Customer Reviews

Tropical Plants for Home and Garden

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

 

 

Neither a good specimen guide nor glamorous coffee table showpiece, this nonetheless fills a gap in my growing library of tropical gardening books. It could be a nice introduction to tropical plants, but anyone who wants to actually garden with tropical specimens would be better served by other books, perhaps best of all, Gardening in the Tropics, ISBN: 0881923095 .

As one reviewer points out, there are several silly mistakes. It is telling that the publisher is known for style & design books. It needed an editor with a little more botanical savvy.

The format is clear and attractive, with huge photos and a little, nicely written text for each. The content is somewhat inconsistent. While many photographs are clear and nicely illustrative of the whole plant, some specimens are photographed in a massive mixed border some distance away. Identification, therefore, can be very frustrating. For every delight (there are, indeed, many gorgeous photos), there is a disappointment.

Nomenclature seemed inconsistent, and local names (Indonesia, Malaysia, etc) could have been supplied by these contributors who spend much of their time in southeast Asia.

There is no practical advice for a gardener (beyond the occasional note about something tolerating dry conditions or some such), but book doesn't pretend to be a guide book.

The thing I liked the best about this book is the beautiful color photos of the plants in their native habitats/gardens ( all of the plants were identified!!). This helps present a unique view of these wonderful plants.

Much more than the usual hibiscus, bouganvillea, and mandevilla pictures.

I also enjoyed seeing the RANGE of plants shown. I live in Maryland but collect tropicals and got quite a few ideas from the photos. I also enjoyed the "trip" through these beautiful tropical gardens. It helped me learn more ways to use and combine these incredible plants!

I think the book is fresh, and unique and anyone who loves tropicals will make this one of their favorite books in their collection. Well worth the money.

My FAVORITE book on tropicals to date. Second to BETROCK's FLORIDA PLANT GUIDE by Edward F. Gilman.

A little more expensive than some other gardening books, but WORTH the money! Excellent clear colorful photos, both up close, and in perspective. Gives you a good idea of what these plants look like.

You'll still need a textbook for identifying proper zones if you're landscaping outdoors, but that is only a minor inconvenience in contrast to the amount of information this book gives. Highly recommend this one!

This book is a good reference for everyone who love tropical plant and garden, many beautiful photographs from good garden and healthy plant, I note some mistakes:
(pg 50) pict 1 is not jackfruit or breadfruit
(pg 50) pict 2 is not breadfruit, it's a jackfruit
(pg 105) pict 2 is also Dracaena marginata, not a wild type
(pg 226) pict 4 is Epidendrum radicans not a Dendrobium
(pg 226) pict 3 is not Arundina, probably Arachnis hybrid
(pg 228) pict 2 is not Phalaenopsis hybrid, probably Miltonia
(pg 232) pict 2 is not Vanda tricolor
(pg 236) pict 2 must be rotate clockwise

Absolutely stunning. For the novice, do not be afraid to buy this book. This book is a delight and the photos are breathtaking. A must for the tropical plant enthusiast.

Lo he considerado como uno de los mejores libros de plantas tropicales, en cuanto a su fotografía, e información. Obviamente faltarían muchas plantas para incluir pero es de mucha utilidad como referencia para quienes se inician y para los viejos amantes. Lo recomiendo vale su precio

I really loved this book. As a novice gardner I was able to learn more about plants, their correct names, how they reproduce and view spectular picturers. I keep wanting more and more. I've have read it several times and I refer to it frequently. It is informative without being too long winded. A must buy for the novice gardner.

Tropical Plants for Home and Garden by William Warren is a beautifully done coffee table/reference book on many of the more commonly grown plants in the tropics. The paperback version is my second copy--having purchased the hardback edition a year ago. There is not a lot of cultural information given on the plants--it is a book devoted to plants, not a book on tropical gardening. Luca Invernizzi Tettoni's photographs, however, are vivid and very helpful in identification of the species. I am a writer of garden books, as well as the executive director of a tropical botanical garden, so I am very familiar with the plants in this book. I would recommend "Tropical Plants for Home and Garden" to anyone who gardens in Zones 10-11. Even those who live "up north" would enjoy it as a "tropical getaway".

No one book is perfect, but we have many of William Warren's books on tropical plants/gardens in our reference library, and I have found all of them to be well written and to the point.

It's quite a simple formula: if you're looking to include tropical plants into your home or garden, you can't be without this book. Gorgeous color photos by Luca Invernizzi Tettoni pack a display of equally gorgeous plants accompanied by details on growing needs, propagation, cultivars, and use in home or garden environments. From ferns and succulents to gingers and bananas, a wide variety of plants of all sizes and types are covered to delight any who live in warm environments or have greenhouses to stock.

Diane C. Donovan, Editor
California Bookwatch

I found little imagination or "thrills" in the book. Just pictures of plants, mostly closeup. I guess it's my own fault for wanting to see more "gardens" instead of just single plants. I think the title would have been more appropriate if it just said, "Tropical Plants", period. The title made you think you would see all of them in garden settings and that was not the majority of the case at all.