Restoring American Gardens: An Encyclopedia of Heirloom Ornamental Plants, 1640-1940

Rating:
Summary: A treasure trove of information on heirloom ornamentals
Review: Gardeners who enjoy a healthy dose of gardening history in their guides will find Denise Wiles Adams' Restoring American Gardens a treasure trove of information on heirloom ornamentals from 1640-1940. Small color photos of each plant abound, but it's the paragraphs of description for each, including garden design notes and special remarks, which sets this apart from competitors.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing piece of research, well presented
Review: This is an amazing piece of research and one of the few books whose appendices are a "must read".

The bok is about American ornamental plant history - the story of garden plants from their introduction, usually from Europe, or from the local fields and forests. It answers questions such as "Who first cultivated it in America?", "How was it used?", "Who propagated or sold it?" and "Why was it popular?".

The writer consulted over 300 seed and nursery catalogues from all over the US and ended up with a data base of over 25,000 different taxa.

The first chapter of the book looks at the historical detail of the garden landscape and it is illustrated with well-selected photographs, many taken from postcards. The second chapter links the gardens to the architectural styles from different time periods and the third chapter looks at the way garden styles evolved in different regions of the country. The largest part of the book is a catalogue of over 1000 heirloom plants - trees, shrubs, vines, perennials and roses that were offered for sale between 1719 - 1939. For each plant there is given common names, family, date of introduction, earliest American citation, zones and description, taken from the garden writers of history.

This book presents a vast amount of material and it's a treasure trove for the garden historian. Even the most casual reader will enjoy the historical and botanical illustrations. It really is a treat to find such a well-organized work of scholarship that is so readable and attractively presented.