[.ca] Perennials: The Definitive Reference With Over 2,500 ... (ISBN 1552096394)

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

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.