The Gardener's A-Z Guide to Growing Flowers from Seed to Bloom: 576 annuals, perennials, and bulbs in full color (Potting-Bench Reference Books) (Paperback)

by Eileen Powell (Author) "My early gardening experience began with grand plans and little real knowledge..." (more)
Key Phrases: Type Hardy, Light Full, Time After (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
Powell's book is a guide to growing 542 annuals, perennials, and bulbs. Each entry has information on the plant's botanic name, common name, description (appearance, size, color, and best use in the garden), zones in which the genus can be grown, flowering season, sowing, germination, transplanting, care, propagation, and the best combination of flowers. The guide also contains a photo gallery of all the plants and a planning chart for selecting 1,487 species by height, color, and bloom time. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Description
Why do gardeners start plants from seed instead of just buying a flat of seedlings from their local nursery? Necessity. Seedlings of unusual or exotic plants simply aren't available at garden stores, but they are available in seed. Then there's the cost factor. A few packets of seeds are much cheaper than dozens upon dozens of seedlings. And finally there's the plants' health to consider. Plants grown from seed get a healthy start that can almost guarantee you a magnificent display in your garden. The Gardener's A-Z Guide to Growing Flowers from Seed to Bloom will teach you everything you need to know to germinate and grow more than 500 types of flowering plants. For every plant listed you'll find precise information on whether it will do well in your part of the country; how to sow seeds indoors and outdoors; when to transplant indoor seedlings out in the garden; what light, soil, and spacing requirements are necessary; general plant care; when you can expect the plants to flower; how to encourage more blooms; and how to propagate your plants by cutting, division, layering, or detaching runners.

The book also features more than 500 full-color flower photographs. A quick-reference chart outlines bloom time, color, height, and site requirements for more than 1,000 species, making this book an indispensable reference for planning and planting fabulous gardens.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC; illustrated edition edition (February 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580175171
• ISBN-13: 978-1580175173
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #79,728 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "must have" for every gardener's library, April 1, 2004

By	"quill1000" (Stafford, VA United States) - See all my reviews

Eileen Powell's book is my gardening bible. It's extremely comprehensive in covering all aspects from growing the over 500 different plants from seed. Not a "seed grower"? ... no problem - the detail on care, growing conditions, water, soil, pests, etc. is why this book is my number one garden library resource. I highly recommend it - and it won't ever go out of date!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Follow the directions and get results, May 10, 2004

By A Customer

Eileen Powell's The Gardener's A-Z Guide to Growing Flowers from Seed to Bloom provides detailed information on germination, growing and care in a format that is easy to read. She also provides the growing zone in large print, so you can quickly skip the plants that will not grow in your area. The information useful for planning a garden is in a separate section from the care of each plant. This allows the planning information to be organized into tables that allow the reader to easily choose plants for time of bloom, height, color, light and soil requirements. She also lists the hardiness and heat zones in the planning tables.

I only wish I could find a similar book for unusual vegetables and herbs.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really and truly useful, August 9, 2004

By	Madison Pleasant (Richmond, VA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When a friend recently asked me to suggest a book that would tell her the soil preferences of different flowers, I knew exactly what she needed. The Gardener's A-Z Guide to Growing Flowers from Seed to Bloom has all the answers. In addition to concise profiles of 500 bloomers, there's a handy gallery of color photographs and my favorite section, a 50-page chart that lists major and minor species along with their bloom times, colors, and cultural requirements. This book is designed to be useful, and it is!