The Color Encyclopedia of Ornamental Grasses: Sedges, Rushes, Restios, Cat-Tails and Selected Bamboos (Hardcover)

by Rick Darke (Author) "THE AESTHETIC appeal of ornamental grasses is quite distinct from that of most garden perennials..." (more)
Key Phrases: Longwood Gardens, North America, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Much has changed in the role and use of ornamental grasses over the past 100 years. Whereas turn-of-the-century gardeners had perhaps a dozen perennial grasses to choose from, today's gardeners have hundreds. Ornamental grasses now embody a huge array of textures, forms, sizes, colors, flowering times, and cultural adaptations. The Color Encyclopedia of Ornamental Grasses is intended for gardeners in a wide range of situations and climates, and draws from the experience and creativity of great gardens and gardeners around the world. It begins with an exploration of the unique aesthetics and appeal of ornamental grasses before moving on to a review of the families of grasses and a survey of grasses in their native habitats. Gardeners usually speak of "ornamental grasses" in the broad sense, including not only the true grasses but also related families of grass-like plants. Following this tradition, the book provides a detailed treatment of perennial grasses, rushes, and cattails, as well as selected bamboos. Written by horticulturist Rick Darke, this encyclopedia will be invaluable to nursery professionals, landscapers, and home gardeners.

From Library Journal
This well-written title by one of the world's authorities on ornamental grasses provides details on the biology of grasses as well as their use in garden design. The plant profiles section includes data on native habitat, physical features, culture, and cultivars.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 326 pages
• Publisher: Timber Press, Incorporated (February 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881924644
• ISBN-13: 978-0881924640
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #224,796 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #22 in	Books > Outdoors & Nature > Plants > Grasses
  #27 in	Books > Home & Garden > Gardening & Horticulture > By Plant > Grasses
  #58 in	Books > Home & Garden > Gardening & Horticulture > Flowers > Perennials

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

131 of 133 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent information, awesome photographs, January 28, 2000

By	Tom Krischan (Big Bend, WI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Excellent and complete information about ornamental grasses. A great book.

Thirty pages on the botany, anatomy, and classification of grasses. Twenty pages on native habitat, thirty pages on designing with grasses, and twenty pages of growing and propagating grasses. 170 page encyclopedia listing 400+ species / varieties of grasses. Each species is described in a paragraph or two of text along side a clear photograph of the plant. In the back of the book, you find a 2 page glossary, 5 page bibliography, 2 page grass nursery listing, USDA and European hardiness maps, and a complete index of all grasses by common name. Very complete book.

As a bonus, the book is also filled with awesome photography.

If you garden with ornamental grasses, this book is a must buy. Excellent information, well worth the money!

61 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent information and beautiful photos, January 3, 2000

By A Customer

If you have no grasses in your garden now, your yard will be transformed by this book. The cultural information is well researched and thorough, but it is the incredible photographs that will keep you reading. I often look up a particular grass and find myself still reading hour later.

35 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy 2 copies..., January 23, 2001

By	Don Kline (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This book is structured, written, photographed and edited with parallel purpose and effect: communication of the author's respect and regard for the book's subject and for its readers. Mr. Darke sets out to inform and does so with enconomy but in full course; when he instructs, he teaches the novice and gives pause to the critic; when he photographs he shows his passion and inspires with the nature and wonder of his subjects. The book is encyclopedic, yet its prose is always to the point with the agreeable dryness of a good, well-bodied wine. Credible, trustworthy, enlightening. This is the best gardening book I have ever read. Negatives? Only one: Mr. Darke's standards are unimpeachable; those of the book's typographer and designer, however, are not.