Giant Perennials: Star Performers for the Garden [Paperback]

Susan Berry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2003

Gardeners know that structure is one of the most important elements in a successful garden design. Height is one way to add structure to a landscape. You can plant trees and shrubs, of course, but you also can use easy-to-grow perennials.

Giant Perennials is a fully illustrated guide to adding drama and scale to any garden using plants that grow to about 5 feet. Easy to use and featuring a handy, extended fold-over flap showing plant size, growing conditions, blooming time, flower or foliage, and height and spread, Giant Perennials includes:

• A directory with more than 100 spectacular plants for every type of garden condition
• Suggestions on where, how and what to plant with giant perennials
• Advice on selection and cultivation
• A separate chapter on designing with giant perennials, complete with planting schemes
• Planting for damp or dry conditions, sun or shade
• Using color, foliage, and seasonal features
• Giant perennials in containers
• Practical tips on getting started, routine care, propagation, and controlling pests and diseases.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

When it comes to adding structure to the garden, size matters. Whether it's a single, dramatic focal point or a sweeping drift of vivid color, plants of unusual size, shape, color or texture can have an enormous impact on garden design. From the commanding crimson of a colossal Canna to the muted majesty of a "Maidenhair" Miscanthus, there is a wealth of larger-than-life perennials offering an astounding array of alternatives to trees and shrubs, which are more commonly used to add verticality and mass to the garden. Profiling dozens of plants that generally grow taller than five feet, Berry explains why and where perennials of this magnitude can be used, from dry to damp, shady to sunny conditions. In this easy-to-use guide, handy icons furnish at-a-glance data on size, site, bloom time, and color, while detailed descriptions offer cultural and maintenance background information. Highlighted by Wooster's dazzling color photographs of individual plants and impressive plantings, Berry offers tantalizing testimony to the power of "thinking big" for innovative garden designs. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

The pictures included are very helpful and illustrative of the major concepts... a must-have resource for gardeners and landscape designers. (LaVerne McKenney Lexington Herald-Leader 20040828)

[Berry's] suggestions for companion planting schemes are exciting and well thought out. (Sherry A. Firing Globe and Mail 2004)

This recommended reference will have a unique spot in any library aimed to respond to the curiosity of amateur gardeners. (Danuta Nitecki American Reference Books Annual, Volume 35 20031210)

Loaded with great color photos and planting information. (Kim Ode Minneapolis Star Tribune 20030401)

Easy-to-use guide ... dazzling color photographs ... tantalizing testimony to the power of 'thinking big' for innovative garden designs. (Carol Haggas Booklist 200306)

Will get you started with some plants you may have known for years... others that will surprise and delight you. (Elaine Juhl Current Books on Gardening and Botany [Chicago Bot 200304)

Practical plants to help add big flowers and foliage to the garden. (Susanna Reid Neil Sperry's Gardens Magazine 20030820)

Book of show-stopping perennials... how to choose, site, care for and take full advantage of such mammoth plants. (Valerie Easton Seattle Times 20030918)

Well-illustrated and sensibly organized reference... Read, plant and stand back. (Robert Howard Hamilton Spectator 20040410)

Gives a romantic side to easy-care plants. Many large perennials are self-supporting, deep-rooted and low-maintenance. (Mary Ann Fink St Louis Post-Dispatch )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Firefly Books (March 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1552977129
• ISBN-13: 978-1552977125
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 6.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,960,428 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very helpful photos - missing symbol descriptions, August 23, 2005

By 

AlwaysLearning "Happy2Be" (ALPHARETTA, GA, United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Giant Perennials: Star Performers for the Garden (Hardcover)

I liked the fact that most of the plants in this book are shown FULL GROWN with full color photographs. Photographs of full grown plants and groups of full grown plants are very, very helpful when planning a garden or landscape. I also appreciated that each plant description indicated if the plant would need to be staked for support.
Don't buy this book without the dust jacket! The meaning for the symbols at the top of each plant description are not in the book. They are only on the dust jacket! Also, the directory pages were color coded but I couldn't find a key to determine what the color coding meant. I had to guess.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Bold and beautiful plants, September 18, 2003

By 

Valerie Adolph "Coast Journal" (Pacific Northwest) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Giant Perennials: Star Performers for the Garden (Paperback)

This is a fairly basic book that will help new, or fairly new gardeners select and grow large perennials. Perennials - flowers that bloom year after year - are the backbone of many gardens. However many people with small city lots hesitate to grow larger perennials, fearing they might appear out-of-scale with the size of the property. I was one of those people until I got tempted by lupins, red hot pokers and foxgloves. (Too bad, I thought, if passers-by couldn't see the house for the flowers. In fact the larger flowers make a dramatic statement and draw attention rather than hiding the house.)

So I was encouraged when the writer mentioned that she also grew large perennials on a very small lot. The perennials described in the book usually reach a height of five feet or more, and are often placed at the back of the border so they don't hide smaller plants. The writer is knowledgeable on the topic of larger perennials and the first 40 pages discuss where and how to plant, plant care, propagation, and pests and diseases.

The remaining 100 pages are a plant directory of tall perennials, nicely illustrated with color photographs. The description of each plant has all the information the gardener needs about height, spread, light requirements, and soil and drainage preferences. The writer also gives suggestions for combination plantings and offers advice on topics such as staking requirements and how to keep pets at bay.

Buy this book for someone who is fairly new to gardening. It may encourage them to take a step towards bolder and more structural plantings.

5.0 out of 5 stars Basic guidelines to planting for all occasions, May 17, 2003

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Giant Perennials: Star Performers for the Garden (Hardcover)

Filled cover to cover with spectacular full-color photographs, Giant Perennials: Star Performers For The Garden by gardening expert Susan Berry showcases a wide variety of beautiful and hardy plants to spruce up one's garden. Basic guidelines to planting for all occasions round out this eye-catching guide especially designed for those looking to choose the right sort of perennial to match the tone of their overall garden environment. Also available in a paperback edition Giant Perennials is a splendid and enthusiastically recommended addition to personal, professional, garden club, and community library Gardening & Horticultural reference collections.