[.ca] The New England Wild Flower Society Guide to Growing and ... (ISBN 0395966094)

From Amazon.com:
The New England Wild Flower Society is the oldest plant conservation organization in North America. It celebrated its 100th birthday by publishing this beautiful and useful guide to identifying, growing, and propagating native wildflowers. Cultivating and appreciating native flora is a first step towards ecological gardening, a concept whose time has come. By choosing to grow the plants that thrive naturally in the conditions your garden offers, you are working with rather than against nature, resulting in easier maintenance and a reduced need of water and chemicals. A great many of the very loveliest flowers are available as natives, such as columbines, iris, trout lilies, violets, trillium, and even orchids. The delicacy of the native species, their simple forms and unadorned beauty, make many of the cultivars we see in the nursery appear overdone and blowzy, like a girl who has overdressed for a party. Horticulturists have worked for years to make new colors, double forms, and larger, brighter flowers, but these small natives have all the appeal of the original, plus they naturally thrive in appropriate conditions. More than a thousand species of flowers are discussed and pictured, with thorough information on native habitat, cultural requirements, propagation, and design considerations. At the back of the book are lists of plants ideal for specific situations and with certain characteristics; look here to find what species have large leaves or attract butterflies, as well as which do best in dry shade, rocky areas, bogs, and, perhaps most useful of all, which wildflowers are deer-resistant. --Valerie Easton

This is the propagation book I've been waiting for!!!:
I can't add much to Jeremy's marvelous comments; I can only reiterate the praise. This book has the complete, clear, concise and honest information lacking in so many wildflower guides, especially when it comes to propagation. It is apparent that most information comes from the personal experience of the author and I've enjoyed the comments about individual plants. My only suggestion for the next edition would be the addition of photos of the seeds on the plant, especially for species such as Pachysandra, where it is unclear exactly where to look.

Great Information, Weak IIlustration:
This is a wonderful book about the culture and propagation of North American native flowers. The author clearly knows his stuff and communicates it well. The only weakness is the limited and low quality photography (lots of depth of field problems) which, I gather is not the author's work, but came from a wildflower society. There really are far too few pictures considering the wide variety of plants. Don't plan on being able to tell which of the diverse Eupatoriums or Asters you want to plant by looking at their pictures. HOWEVER, this book would be worth it without pictures, just for the information. Go buy the book and then write the pubisher a note saying the illustration is beneath the writing....just like I just did.

Disappointing if you want to cultivate these plants:
I was under the impression that this book would provide the information I needed to cultivate these plants on some scale. I was very disappointed. There is no way that you could reliably produce these plants with the information provided in this book. There are much better books out there for that purpose. If you are a novice, homegardener wanting to learn about wildflowers and grow a few in your backyard, this book would be okay for you. But if you are knowledgeable on the topic already, I think you will be disappointed.

Cool book:
This is the best reference I've found for native plants, and it's a worthy book for a coffee table. Accessible and extensive, it's pleasantly written, with care information about the species and then add'l info on specific plants in the species. The photographs are often quite nice, although I wish they more consistently showed the plant's habit in addition to flowers. There's also an appendix in the back on seed propagation. If you get this, purchase the companion shrub & tree reference, too. It's just as good.

A Guide To Wildflowers By A True Expert:
If you happen to be visiting The Garden in the Woods in Framingham, MA, you will probably notice a man puttering in the gardens or working in the nursery. More than likely he will instinctively know that you have a question about the wildflowers you are examining and he will be more than happy to share his knowledge. This amiable person is William Cullina of the New England Wildflower Society. For those who are unable to visit the garden, or have a question about wildflowers, Cullina's book GROWING AND PROPAGATING WILDFLOWERS is the next best thing. This coffee table style book is filled with lavish photographs and wonderful commentary about many wildflowers found in North America. The book not only assists the reader in identifying various wildflowers, but helps the reader who wishes to incorporate wildflowers in a home garden. Cullina mentions in the introduction that horticulture has been a life long passion. This is evident in his writing style. The information in the book is informative and while it is presented in a formal manner, it is non-threatening for the novice gardener. This work is not helpful just for gardeners. Photographers will appreciate the wonderful shots of the flowers, many of which were photographed by Cullina himself.