Customer Reviews

Irises: A Gardener's Encyclopedia

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

 

 

I've read three iris books back to back looking for specific information:

I want to know about hybridizing bearded irises and this book gives a very good general overview. Better than the other books, but still fairly general in cross-making information.

I also used it to look for answers to some weird occurrences in my Irises this year and found no description of the symptoms in the pests/diseases part. The other books didn't have the problem either so I am frustrated, but perhaps shouldn't blame this book for not providing the answer.

This IS ABSOLUTELY the best book on the market on the subject though, better, fuller, glossier, and more comprehensive than the rest I've seen. I was a little surprised to see it is mostly a listing of irises in cultivation which is an ambitious undertaking.

I would caution against using any book to identify unknown Irises as there are just too many cultivars to be sure you've got the right name. However, I absolutely would (and did) use it to verify the identities of named Irises with a few nametags that got mixed up.

I would've given it 5 stars if there had been a little more information on the aforementioned items. I perhaps owe it 5 stars simply for the amazing job they did on the species Irises which no other book comes close to matching.

Like all botanical Encyclopedias, this can't possibly contain all the varieties available, but almost all are represented in some form. This book is responsible for spurring my obsession with Irises so I can't vouch for its significance to the experienced gardener, but I haven't found anything that compares. The text is very brief and concise, but provides a good overview of each Iris family (I didn't know there were so many!).

If you are an Iris enthusiasts or want to become one, this is the book to own!

Claire Austin is a nationally renowned, award winning expert with respect to growing irises and perennials. Irises: A Gardener's Encyclopedia is an enthusiastically recommended 339 page compendium of what she knows about selecting and growing irises. Enhanced with more than 1100 spectacular full color photographs, aspiring gardeners are provided with thoroughly accessible and applicable cultivation advice, information about the breeding history of the iris, ideas for using irises with other plants in the garden, and an ideal horticultural reference for growing the iris in a wide variety of climate zones including hot and dry, temperate, and even cold northern climates. Also highly recommended for horticultural and gardening reference collections is Michael King's Gardening With Tulips (0881927749, $29.95) from Timber Press. Michael King is for the cultivation of tulips what Claire Austin is for the cultivation of the iris.

This is a very complete source of iris information. It covers a wide variety of topics on cultivating, hybridizing and caring for irises. And to top it all off, its loaded with stunning iris photographs (the back cover says more than 1100). The information is set up in an easy to read format. This is very enjoyable reading. I recommend this one to every iris enthusiast.

For a new iris gardener, this is a fantastic book to have. The pictures give you the 'true' colors of the flowers and tell you the type they are, the blooming span, the height of them, etc. Everything you might want to know all in a book you can have right at your fingertips. I keep it on my coffee table for friends to browse through just because it gets them interested in an iris for their own gardens. Breathtaking!!!

This book has wonderful pictures and descriptions, perfect for identifying unknown iris in the garden.

I bought it for my mom, a definate iris lover, she is absolutley thrilled over it. She shows it to everyone that mentions the word Iris, to her. Her sister, my Aunt, looks at the book everytime she goes to visit her, too. She is another iris lover. So are my sister's and I am, too.
Thank you for helping me please all the iris lovers in my family. Which goes beyond my mother and my Aunt. We are all pleased with this book. We all would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn about irises.

This was a fantastic pictorial book/encyclopedia - certainly the best I've come across to date. Not so much information on hybridising as I would have liked, but it has covered the subject at least briefly, and all other areas are covered in great detail. Highly recommended for iris lovers wanting a comprehensive reference book with clear accurate photos of many of the arguably best varieties.

Love this book, although I wish there were an update as many of the more beautiful, newer tall bearded iris are not in this book. It, however, is a great reference book.

this book has beautiful pictures of many Irises and is a pleasure to look through and read. It also gives instruction on how to divide and when to separate every couple of years.