Heathers (New Plant Library)

Rating:
Summary: Not Ready for Prime Time
Review: For the price, this book is a good buy. The photography is superb--even exciting, and does well in presenting individual plants and those in situ. The production values are very high: excellent printing, good typography, respectable editing and decent layout. The information provided is solid: on how to buy, plant and care; on propagation, pruning and problems. So what's the problem? In 62 pages of text, this book cannot and does not go far. Genera and their species are listed--i.e., Erica, E. cinera, E. vagans, etc.--but their differences are not described. (The book lists Calluna, Daboecia and Erica as "Heather.") The photographic survey of plants is uneven and way too limited for a thoughtful gardener. (Specialized nurseries publish more photos and give more information in low-budget catalogs.) And, although published in the U.S., primary dimensions are metric, giving rise to an assumption that the book is a transplant from elsewhere. This book is a good introduction to "Heathers," and is a good value. But it left this reader wanting much more.