Customer Reviews

Hardy Succulents: Tough Plants for Every Climate

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book takes cacti and succulents away from the stigma of ugly pointy things you stick in the middle of too many rocks and expertly tells you how to work with them.The author does this in a straight-forward manner.After several years work transforming my bare yard with perennials that were not nearly as xeric as claimed I've become obsessed with the beauty of the blooms and low upkeep of cacti and succulents.The use of pots for the plants has given me many creative ideas with little effort.

This book was not as informative about the care of succulents but lots of nice photos with names of plants.

Cacti and other succulents plants once thought isolated to dessert conditions can now be found in every horticultural zone bringing a very special beauty and versatility to even the most novice of gardener's efforts. "Hardy Succulents: Tough Plants For Every Climate" by Gwenn Moore Kelaidis (one of the foremost experts on Rock gardening, co-owner of the mail-order nursery Rocky Mountain Rare Plants, and who also operates a Denver-based garden design and installation company) is a beautifully illustrated instructional guide that is replete with step-by-step growing instructions, practical care tips, creative ideas and resources for the inclusion of these easy-to-grow plants within the context of virtually any garden design be it urban, suburban, or rural. Whether as ground covers, container plants, embedded with perennials, or used in emulation of shrubs, "Hardy Succulents" covers all these areas, as well as providing practical information that includes Reference Maps; a Glossary, Resources, and an Index. "Hardy Succulents" is a thoroughly 'user friendly' and prized addition to any personal, professional, or community library Gardening & Horticultural reference collection.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This book has wonderful photos.If you love sedum, gardening or
beauty in any form you will enjoy looking at the pages of this book.
Written so you feel you are conversing with a friend. Delightful to
read. May not give as much detailed information on growing conditions etc.but no other book I have found has any more.

As a collector and grower of succulents for over 40 years, I highly recommend this as an addition to your library. Living in Mediterranean climate areas all my life, I have found it difficult to find resources for growing non-cactus succulents and this fills another niche.

Hardy Succulents: Tough Plants for Every Climate Very informative and easy to understand. Great for Southern California gardeners.
Saved my Succulents from the over watering death!!!

I like plants. I recently took sort of an inventory of the plants we have in our home, planted in our yard (and our yard includes deep woods), and even a somewhat hurried inventory of the plant books I have on my bookshelves. To my surprise I found that a great many of the plants I attend, cultivate and enjoy fall into the category of succulents. I suppose there are reasons for this; two primary ones come to my mind almost instantly.

First, succulents are hard to kill. I am quite good at killing off plants. Succulents can take a tremendous about of neglect and abuse and still thrive, look good and reproduce.

Secondly, I simply like them. They are extremely pleasing to my eye, can be rather spectacular and for the most part easy to control.

The book being reviewed here, `Hardy Succulents' is a pure joy to read and is simply packed with good information. The photographs are top of the line. The text is easy to read, understandable and very well written. While it may be a bit lacking in minute detail as to some of the more technical aspects of growing these amazing plants, it is never-the-less quite adequate for the beginning, average and advanced gardener.

There are other books that go into much more details as to being species specific, but this work gives a very good overview of varieties and families that are available and most importantly, it gives good advice as to how to keep these plants alive and thriving with a minimum of hassle.

One of my hobbies is building miniature gardens, both outside and inside. I find this category of plant to be aesthetically perfect for my particular needs and perfect to work with in what I attempt to create. They are a peaceful plant; one that you can take and avoid clutter is you so desire, yet at the same time put together a creation that is complex in nature and a simple wonder to the eye. Artistically I like them.

For me, if the book has a weak point, it would be in the area of propagation. That being said though, there are dozens upon dozens of other books out there that addresses this particular subject and it is a certain fact that not any one book can cover every aspect of the subject so I give it a pass on in this area.

While I was more interested in the smaller uses of these plants, the book did give some great tips and ideas as to uses in larger landscape projects which is great for those interested in such matters.

I do highly recommend this one.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

This is a wonderful book for those of us who live in colder climates who want to grow succulents and cacti outdoors. Lots of good information and beautiful photography, too.

Not only does this book open your eyes to the true beauty of the succulent in the COLD climate, but also how to incorperate it into new and existing perennial beds...I cant wait to plant these amazing jewels this Spring!

This book was informtive. I do not know why it was "hardy succulents" a these plants grow in Zones 9 and 10 too. It would have made more sense had those zones been included. The pictures and information was great, and I guess we were supposed to know about zones 9 and 10 as I was unable to locate specific information.

Lorraine Barksdale