Rating: 
Summary: A perennial favorite
Review: "Perennial All Stars" was my first gardening book, received as a gift. After reading it, I assumed ALL gardening books were as good and went out to blissfully buy 10 more. They are all gone now...to that big book box in the sky. All that remains is "Perennial All Stars," the only book I need...and the best gardening book for beginners.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic organization and really easy to use.
Review: As a novice gardener, I found this book to be the best of the 10 or so I've looked at to educate myself. Fantastically easy to use. The best feature: the many lists that cover categories such as "Best for Shade," "Fragrant Perennials," etc. Having plants listed in each category helped me narrow down the perennials that made the most sense for the constraints of my yard. In addition, it was great to have a photo of every flower in the book (most books DON'T do this) and the information included in each perennial's profile was very helpful and concise. I could learn, at a glance, the best planting/siting conditions and also get an idea of companion plants to use. I wish more flower & plant books were organized the same way this book is organized and formatted!! One improvement for this book in the next edition: put the summary info from the "Spotlight" section on a computer-readable file so that readers can electronically arrange and sort their perennial choices by color, season of bloom, etc...
Rating:
Summary: Without this book, I would have a barren wasteland.
Review: Being a beginning gardener, I didn't know where to start. Jeff Cox's book "Perennial All Stars" brought it all together for me. Not only does he recommend trouble free perennials, but he even cross references them in his "Perennial Plant Finder" by flower color, bloom season, long bloomers, short, tall, cold climates, warm climates, full sun, full shade, and many, many more categories. He even has finder sections for perennials that attract butterflies and another for attracting hummingbirds. Each perennial all star has two pages dedicated it to it with details on growing it, propagating it, the right site for it, where to buy it, and even co-stars for it! Today I have a beautiful trouble-free garden full of perennial all stars recommended by Jeff Cox and this book. It is the best book your money can buy.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent reference tool
Review: From the beginning this information is accessible - plants are listed by common name, with the botanical name in italics. The Plant Finder includes 21 lists of flowers by site (i.e.shade), color, bloom time, flowers that attract hummingbirds and butterflies, etc. These quick lists are a great tool, and the descriptions that follow are valuable. Cox also helpfully suggests companion plants, as well as how to grow, right site, & propogation. And this is not a heavy tome -- this book is the perfect size, and all of the information is valuable. However, some of the plant sources he lists, specifically mail order nurseries, have consistently received bad reviews from Garden Watchdog dot com, Mail Order Gardening dot com, & Plants By Mail dot net. Being armed with that knowledge, this book is absolutely outstanding.
Rating:
Summary: Great organization
Review: I bought this book several years ago and it is one of the first books I grab when I'm looking for something new.
It is well organized into several different catagories depending on what your focus is.
I really like that all of the plants are listed alphabetically which makes finding one very easy.
The idea that I like the most is that the recommendation is for the plant that will most likely be the BEST performer and most likely be a success.
I love this book. It has wonderful photographs that are worth the price alone.
Rating:
Summary: Great reference source for the beginning gardener
Review: I moved into my first house and wanted to get started with some perennial plants. But the variety out there was staggering! My library had some very comprehensive sources, but mostly I found them intimidating -- too many options, too much information to sort through! Then I discovered "Perennial All-Stars." I'm so covetous of this book that I went out and bought it, even though there's a copy available in my local library. The book begins with a number of lists, the type of sun/shade they prefer, their flowering season, those that attract butterflies and birds, by flower color... this book's got a list for anything I could think of! Then each of the all-star plants has two pages devoted to it. These two pages tell you where the plant prefers to grow, the ideal location for planting, some other recommended cultivars of the species, when and how to separate the plants. Even better, each article includes a list of possible "neighbor" plants, which makes it much easier for a beginner to try and plan their garden. The pictures accompanying each article are beautiful and helpful. In most cases, they included a photo that managed to highlight both the leaves and the flowers, and the photo also managed to highlight the shape of the plant. I had grown very frustrated with books that showed me close-ups of leaves or flowers, or the whole plant from far away, so that I had difficulty really "seeing" the plant. Not so with this book! I also appreciated the quality of the index, which not only included the "common" names and Latin names, but also references to the neighbor plants under the Latin name. It's a great, comprehensive index that made it easy to locate the plants I wanted. I'd combed through back issues of our local paper and found several articles in which local experts recommended plants for our area. These experts all agreed with Jeff Cox! All but one of the plants they recommended appeared in this book, and in most cases it was even the same cultivar! If you're looking for a guide to an old-fashioned garden, or if you want a guide to setting up "color-themed" gardens, there are other sources out there for you. But if you are starting out with gardening, or just want a spectacular reference source for the best hardy perennials out there, this is a great book to have.
Rating:
Summary: Great reference source for the beginning gardener
Review: I moved into my first house and wanted to get started with some perennial plants. But the variety out there was staggering! My library had some very comprehensive sources, but mostly I found them intimidating -- too many options, too much information to sort through! Then I discovered "Perennial All-Stars." I'm so covetous of this book that I went out and bought it, even though there's a copy available in my local library. The book begins with a number of lists, the type of sun/shade they prefer, their flowering season, those that attract butterflies and birds, by flower color... this book's got a list for anything I could think of! Then each of the all-star plants has two pages devoted to it. These two pages tell you where the plant prefers to grow, the ideal location for planting, some other recommended cultivars of the species, when and how to separate the plants. Even better, each article includes a list of possible "neighbor" plants, which makes it much easier for a beginner to try and plan their garden. The pictures accompanying each article are beautiful and helpful. In most cases, they included a photo that managed to highlight both the leaves and the flowers, and the photo also managed to highlight the shape of the plant. I had grown very frustrated with books that showed me close-ups of leaves or flowers, or the whole plant from far away, so that I had difficulty really "seeing" the plant. Not so with this book! I also appreciated the quality of the index, which not only included the "common" names and Latin names, but also references to the neighbor plants under the Latin name. It's a great, comprehensive index that made it easy to locate the plants I wanted. I'd combed through back issues of our local paper and found several articles in which local experts recommended plants for our area. These experts all agreed with Jeff Cox! All but one of the plants they recommended appeared in this book, and in most cases it was even the same cultivar! If you're looking for a guide to an old-fashioned garden, or if you want a guide to setting up "color-themed" gardens, there are other sources out there for you. But if you are starting out with gardening, or just want a spectacular reference source for the best hardy perennials out there, this is a great book to have.
Rating:
Summary: From Library to Amazon! It's THAT good!
Review: Perennial All-Stars looked wonderful in my local library, so I took it home and realized I underestimated it's value. Wonderful photos of every one of 150 All-Star plants, gives the benefits, habits, and limitations of each All-Star on two pages per plant. Zonal info, ht, size, soil type, it is all here. This is not a "how to make a compost pile" type of book, but rather a wonderful resource of the types of perennials that would fit your situation. For instance, I have a rock wall that ends in my lake. I use the charts to find best perennials for low soil, dry and rocky areas for the wall, then read about each perennial and choose. I next research plants that will be All-Stars in boggy situations for the lakefront. The author has even narrowed it down to one genus within each species and explains why that is the all-star compared to the others in its family (I know, I am mincing botanical nomenclature here). Essentially a book of two pages and photos on glossy paper on each of 150 All-Stars for your yard. I loved the book so much I came to Amazon to buy it immediately. I am picky as all get-out (excpet about botanical nomenclature) and adore this timeless (the cuultivars do not change, these are classics) resource book. Agree with others that say, not all horticultural books are nearly this elegant. WHen I sawe the Amazon price of this wonderful book, I bought it instantly (something this one-click opponent seldom does).
Rating:
Summary: From Library to Amazon! It's THAT good!
Review: Perennial All-Stars looked wonderful in my local library, so I took it home and realized I underestimated it's value. Wonderful photos of every one of 150 All-Star plants, gives the benefits, habits, and limitations of each All-Star on two pages per plant. Zonal info, ht, size, soil type, it is all here. This is not a "how to make a compost pile" type of book, but rather a wonderful resource of the types of perennials that would fit your situation. For instance, I have a rock wall that ends in my lake. I use the charts to find best perennials for low soil, dry and rocky areas for the wall, then read about each perennial and choose. I next research plants that will be All-Stars in boggy situations for the lakefront. The author has even narrowed it down to one genus within each species and explains why that is the all-star compared to the others in its family (I know, I am mincing botanical nomenclature here). Essentially a book of two pages and photos on glossy paper on each of 150 All-Stars for your yard. I loved the book so much I came to Amazon to buy it immediately. I am picky as all get-out (excpet about botanical nomenclature) and adore this timeless (the cuultivars do not change, these are classics) resource book. Agree with others that say, not all horticultural books are nearly this elegant. WHen I sawe the Amazon price of this wonderful book, I bought it instantly (something this one-click opponent seldom does).
Rating:
Summary: Not gathering dust on my shelf
Review: This book has been a great help to me. It is so easy to read and use , I don't know how I got along without it before.
The book gives you 150 of the authors favorite perrenials. They are chosen for, among other things, ease of growing, length of bloom, persistence in not so great soils, beautiful color...etc.
Each flower gets an entire two page spread devoted to it. The author describes how to grow it, where to grow it, how to make the most of it, special tips, and what other flowers will look great with it. There are tons of photos and line drawings as well. There is also an index at the front of the book, breaking down the flowers into specific groups. Say you're looking for a short Spring bloomer for the front of the border, or you are interested in plants that attract butterflies. He has list after list which make it easy to find what you're looking for.
I have spent many an evening just leafing through this book, familiarizing myself with the varieties. Now when I go to the nursery, I know just what to look for.
|
