Product Description

Annuals are very much back in style after the decades-long perennial revolution. You see annuals in every garden, with the old-fashioned flowers still among the most popular. With new varieties being launched every year and older ones (many dating back more than four or five years) disappearing just as quickly, gardeners need help sorting them out. Author Larry Hodgson tells you what to look for among the numerous new introductions: greater adaptability to growing conditions, longer period of bloom, improved insect and disease resistance, and more--everything, in fact, that you need to know to make growing annuals both simple and fun. You'll discover: How to cut back tired annuals, like sweet alyssum, to get them to rebloom even more intensely than before. How to save money by taking cuttings of so-called "designer" annuals, using one plant to create many. All about overwintering numerous "annuals" that are really tropical perennials. Which cool-loving annuals you can sow in the fall so they can sprout when the conditions are perfect the following spring. Simple tricks that make designing with annuals a snap. And much, much more! You'll find annual gardening has never been easier--or more exciting--than when you have Annuals for Every Purpose as a handy reference.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #494430 in Books
• Published on: 2002-02-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 416 pages

From Publishers Weekly
From choosing seeds to grooming and fertilizing, veteran gardening writer Hodgson (Perennials for Every Purpose) guides readers through the making of an annual garden. He explains what to look for at the nursery, how to design with annuals and how to keep plants blooming all summer long. True to its title, the book includes encyclopedic listings of annuals suited to every imaginable whim, whether gardeners want their flowers to bloom in the shade, attract birds and butterflies, hang in baskets or make pleasing dried arrangements. Hodgson's entries include growing tips for each plant, potential problems and quirks, and suggestions for "good neighbors" to plant beside it.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

From the Back Cover

Customer Reviews

All About Annuals
Some gardeners tend to look down their nose at annuals. I've seen T-shirts with the saying "Friends don't let friends buy annuals". Planting annuals sometimes seems like owning a mongrel dog on a street where all the other dogs have pedigrees. Well, I have a mongrel dog and I plant annuals, so I was happy to see Larry Hodgson's detailed and careful book "Annuals for Every Purpose".

Annuals are those wonderful little plants that bloom their little hearts out every growing season, being humbly content to be poked into what otherwise would be a bald spot in your garden. Still, I think many writers would think it below their dignity to produce a book about them. Larry hodgson, however, a well-known garden writer and lecturer, has produced a knowledgeable and down-to-earht book on the topic. It's one of quite a long list of books he has written, and sister to "Perennials for Every Purpose". Like that book this is very readable for the novice, but quite detailed enough for the more experienced gardener.

Hodgson is an old hand at presenting gardening information and this shows in the competent way he organizes his material. The first part is titled "Annual Gardening Made Easy" and it covers all you need to know from preparing the site to designing with annuals and keeping them alive.

The second part helps you choose the best annuals for your purpose or needs. You look at the Table of Contents to select the purpose - drought-reistant perhaps, or giants for the back of the garden - then look through that section to select the annual you think will do best. To help with your decision the writer lists basic information such as height, spread and hardiness for each species, and gives you growing tips, lists pests and diseases andgives you some recommended varieties and ideas for neighbouring plants.

Annuals for Every Purpose has a source list and a list of recommended reading. Kudos to Rodale for publishing a beautifully illustrated and informative book on this topic.

A Must Have for a New Gardener
As a novice gardener, I have found this book to be an invaluable resource. When I'm not studying it at home and planning my next flower bed, it is in my tote bag going to the local nurseries with me. When I find a flower I like, I look it up to get more details and find recommended companion plants.

Although I've not found the plants to be nearly as available in my nurseries here in the Atlanta area (I've had a little more success with mail ordering a few), there are still some great features to his book.

My two favorite features are:

Organized by Plant Type - The book is organized into sections such as General Purposes, Drought Tolerant, Flowers for Containers, Foliage for Containers, etc. It has helped me as a new gardener focus in on plants that fit my need rather than reading about all plants and determining what's right.

Good Neighbors - This is probably my most used section. For every plant, there is a "Good Neighbors" section. In this section, Larry lists several plants that would do well with the plant being described. Especially for a novice gardener, this section is great to help choose a plant that is not only going to look good alone but gives you some companion suggestions to put together that gorgeous bed or container.

ANNUALS FOR EVERY PURPOSE
WHILE I LOVED HODGSON'S PERENNIALS FOR EVERY PURPOSE, I FIND THE ANNUALS FOR EVERY PURPOSE BOOK A LITTLE LESS HELPFUL, BUT WOULD STILL RATE IT A 3.5-4. THERE ARE LOTS OF PICTURES OF THE ANNUALS, BUT MOST OF THEM ARE CLOSE UPS...SOME OF THE CLOSE UP PICTURES YOU LOOK AT AND SAY "WHILE I KNOW THAT IS THE CORRECT ANNUAL, IT REALLY DOESN'T LOOK LIKE THAT FROM A DISTANCE OR IN THE GARDEN". HOWEVER, THE SECTIONS FOR EACH ANNUAL ENTITLED "PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS" "GOOD NEIGHBORS" AND "TOP PERFORMER" ARE STILL HELPFUL....HOWEVER, I AM STILL LOOKING FOR A BETTER ANNUAL BOOK... LANSING, ILLINOIS