Product Description

Indispensible

More than ten years in the making, Perennials is the most comprehensive guide available to these popular plants. It includes descriptions of over 2,500 types of perennials, each variety described in detail and illustrated with a handsome color photograph.

After three decades of collaboration, Roger Phillips and Martyn Rix continue to expand their plant collections and hone their knowledge. Perennials includes expert information on:

• Cultivation and propagation
• Plant origins
• Natural planting associations
• Flowering times for every phase of the growing season
• Combinations for borders, island beds, meadow gardens
• Sedges, grasses, hostas and ferns
• Sources, gardens to visit around the world, and further readings.

With a wide variety of old favorites and an exciting selection of rarities, Perennials is widely recognized as the indispensable and inspiring reference for color and variety for all sites and soil conditions.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #214234 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-18
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 480 pages

Amazon.ca
The deceptively simple title, Perennials, doesn't begin to do it justice, but this scholarly tome's subtitle, "The Definitive Reference with Over 2,500 Photographs," begins to give some idea of its scope. Authors Roger Phillips and Martyn Rix intend their book for the serious gardener and devoted plant collector, providing exhaustive research, succinct descriptions, and plentiful photographs of perennials in their native habitats--from the mountain streams of Kashmir to the rocky slopes of Death Valley in California. Paeonia lactiflora, for example, is the herbaceous paeony from which most of our large garden peonies have been bred. "It is native to Siberia from south of Lake Baikal eastwards to Vladivostock and in NW China and Mongolia to near Beijing, growing on steppes and in scrub, flowering May-June." The liberal use of Latin may be challenging for novice gardeners: look up "poppy" in the index and you won't find it, but search under "Papaver" and more than 20 cultivars are listed. Neophytes should also be aware that the authors do not offer instruction on planning or tending a garden. More experienced gardeners, however, who will be able to translate the research collected here on the optimum growing conditions of their favourite perennials to their own patch of earth will find this book fascinating and informative. --Carolyn Leitch

From Publishers Weekly
Just in time for planting season, two sources arrive from Firefly that include more than 1,000 photographs identifying and cataloguing almost all flowering plants. Annuals are "plants that germinate, flower, set seed and die all within a single year while biennials germinate one year and usually flower the next after spending a dormant winter." Perennials produce seed for future generations and bloom year after year. The nature photographers and horticulturists provide for each plant a brief background and describe the typical combinations to be found in various types of settings, such as north European subalpine meadows, New Zealand tussocked grasslands and Himalayan wet meadows. Typical listings begin with botanical names, original locations, where they are found and complete descriptions. Photos in actual locations and specimens on neutral backgrounds identify the great variety included. Main selection of Garden Book Club. (Apr.)
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Although this outstanding horticultural work is just appearing in Canada and the U.S., it was published previously in Great Britain in 1991 as the two-volume set, Early Perennials and Late Perennials.

Perennials includes about 2,500 plants commonly found in temperate zone gardens but hardy enough to withstand winters without shelter. Alpine, rock garden, and desert plants and succulents have been omitted. The are grouped by families within each season or flowering time (spring, early summer, midsummer, late summer and autumn).

The decidedly British tone and references to the Royal Horticultural Society in no way alter the universal scope or content of the title, which features small type and large, clear photographic layouts. That this book is geared for the more sophisticated gardener is evidenced by the practice of listing all plants by their Latin scientific names (genus and habitat) with occasional use of common names. Country of origin, natural habitat, physical characteristics, and leaf and petal measurements (in metrics) are given for every entry. Photographs have scientific labels. Sketchy but adequate propagation information appears. Horticultural associations, specific gardens to visit, hardiness zone charts, a glossary, a bibliography, and an index complete the title.

Though novices seeking detailed planting and care instructions need more basic guides, experienced horticulturalists will welcome this volume. Where the earlier British edition is owned, the new one need not be purchased. Otherwise, it will be an important addition, especially where detailed scientific flora encyclopedias are needed. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Encyclopedic reference book
This book is an exhaustive encyclopedia of perennial plants grouped into three sections by their blooming time - spring, summer and autumn. It has beautiful pictures of each plant, with a number of varieties of each type included and pictured. I do not think, however, that it is a book for those who are new to gardening or who want to learn more about gardening with perennials. The plants are listed by their Latin names only, with no reference whatsoever to their common names. It therefore makes the book quite useless for someone who wants to look up or identify a plant and is not familiar with the Latin name. Basically, this lovely book is more of a dictionary or encyclopedia of plants, rather than a gardening guide or how-to. And although beautiful to look through, and a good and thorough reference for those well versed in perennials, it is not helpful as a gardening book for someone who is looking for more gardening and plant guidance.

A wonderful reference
This is one of my favourite perennial reference books. The photographs are superb as is the information provided about each of the plants. Based on the title, it is obvious this book is not meant to be a general gardening guide. For the experienced gardener, this is an indispensable reference work. A novice gardener eager to learn more about specific perennials will find this book a treat. When I first began to garden seriously, a much earlier two-tome edition of this work was recommended to me. I am glad that the authors have chosen to reorganise the material into this one-volume format. It is far more user-friendly. The authors have an incredible knowledge of perennials and we are fortunate that they have chosen to share it with us. I wouldn't be without this book ...