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Rating: 
Summary: The Long Awaited Sequel to "Wildflowers..."
Review: ...was well worth the wait. Cullina's beautiful prose is complemented by the luminous photography. An essential addition to the gardener's, the conservationist's and the nature lover's library.
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Summary: Finally-woody natives described by an expert
Review: Even though a hard cover reference book isn't usual bedtime reading for me-I couldn't put this down. Each plant is described so personally yet so expertly. Gardening with woody plants is a commitment, and this book provided the insight and knowledge I needed to make choices confidently. The language of the book is wonderful-it is as if the author is chatting with his latest native plant buddy-you. The lists and organization of information is very helpful.
Rating: 
Summary: Good writing with mediocre illustrations
Review: This book is a valuable guide to native woody plants. The habits, landscape value, propagation and culture of most( a few are missing) of the important plants are described in a very readable manner. Cullina clearly draws from a deep well, I had the impression that he had much more that he could have included, but what is here is great.There are a couple of criticisms. The photos are relativly sparse compared to the recent books by Dirr or Darke and are not at all well-reproduced. One picture per genus just ain't enough when there is such wonderful variation within genera. Also, the pronunciation guide for Latin plant names is occasionally bizarre...since when does "Aesculus" have four syllables? (But maybe he is right I couldn't find any native Latin speakers to ask) Finally, the book has a clear East coast bias. Although there are many Western US plants that are mentioned, I suspect that many are missing. Buy this book for the prose.
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