Customer Reviews

Perennials: The Gardener's Reference

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

 

 

For all the information there is about plants, this book cuts to the core, and renders mini autobiographies of each plant in wondrous detail. This is no overview, but rather specific traits and needs of specific plants, and how to love them and make them happy. The photos are sensitive and detailed, and the individual plant descriptions are concise, clear and readable. This book has style and substance, and is sure to enrich the expert and instruct the rest of us.

I really like this book. I am a horticulture major. This book has helped me greatly when looking up plants for my classes. the one thing I like most is they list companion plants, which makes it much easier to know what plant will look good together, this is very hard to find. I have many books on perennials and this isa the only one that list the companion plants.

Very informative. Take it to the nursery for information on possible buys. Alphabetic, so easy to use. Information about invasivness especially helpful.Is up to date.

A "big" book about perennials that fills the need for a comprehensive reference. The book includes 250 genera and about 2,700 species and cultivars. And given the flood of new plant introductions, the book is still fairly up to date. The format is extremely user friendly for garden planning or showing to commercial customers/clients. Organized by genus, each entry includes at least one color photo and notes about culture, management, propagation, pests/diseases, and companions for the genus. Especially valuable are the authors' opinions based on actual experience. The text for each genus is followed by a list of species and cultivars in chart form. In this format, it's a cinch to compare, for example, the characteristics of Agastache 'Apricot Sunrise' with A. 'Pink Panther.' Not a reprinted British edition, this is a book written by American-based horticulturalists and backed by the expertise of American publisher Timber Press. As a Zone 6 gardener in New England, however, I was a little disappointed with the emphasis on the Pacific Northwest and that fact that Zone 7 plants that won't survive my climate are included in the book. Nevertheless, all the common garden favorites are included. And if you want to look up something unusual such as Peltoboykinia, it's there as well.

I love this book. I have always enjoyed gardens and have done some gardening in the past - I finally have a little space to start from scratch and this has been a great help. The book lists the perennials by botanical latin but also has a very handy cross reference by common name. While the author's are from the Northwest, most of the plants listed can be used in USDA zones 3-9. I guess I might not buy this book if I gardened in Alaska, Hawaii or the extremely cold areas of the northern states. I like that the photo's are very clear and that each plant has a paragraph plus information regarding: Origin, preferred conditions, Management, propagation, pests and diseases, companion plants and notes.

This book has over 500 pages of great information about over 2700 spiecies and cultivars and has helped me both decide for and against some of them this summer.

In general it is a very good book. I was a little disappointed in some of the flowers that weren't included in the book.

Although packed with information, this book is almost too much for the backyard gardener. A couple of specific things I noted were: the plants are listed by their scientific name instead of their common name, and a lot of the focus seems to be on varieties from the northwest instead of the entire country. This should be stated somewhere obvious so purchasers have an idea of exactly what they are getting. Still muddling through the entire book; I was expecting something different.