Description:
This addition to the Taylor bookshelf on gardening gives the gardener a most delicious opportunity to simply browse. Starting with Achillea and ending with Yucca, author Barbara Ellis, former garden editor for Rodale Press and author or editor of such gardening books as Rodale's All-New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening and the Burpee Complete Gardener, slathers on with a garden trowel the enthusiasm and the detailed information that lead to success in any garden. "I don't have just one list of favorite plants," Ellis writes. "They not only change from season to season and site to site, they also vary as I evaluate different attributes such as flowers, fragrance, foliage, or fruit." Or even sentimentality. "Each spring peonies that once grew in my great-great-aunt Hattie's garden in Columbus, Ohio flower in my own. Growing plants that remind us of where we came from, or of people who are important to us, adds a whole new layer of meaning to a garden." But what if you have forgotten the name of some of those old friends? Or what if there are old garden friends out there you have simply forgotten existed? Just let the beautifully illustrated pages flip by one by one. And when the right plant catches your eye, Ellis provides you with the gist of what you need to know: the description through the seasons, how to select a plant, what the best site and soil are, how to plant, how to care for each plant through the seasons, and suggestions for uses in the landscape. You will know right off if your garden and this plant are a match. Mixed in with the single-species entries (and if you get your species and genera mixed up, Ellis sorts all that out, too) are broad but detailed entries such as Annuals and Biennials, Bulbs, Ferns, Herbs, Ornamental Grasses, Perennials, Shrubs, Vines, and Wildflowers. The index is by both common and Latin name, and the book closes with a techniques glossary. --Schuyler Ingle
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