Gardening with Hardy Geraniums (ISBN 0881927163)

Book Description:
Infinitely varied, incredibly robust and blessed with a long flowering period, it is little surprise that hardy geraniums are many gardeners number one perennial. In nature, their habitat extends from woods to sunny mountainsides so there is a geranium for every position in the garden. A wide range of colour and markings on both flower and leaf, along with a delightfully relaxed habit, ensures their contribution to the garden throughout the summer season. There are over 400 geraniums described in the book including many of the latest gardenworthy cultivars. Over 450 photographs turn the spotlight on individual characteristics allowing enthusiasts to compare and contrast colour, flower shape and markings. This is both an authoritative reference work and an inspiration to gardeners everywhere.

Superb!:
I already owned the well-known books on hardy geraniums by Trevor Bath / Joy Jones and Peter Yeo when this new book was published, so at first I hesitated a little before buying yet another book about this increasingly popular garden plant. I have not regretted buying it. I would't want to be without the other two books but the newcomer has a lot to offer: You will find many new cultivars that were unknown to the other authors; it's interesting to compare the experiences of someone gardening in Denmark, where climatic conditions are tougher, to those of English gardeners; there is a fascinating chapter on a leading Dutch breeder of geraniums; you'll find excellent chapters on cultivation and propagation, illustrated with useful pictures; there are 450 brilliant photographs, among them close-ups of flowers and leaves, so you can compare them handily, but also of whole plants and borders, so you get the "micro-perspective" as well as the "macro-perspective"; and, last not least, the author shows real passion when writing, very competently and wittily, about gardening with geraniums. If you are looking for a systematic and scientific monograph about cranesbills, you are better served with Peter Yeo's standard work (2nd edition), but if you are gardening and as crazy about geraniums as I am - then you can't do without this book!

Wow! Incredibly informative and a good read too!:
In my garden planning, I keep running across stunning and adorable hardy geraniums. I got this book on a lark, and based on previous reviews, to get a little more information such as "will these actually look as nice in MY garden" and "are they as hardy as advertised"... I have read this book cover to cover since I got it a few days ago--the author is outstanding, showing a true passion for gardening and gardening using geraniums. She is entertaining and explains each of the variations/hybrids simply and thoroughly. This is the first gardening book I have read and finally "gotten" the latin names, understanding the characteristics of each of 'these' parents produces offspring having 'those' features. I know that's not a hard concept, but sorting through garden catalogs, garden stores, etc. I guess I'd get jaded and set my planning aside for a while. Birgitte explains the features of each kind of geranium and their best uses and placement (will this one work in a rock garden or only woodland settings?), as well as having a great photo of most every flower and some of their leaves to show the many variations and combinations. Many of the plants I have seen just recently on-line are included in this book, which made me pretty happy. I learned that Geranium 'Anne Folkard' may not survive a cold, damp winter unless I take extra care and shelter it a little, and G. pratense Midnight Reiter may not grow as fast as I would have liked it too to fill in the area where I wanted to place it. After reading "Gardening with Hardy Geraniums", I am taking this book with me to the garden stores, with my slightly revised list, so if I see something else that calls out to me, I can look it up and know a heckova lot more than on the little plant tag. I wish more plant-specific books were more like this one--really interesting and informative without being just a list of plants with the same information on the plant tags.

A premier publisher of books for gardening and landscaping:
Plenty of gardeners associate geraniums with potted plants which have a long flowering period: Gardening With Hardy Geraniums shows there's many more varieties available - over 400 in all - which are good garden cultivars. Over 400 photos cover the characteristics which distinguish them, from color to flower shape, while accompany summaries cover height, propagation, season, and background history. Avid gardeners with a passion for geraniums will relish Gardening With Hardy Geraniums as in-depth survey of geranium varieties. Timber Press is a premier publisher of books for gardening and landscaping. Send for their free catalog for a complete listing of their superb titles.

Gardening with Hardy Geraniums:
Fabulous book . . . beautiful pictures, good practical advice on growing and maintaining various cultivars of hardy geraniums.

Gardening with Hardy Geraniums:
Absolutely fantastic book! It's beautifully illustrated and very informative. The book arrived quickly and in excellent condition. It's hard to believe it's used and not new. Very helpful in identifying and classifying plants, both by their leaves and by the flowers, especially when the accompanying tag disappears after the plant has sat in the garden for a while!