Customer Reviews

Perennials for Every Purpose: Choose the Right Plants for Your Conditions, Your Garden, and Your Taste (Rodale Organic Gardening Books)

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If you are confused and overwhelmed by the large number of perennials available to you, then you might want to take this book along with you on your next trip to the nursery.

The first part of the book covers the basics such as getting started, creating a design, growing perennials and keeping them healthy. The last section of the book profiles perennials that can be used in specific situations, such as dry, wet, sunny or shady areas. Each plant profile includes a photograph, a sidebar listing plant characteristics, and suggestions for companion plantings. Also, the top varities for each plant are listed. Seven garden designs are included if you don't want to design your garden yourself. A very informative and helpful book!

I'm a Master Gardener who bought this book for my newly married 26 year old daughter who is planning her first garden. This book has great pictures of PLANTS--not just the flowers on them--as well as garden plans for small doable gardens--9 x 7--as well as larger undertakings. The descriptions of each plant are well done and the book is fun to browse. Good investment for any gardener!

A great reference that I turn to time and time again. And frequently peruse leisurely at bedtime. Especially nice for wintertime dreaming of next season's garden!

There are only a few paragraphs per plant (facing pages, large-ish print), plus a table; but the info is presented concisely enough that I get what I need most of the time. If not, I move on to other resources.

Author's style is very readable, pleasant and good-natured.

The only downside is that more photos would have made a better reference (although probably a more expensive one). One picture -- which could be a flower close-up or a wider shot -- really isn't sufficient if the reader is not familiar with the plant.

Oh, and too often the table information will say "varies by species" (or "cultivar") for entries like size, etc. I think that could have been handled better.

But having said those things, I have to reiterate that I love this book (and its partner, "Annuals for Every Purpose"). So much so that I felt compelled to write this review/recommendation when the title crossed my browsing path... and despite shopping at Amazon for years, I've never done so before.

Enjoy and happy gardening!

There are perennials for virtually any purpose in the garden, and Larry Hodgson's Perennials For Every Purpose features plants with handy at-a-glance plant profiles to help choose the right ones for garden conditions and taste. Color photos accompany details especially valuable in including common problems and solutions to gardening. The sidebar plant profiles offer very quick details on their use and growing tips.

There just isn't anything to dislike about this book or it's author.

The book contains a vast spectrum of useful information for the novice & veteran gardener alike. Mr. Hodgson is very transparent on his views about 100's of perennials & specific cultivars. He doesn't paint a pretty picture when there's not one to paint. He's honest & up front about the woes of various plants & the nightmares they can haunt us unsuspecting gardeners with. He also shares a wealth of positive examples about those that are a great pleasure to grow in any garden & encourages the reader to find a place in our yard for those special ones.

The authors down to earth approach is a pleasure to experience & he certainly has a gift for sharing his many years of travels around the world & testing thousands of plants.

This is the kind of book that should be in every gardeners library as this kind of information is altogether valuable & beneficial at all levels.

My only disappointment with this book...was that it wasn't much longer to include another few thousand perennials & the authors advice on them.

The author has so much to impart...the reader will be delighted in their purchase of this book. A wise investment indeed!!!!

I agree with Jay Keefer's review and would like to add that I live in Washington state and the author gardens in Canada. He listed plants that have a wide zonal range - almost all of them can be grown in my cooler zone, Zone 5. He did not waste my time by listing plants that can only be grown in the deep South or California. I first checked this book out at the library, but quickly realized that I will need to have a copy of my own to refer back to when I divide, fertilize, transplant, etc. So, I'm here on Amazon to buy this essential book.

Perennials for Every Purpose is truly an encyclopedia of perennials catagorized in groups such as Everblooming, Sunshine, etc. Quick and informative reading. A real treasure of information.

I recently moved and have the opportunity to plant a perennial garden for the first time..... but was overwhelmed with the amount of variety of plants available and didn't know where to start. This book not only has wonderful pictures of plants; it also gives advice on how to plan, prepare, plant and care for a garden.

This is a wonderful book. Perennials can be overwelming. This book helps simplify it. A must for the perennial gardener.

This is an excellent book. It is very thorough and an excellent reference source. I'd recommend it to any gardener!