The Southern Gardener's Book of Lists: The Best Plants for All Your Needs, Wants, and Whims [Paperback]

Lois Trigg Chaplin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1994

The ideal plants for all of your specific needs, wants, and whims are identified in over 250 lists that end costly plant-choice mistakes.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The author, a well-known gardening writer who served as gardening editor for Southern Living for 13 years, has compiled a useful and entertaining book of lists for Southern gardeners. It's helpful when catalogs group together plants that do well in sun or shade and code other horticultural characteristics, but Chaplin goes further, offering lists of annuals that withstand heavy rain, roses that provide fragrance, perennials suited to heavy clay soil, and, this reviewer's favorite, vines feared for their vigor. Noted experts have assisted in compiling the lists. Altogether, there are more than 200 lists in nine categories, with appropriateness for upper South, middle South, lower South, and coastal areas indicated. Recommended for public libraries in the South. (Index not seen.)-Carol Cubberley, Univ. of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Chaplin's recommendations for trees, perennials, azaleas, roses, and other plants are aimed at gardeners who live in the country's southern regions, including those living the farthest south, who find it most difficult to gather dependable data. More than 1,000 plant varieties are listed with Latin and common names and notations as to appropriate areas for greatest planting success. The survey of trees alone includes 50 lists that span cultivation requirements, design uses, and practical considerations ("weak wood or structural problems"), with other lists citing tree choices for topiary or windbreaks, fast-growing types, etc. Black-and-white illustrations and line drawings will accompany the text. Alice Joyce

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Taylor Trade Publishing; First edition (April 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0878338446
• ISBN-13: 978-0878338443
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #200,170 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for Southern Gardeners!, January 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Southern Gardener's Book of Lists: The Best Plants for All Your Needs, Wants, and Whims (Paperback)

Finally, a concise book of lists for Southern Gardeners! Unlike most garden books that muse on the pleasures of gardening, this book presents information in an easily retrievable format. It helps to have knowledge of plant material to use this book. A good companion to The Southern Gardeners Book of Lists is Dr. Mike Dirr's book Manual of Woody Landscape Plants. As a registered landscape architect, I use these two books consistantly. I recommend The Book of Lists to all of my serious gardening clients.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite gardening guide, March 22, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Southern Gardener's Book of Lists: The Best Plants for All Your Needs, Wants, and Whims (Paperback)

Besides a great book about southern plants, this book is also very, very funny. I've been consulting it for a couple of years now--the categories listed always make me laugh. I also appreciate that book divides the south is divided into climate zones--coastal south, middle south, etc. It does make a difference.
What I wish the author would do next is to create a CD to accompany the book that would cross-reference these lists. Right now, I'm hunting a tree that's small enough for a New Orleans courtyard, has good fall color, preferably fruit too, easy to rake leaves, heat and drought resistant, and won't topple over easily in a storm. See what I mean?

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must have for Texas gardeners, April 11, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Southern Gardener's Book of Lists: The Best Plants for All Your Needs, Wants, and Whims (Paperback)

This book is necessary for any serious garderner in the South. Chaplin has hundreds of plant lists, covering everything from "Trees with Inconvenient Litter" to "Vines for the Beach". Each plant is accompanied by the recommended best planting areas: All South, Upper South, Middle South and Coastal South. She also includes advice from area nursery owners and respected garderners. This book puts all the plants together in an easy to find format, which should be helpful to all garderners, whether amature or professional.