1 comments about The Bulb Expert.

1. I own five of these books and love each and everyone I hope to get the rest of them. The pictures are great as well as the information on each plant. I started out with nothing in my gardens and now i get people stopping by and saying how nice my yard looks.I recomend these books to everyone instrested in gardening......

5 comments about The Bonsai Workshop (Our Garden Variety).

1. this is a great way to get someone into bonsai. herb gustafson, in this and his other books, does a great job of walking through different necessities (food, light, watering, tools, etc.) and techniques using several examples. he also gives information without seeming biased towards one style or type of plant, but shares all with the reader. definitely worth getting, even if you're not sure about getting into bonsai.



2. The book is very well done and informative. Technically, I don't think I'd call this book for the total beginner as it doesn't go into a lot of detail as to types of trees. It does briefly mention types of trees that work as bonsai, but doesn't give care sheets and the like found in some other bonsai books. The workshops are good in the book, however, it would have been better if the formatting was not so confusing. You tend to see pictures either before or after the text and that does cause some consternation. All things considered though, this is a really helpful book and one definitely worth buying.



3. Interested in bonsai but clueless on where to begin? This book makes an excellent starting point. It clearly and concisely explains the basic "rules" - which the author advises the reader to learn, practice, then feel free to ignore as their confidence and creativity take over. Every basic area, from tools to pots, from soil to common plant choices, are explained and illustrated with hundreds of drawings and color photographs. If you decide to truly pursue the art of bonsai this book alone will not be enough - you will need to draw upon other books and build a resource library. But, for your first introduction to the hobby, I highly recommend this "workshop".



4. After many starts which led to complete disasters for me, this book finally gave the information I need to get started in this wonderful art. The instructions are great for a beginner like myself. The combinaiton of written, step by step direcitons along with the wonderful photographs makes this book a joy to work with. I cannot say if this is a good book for the advanced student, as I am far, far from that category, but I can say without a doubt that it is great for beginners. It certainly answered all of my questions. This book was far better than any other I purchased on the subject! Thank you SO much Mr Gustafson!



5. I was mostly...unimpressed by the bonsai books you normally find in a book store, so I asked my mentor(world famous) for a good suggestion for a book. He suggested this book. I went out and bought it. It is so easy to understand. It made the hardest stuff seem easy. It put everything that would seem extremely difficult into words even a beginner could understand. I used this book to save a tree that was almost killed by Hurricane Katrina! Using this book I still havn't lost a single tree.

1 comments about Cactus Basics: A Comprehensive Guide to Cultivation and Care (Pyramid Paperbacks).

1. Excellent small book for getting into cactus cultivation.Not overly technical.All color photos.Contains good plant directory also to give you a lot of ideas and info for different species to help you plan a garden or greenhouse.
   Bibliography ,Equipment List,and Glossary a plus.
   Overall a comprehensive guide, just like it says.

3 comments about A Natural History of Ferns.

1. Robbin C. Moran's "A natural history of ferns" takes as its subject both the ferns and the lycophytes, a group which includes the club mosses as well as Selaginella and Isoetes. He fills us in on the details of fern reproductive strategies, the lastest breakthroughs in how ferns are classified, the fossil history of ferns, some fascinating physiological and structural adaptations of ferns, the surprising patterns of fern geographical distribution and the impact of ferns on human life. He never stints on important and interesting complexities but still succeeds in making everything clear to a reader who has had
   first year biology. Mr. Moran has an almost uncanny knack for selecting topics that the reader already wants to know more about(or would be curious about if he had heard even a little about them) and knowing what extra information the reader would like to have. In places it is also a good travel book, good enough to make me nostalgic for the Danish countryside.



2. This book is a great scientific reference book while weaving in the history of how people discovered what we know about ferns. It has wonderful illustrations which are very detailed. It is also an interesting read even if you don't need it for a research paper. It is the most comprehensive book on the topic of ferns which we could find and one of the few which can be used extensively for a botany class.



3. This is a highly readable introduction to ferns by Robbin Moran, a botanist at the NY Botanical Gardens. The book is at once literate, anecdotal, and scientific. You can read it for information, for instruction, and for entertainment.
   
   How many books on botany cite both Shakespeare and a Walter Matthau movie in furthering the story of ferns? Moran spends a good part of a chapter discussing the movie, A New Leaf, which deals with Elaine May, as a botanist, discovering a new species of fern and naming it after her true love, Matthau. Indeed, Moran's enthusiasm for the movie shows no bounds--he presented it one evening at a summer workshop in Maine that I attended.
   
   But don't get me wrong--the book is serious science with a sense of humor, sort of like a more focused version of a Stephen Jay Gould book.

3 comments about Succulents for the Contemporary Garden.

1. This book is an extensive collection of nice pictures of over 350 different succulents. They are arranged in scientific name order. However the descriptions for each entry are just text describing the plant. There is not even basic information like the hardiness zone so you will know if the one you like will survive your winter. The text does not directly reference the picture location so you have to find the picture key somewhere on each page ("This page, left to right ..."). The index is really just a table of contents - common names are listed under the scientific name instead of having a separate entry ("Purple Emperor" is indexed as "Sedum, Purple Emperor"). Get this for the pictures then get The American Horticultural Society "A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants" for the reference data.



2. Easy to understand and very easy to apply info to my garden. Learned a lot about succulents.



3. Noted New Zealand garden photographer Yvonne Cave has done it again, with this extraordinarily beautiful book. There's something here for everyone, from novice to expert, from the familiar Desert Rose and Yucca to the exotic Lithops, which look like stones, or the "Bronze Sculpture" Kalanchoe. The stunning photos are accompanied by identifying text with basic cultivation information for hundreds of species. Those particularly interested in tropical succulents will find additional information in Tropical Ornamentals : A Guide, as well as in Ornamental Plants & Flowers of Tropical Mexico.

2 comments about Fern Grower's Manual: Revised and Expanded Edition.

1. This book is fantastic for the amateur or professional fern grower. It is very informative, supplying you with alot of information about how to grow them, how to take care of them, and how to recognize them. If you are looking for one book that can tell you everything and more about ferns and not need to look through any other books, than this book is for you.

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2. This book does exactly what its title suggests. It provides very useful and simple information on ferns and their cultivation. It is not a wordy book though it has well over 500 pages. It gets straight to the essentials of ferns and their requirements. The detailed drawings are clear and very useful in helping fern enthusiasts easily identify different species of ferns. i would have loved however to see a few more pages of color photographs of ferns and more fern entries but I am sure this well written book will be updated in a few years time. The Fern Growers Manual is the best available manual for fern growers. Buy it and enter the other world of ferns - a satisfying experience for all who venture in.

No comments about Crazy About Cacti and Succulents (Brooklyn Botanic Garden All-Region Guide).

No comments about Saxifrages: The Definitive Guide to 2000 Species, Hybrids & Cultivars.

5 comments about Southern Shade: A Plant Selection Guide.

1. I find this book, Southern Shade and its companion, Southern Sun, to be excellent resources for the Southern gardener. Both books provide many plant options - some that perhaps you haven't thought of - which are beautifully photographed. The books are laid out in a way that makes them easy to read and access. I would recommend investing in both so that you have a complete outdoor gardening guide - they make great gifts, too!



2. This book helped me transform my yard to a beautiful sanctuary. Finally, though the help of this book, my landscaping is easy to maintain. I have learned so much from the authors' explanations and photographs of the plants that do well in shade. I recommend this book and her other book, Southern Sun: A Plant Selection Guide, as a marvelous housewarming gift for new homeowners.



3. My daughter took this book to her office and several people looked at it and got some great ideas. She gave them the info. on how to order them.



4. Just like Southern Sun this book is beautiful, interesting to read and provides great advise for the non-professional. You can enjoy the read and you can use it as a great work book. Pictures are beautiful.



5. As a shade loving gardener, I found this book delightful. Not only is it very specific, but it is fun to browse through. It's always a challenge to find something new to grow in shade, but Jo does a great job of giving the details. I especially liked the "getting acquainted" part of each plant guide. It helped with overview and selection.

4 comments about Pocket Guide to Ornamental Grasses (Timber Press Pocket Guides).

1. TIMBER PRESS POCKET GUIDE TO ORNAMENTAL GRASSES by Rick Darke. Timber Press, 133 S.W. Second Ave. - Site 450, Portland, OR 97204-3527. 2004. 226 pp. $19.95 flexible hardcover, ISBN 0-88192-653-1. color photographs, glossary, index.
   Over 330 bright, sharp color photographs illustrate as many different kinds of ornamental grasses. The grasses are cataloged alphabetically. But 32 categories preceding the encyclopedic catalog group the hundreds of kinds according to different characteristics. A few of these are clumping ornamental grasses, cool-season ornamental grasses, ornamental grasses for cut flowers, ornamental grasses for dry sites (and woodlands, dry shade, fragrance, etc.), and ornamental grasses for movement in breezes. Ornamental grasses are becoming increasing popular with today's gardeners because of their textures, variety, and adaptability. And because, as the numerous photographs show, they make for attractive gardens and landscapes that do not appear overly manicured. Darke is a landscape design consultant who has won awards in the field. His "Pocket Guide" is a ideal reference for anyone interested in ornamental grasses, particularly gardeners at all levels.



2. I checked this book out from my local library in order to preview it before buy it on Amazon. I was not disappointed which comes as no surprise especially since I am one of the fortunate ones who, about 10 years ago, had the chance to study Ornamental Grasses at Longwood Gardens with Rich Darke. He knows his stuff. The book is well written, concise and intespersed throughout with the author's personal observations on specific genera and individual species. Excellent photography supports the text. Rich Darke is one of the best garden/horticultural writers of his time. I also highly recommend another of his books, "The American Woodland Garden" for his well written prose and the ability to articulate the beauty and nuances of each scene photographed as well as a plant's more endearing or not so endearing aspects. Stunning photography.



3. The author writes from a very strong background gained from having planted many of the ornamentals described and photographed in this excellent book. There is much helpfull detail that greatly aids the reader in selecting plants.



4. Handy guide that you can take along. Not sure if needed to be so small. You really don't find ornamental grasses in the 'wild'. Ultimately, good for readers that have an interest.