Customer Reviews

Wildflowers: A Guide to Growing and Propagating Native Flowers of North America (The New England Wild Flower Society)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Whether you're experienced or just starting out, this book tells you everything you need to know to garden with wildflowers. Introductory sections discuss terms, issues and general cultural requirements. More than 200 color photos illustrate the over 150 genera and 1000 species covered. The info on individual plants is encyclopedic in structure and scope, but conversational in tone. This unusual and happy combination results in a reference that is at once informative and friendly, technical and anecdotal, never pedantic, and often very funny. Each entry begins with a photo of the plant, followed by a paragraph or two relating (mostly) to the genus, then small sections on culture and uses. Important or representative species of the genus (as many as 20 in the cases of Trilliums and Penstemons), with Latin and common names, each have an at-a-glance descriptive section & list of preferences, and further comments. The appendices include lists of wildflowers for specific uses, sources of plants and seeds, & plant societies. If you're considering buying a book on this subject, look no further. This one is the most current, most complete, and most fun.

If you happen to be visiting The Garden in the Woods in Framingham, MA, you will probably notice a man puttering in the gardens or working in the nursery. More than likely he will instinctively know that you have a question about the wildflowers you are examining and he will be more than happy to share his knowledge. This amiable person is William Cullina of the New England Wildflower Society. For those who are unable to visit the garden, or have a question about wildflowers, Cullina's book GROWING AND PROPAGATING WILDFLOWERS is the next best thing. This coffee table style book is filled with lavish photographs and wonderful commentary about many wildflowers found in North America. The book not only assists the reader in identifying various wildflowers, but helps the reader who wishes to incorporate wildflowers in a home garden. Cullina mentions in the introduction that horticulture has been a life long passion. This is evident in his writing style. The information in the book is informative and while it is presented in a formal manner, it is non-threatening for the novice gardener. This work is not helpful just for gardeners. Photographers will appreciate the wonderful shots of the flowers, many of which were photographed by Cullina himself.

Four of us took this book along when shopping at an amazing nursery...not that it failed to dissuade us from shopping to the max, but because it was the best yet information on wildflowers in cultivation and answered some of our (pretty much experienced) questions about propagation failures. This is a nice adjunct to Phillips' propagation book. Also great photography, but as usual, prefers bloom to leaf and habit.

I can't add much to Jeremy's marvelous comments; I can only reiterate the praise. This book has the complete, clear, concise and honest information lacking in so many wildflower guides, especially when it comes to propagation. It is apparent that most information comes from the personal experience of the author and I've enjoyed the comments about individual plants. My only suggestion for the next edition would be the addition of photos of the seeds on the plant, especially for species such as Pachysandra, where it is unclear exactly where to look.

This is the best reference I've found for native plants, and it's a worthy book for a coffee table. Accessible and extensive, it's pleasantly written, with care information about the species and then add'l info on specific plants in the species. The photographs are often quite nice, although I wish they more consistently showed the plant's habit in addition to flowers. There's also an appendix in the back on seed propagation.

If you get this, purchase the companion shrub&tree reference, too. It's just as good.

If you want an encyclopedia on wildflowers of the U.S. and Canada, you can't beat this one. It has an excellent introductory section on how to use the book and a succinct discussion of the effect of environmental factors such as light, soils, fertility, and temperature on native plants. He describes the floristic provinces of North America describing how the climate, soils and rainfall affect the vegetation of each region. The heart of the book is the encyclopedia of species listed in alphabetical order by genus with a plant description, hardiness zone, light requirements, soil, size, color, propagation and culture headings. Unique to this book is a section on time of seed ripening and germination requirements. Appendices list wildflowers for various sites, sources of plants and seeds, native plant societies, hardiness zone map, a bibliography, glossary and index.

While there are may be better sources on how to grow wildflowers in your garden, I find this book demonstrates Cullina's experience and expertise in understanding the wildflower world and putting his knowledge to work. Gardeners, as well as professional plants people, should have this book.

Norman Pellett, author of Gardener's Quiz Book

This is a wonderful book about the culture and propagation of North American native flowers. The author clearly knows his stuff and communicates it well.

The only weakness is the limited and low quality photography (lots of depth of field problems) which, I gather is not the author's work, but came from a wildflower society. There really are far too few pictures considering the wide variety of plants. Don't plan on being able to tell which of the diverse Eupatoriums or Asters you want to plant by looking at their pictures.

HOWEVER, this book would be worth it without pictures, just for the information. Go buy the book and then write the pubisher a note saying the illustration is beneath the writing....just like I just did.

Although this is not a book you'd find helpful in identifying wildflowers (get a field guide for that), what it absolutely excels in is providing information about the cultural requirements and propagation of North American wildflowers, almost all of them hardy to zone 5. The species it concentrates on are those with the most aesthetic value in the landscape. Look through this book and you'll ask yourself why you're still planting daylilies and peonies.

I bought this as a gift for my Grandmother and was very pleased at the detailed info on all the flowers, especially the info on what areas of the U.S. the flowers grow best. It was exactly what she wanted!

I was under the impression that this book would provide the information I needed to cultivate these plants on some scale. I was very disappointed. There is no way that you could reliably produce these plants with the information provided in this book. There are much better books out there for that purpose. If you are a novice, homegardener wanting to learn about wildflowers and grow a few in your backyard, this book would be okay for you. But if you are knowledgeable on the topic already, I think you will be disappointed.