

Alexandru Grajdan "Alex" (South Europe) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Garden Plants of Japan (Hardcover)

This is really useful work for ALL who are interested in japanese gardening or landscaping in general. Every plant has complete characteristic : general information, USDA zone, usage , interesting facts and of course, beautiful photos. Serious work and I'm very grateful to authors.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Niwaki, August 23, 2007

By 

Pyoko "Book Yoko" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Garden Plants of Japan (Hardcover)

I just loved all the information and pictures it has on pruning your evergreen and trees. I found it very informative.