Product Description
A comprehensive gardening directory of garden plants and guide to gardening techniques, this book covers over 4000 garden flowers, plants and shrubs, with notes on cultivation and uses in the garden. It also offers advice, with step-by-step instructions, on garden design, construction and planting: pools, rock gardens, pergolas and other structures, plant propagation and pests and diseases. The book explains many other gardening skills from making mulch to grafting a fruit tree. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Misleading about the author
I am a great fan of Alan Titchmarsh.When I looked for garden books by him this book came up.I read the reviews and it sounded good.So I ordered it. It is very good but it is not by Alan Titchmarsh!He simply wrote a very short foreward to the book.I don't think booksnotactually written by the person should be listed as they are the author!This is nothing against Ms Pereire. Her book is good. It is misleading!Mr. Titchmarsh had nothing to do with this book!!Naughty, naughty!

An All-Round Winner
I kid you not - I looked through 2 shelves worth of gardeningbooks and went cross-eyed without finding anything as good as this.

It of course depends on what you are looking for - if you wantdetailed information about how to grow waterlilies, this is not foryou.It is best suited for someone who is beginner to intermediate -although I think even the expert will appreciate having this fantasticreference to all the major (over 4000) flowering plants, shrubs andtrees, climbers, and fruit.

Advantages of this book over thecompetition:

1) There is a picture for every plant that ismentioned.It is amazing that not all gardening books have picturesand the description is just another plant name.Pictures also meanthat if you see a beautiful flowering bush as you are driving, you cancome home, check its name, and go to your local nursery to ask for it,rather that say "Uh, I think its got pink flowers, and greenleaves." Save your nurseryman from a headache and yourself fromembarassment!Oh and the photos are stunning as well, if you like toenjoy reading your garden books for pleasure.

2) There are a few'encyclopedic' reference books around that give very detailedinformation about the plant, up to the history of its development -but no tips.Not so here.Each plant come with a short descriptionof the plant, useful hints for growing, and recommendations ofvarieties.

3) There is a section on gardening techniques - coveringall the essential steps: planning (beautifully illustrated plans forthe garden to suit your needs eg. garden for family with children, forthe elderly or disabled, how to make a square garden look less angularetc. I love this section, it is so creative and the author has goodideas); there are also buying tips (how to choose); constructiontechniques (yes!actually teaches the easier methods of building aflower beds, fences, paving, steps, rock gardens and also coversthings like drainage, watering etc); propagation techniques; improvingsoil quality; maintainence and more.

4) The author has thoughtfullyand very usefully compiled all the information in quick referencetables at the end, tabulating soil requirements, aspect/hardiness,foliage, flowering season, problems, etc.Basically everything youneed to know when planning which plants to put with what, what to growso you have flowers all year round, how to get plats to flowersimultaneously.It's amazing how many gardening books fail to dothis.

5) ...I couldn't believe it.It's one third of the nextbest 'encyclopedia'-type book.You get so much out of it, consideringyou can buy a book just on planning and designing for that price.

...

Good sources on most plants for your garden.
Read and reviewed most what I have in my garden and found it very sourceable with all information on what I should do and prevent errors from occurring. I should have done my own planting AFTER buying this book toread to learn more on how my plants thrive on and give you a better GREENTHUMB knowledge. It's an excellent book for those who cannot afford a moreexpensive book and budget wise... ... Read more

Product Description
Ornamental grasses are among the most versatile andsophisticated of garden plants. Planted as single specimens in beds oron the terrace in a container, grasses are striking focalpoints. Smaller forms bring rhythm and diversity to mixed borders, andclumping forms richly carpet the ground. This beautifully illustratedbook by two imaginative garden designers will provide equal measuresof information and inspiration. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Very disappointing...
I must say, I am astonished that this book has recieved the positivereviews that it has. I bought this book with the intent of gainingknowledge in the area of designing with grasses. I read it from start tofinish and found that the entire text consisted of rambling, repetative,generalizations that were devoid of any substantial content. I wascompletely shocked that the authors would dare publish such wishy-washymaterial.

In addition, many of the photos are out of focus and thecorresponding descriptions are often incomplete. The descriptions ofspecific grasses are very brief and many very popular grasses are notincluded at all.

I have never been more disappointed with a book purchaseof any kind on any topic.

Not a great reference book
I'm writing this review to balance out all of the 'great' reviews this book has received. The book is okay, but it is not a great reference book. It has several faults:

First, the book is suppose to be about grasses,yet 25% of the text discusses garden flowers.

Second, many of the photosare cluttered or blurred. There were few species specific photos thatdisplayed a single clear crisp grass variety.

Third, the book rambles andtakes the long way to discribe a simple observation. Some readers willenjoy this style, but it's not for me. I want something that gets to thepoint.

Fourth, the species reference (called 'Selected Plant Catalogue'),is sparse and dated. For example, Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Overdam' iscovered in just three words, 'outstanding variegated form'. Gee ... somehowI was expecting more information. There is not one photo of Overdam in theentire book. Likewise, there is no photo of Festuca glauca 'Elijah Blue'.These are two very popular grasses to have been leftout.

On the positiveside, there are some neat winter photographs of grasses, and the bookcontains some useful information (but it is difficult to find it when youneed it).

This is the kind of book that you're suppose to sit and readfrom cover to cover. A pleasure reading book. Not what I do with gardenbooks, I read them rather like an encyclopedia - and this is not a goodchoice for a reference book.

Excellent explanation and examples of mature plantings
We are a Landscape Design/Build firm specilizing in using ornamental grasses in our design concepts.We have found this book to be an excellent sales tool to show clients how the mature grasses will look in their L/Sdesign. The text is extremely informative and gives a good basic knowledgeof grasses to the novice. The photos are stunning.

Excellent writing and pictures of ornamental grasses
This book covers all the different types of ornamental grasses; from choosing cultivars to the many ways they can be used in your garden.The best book I have seen in this area!

The most complete book you could buy for ornamental grasses.
An excellent text on the subject of ornamental grasses.The authors acknowledge that ornamental grasses are only a part of the landscape, and they address the other types of plants that work well with them.

They approach the subject from a landscape design frame of reference, how to work grasses into your garden.This information is usually only available through your own trial and error.King and Oudolf take out the guesswork.What puts this book a step above all others about the same subject is that it informs its readers how to plant in combination with other perennial flowers.The 161 color photos and very thorough coverage of ornamental grasses and their companions make this the most complete package you could buy for incorporating these graceful, ornamental features into your design. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

same book!
This is not as much a review as a note. If you look inside this book, you will see that it was formerly published under a different title, Flower Confidential: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful and as far as I can tell there is no stated difference. EXCEPT there are 29 reviews there and only a couple here.

Fence-sitting
While this is indeed an inside view of the cut flower industry it lacks the conviction of a "Fast Food Nation" in terms of the Author's POV.
Yes:you are taken behind the scenes at various stages of the flower game from breeding to farming to selling floor,however none of it is compelling enough to give the whole a sense of purpose. If in fact there are hazardous working conditions and child labor is put to use to grow roses in Latin America and Africa for the EU/UK/US markets-little is made of this. The overall feeling is that "A rose is a rose..." no matter that some worker has suffered nerve damage or reproductive problems or been denied an education to grow and ship it.
If you want a lot of scientific facts about floral reproduction and genetic make-up;this is the book for you. If you want to know how Big Business is making a profit off cut flowers this is the book for you. If you want to know what it takes to become an educated consumer of sustainable cut flowers you'll have to look hard and read a long time before you even get close to finding out. Most telling is the Author's own admission to being surprised to see white,blond,blue-eyed greenhouse employees in Holland instead of the latin-american/hispanic variety she was used to seeing in California. The best testimony for growing one's own. ... Read more

Product Description
A comprehensive guide to selecting and growing flowers that can be used for cookery, both as garnishes and as ingredients. Over 90 color illustrations.Amazon.com Review
Author Rosalind Creasy has written extensively on ediblegardens: The Edible Herb Garden and The Edible FrenchGarden are some of her past titles. The Edible FlowerGarden focuses on plants that not only enhance recipes, but alsoturn the plate into a painting--a visual as well as gastronomicenterprise. For the reader who thinks such things are only for truegourmets or Metropolitan Home magazine aesthetes, one look atthe photographs in this book will seduce you. The images are sobeautiful and unusual as to be hypnotic: rose petals served as a bowlof ice cream (Rose Petal Sorbet); salads that look like wildflowermeadows.

Creasy interviews Alice Waters of Chez Panisse about heruse of flowers in meals at her famous Berkeley restaurant; Watersrecounts the curious effect cooking with flowers has on diners. "Theflowers are a fascination. People really focus on them and arecurious." This curiosity stems from a cluster of superstitions: thatall flowers are somehow poisonous, that beautiful things should not betouched or consumed, that vegetables are the sturdy, useful plantswhile flowers are "for show." Reading The Edible Flower Garden,I remembered the summer I forgot to pick my artichokes, and theybasked in the sun long after they were ripe. One day I looked out andit was as if a spell had been cast: the ugly green artichoke scaleswere gone, transformed into blinding purple flowers. Color is alwayshiding somewhere, and it is wonderful to allow it to flourish, likeCreasy does, in places where it is not expected. --Emily White ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Flower power
I loved this book!I've always wanted to incorporate flowers into my edibles but was never quite sure which ones to use or how to use them.Now I can add to my garden those plants that will also provide flowers for eating or decorating.

Best Book On Edible Flowers
I have for a decade eaten a few flowers but have moved to an area where there are lots to enjoy. This book is excellent in every respect. The author and publisher both need to be congratulated on a job well done. Our family gives this a very solid five stars.
This book is will give you practical and easy to follow knowledge that will reward you and those close to you with delightful new meals and snacks

Stunning book
The photography in this book is stunning.The information in the book is extremely well done.I love the way the book is set up.The recipes come last and make you want all of the flowers necessary to make them.I make organic rose petal jelly, so I am always on the look out for rose recipes, the rose petal sorbet is great.It can be made as a sorbet or as an ice cream with a bit of tweaking. I have enjoyed chive flower butter, but the first batch I made was a tad potent.The chive flower imparts a much stronger taste in much less volume.The photos are full of great ideas to decorate with the flowers.I often put flowers in pasta and salad, but had certianly never thought of serving my rose butter in roses!Great book all the way around.

Edible Flower Garden by Rosalind Cresy
I found the book beautifully illustrated and for the most part interesting and informative.I also found the book a bit vague and by no means comprehensive.I am a chef trying to acquire a colorful palate for my presentation but I did not find enough variety.I wondered why at least a list of more flowers wasn't included somewhere.Overall a very enjoyable book, especially the recepies...

Edible Flower Garden by Rosalind Cresy
I found the book beautifully illustrated and for the most part interesting and informative.I also found the book a bit vague and by no means comprehensive.I am a chef trying to acquire a colorful palate for my presentation but I did not find enough variety.I wondered why at least a list of more flowers wasn't included somewhere.Overall a very enjoyable book, especially the recepies. ... Read more

Product Description
Here is the ultimate guide for anyone who enjoys flowers. Flowers A to Z provides a wealth of advice on buying plants and cut flowers, growing them, cutting them in your garden, caring for them, and arranging them. Arranged alphabetically from Agapanthus to Zinnia, the book features magnificent full-page photographs of each flower, along with information on the flower's names and varieties; available colors; scent; characteristics of freshness; and relative cost. A wonderful combination of beauty and practicality, this book is essential for any flower lover.Amazon.com Review
Many people love the idea of a house full of fresh-cut flowers, but sadly, most have no idea how to select, care for, and arrange flowers, much lessgrow them. Flowers A to Z is a superb guide for anyone who enjoysflowers and wants to celebrate them in the home or garden. AuthorCecelia Heffernan, a floral designer by trade, provides a wealth ofinformation on how to cut, purchase, arrange, care for, and grow all typesof flowers.

The book is divided into sections covering everything leading up to abeautiful flower arrangement sitting on your dining room table. It beginswith a chapter on hardware, which details all the basic tools--fromfloral shears to floral wire and tape--that you'll need for cutting andarranging flowers, as well as advice on choosing and caring for vases andother containers. The "Handling Flowers" chapter explains the proper way to cut,condition, and care for flowers to ensure the most attractive andlong-lasting arrangements. The author sprinkles valuable tidbits of advicethroughout the book. She suggests, for instance, that it is better to usebranches or thick foliage as arranging aids instead of floral foam, chickenwire, or other artificial aids, as those can shorten the vase life offlowers significantly. This section concludes with a concise andinformative guide to growing flowers in your home garden.

The final section, which makes up the bulk of the book, is analphabetically arranged guide to flowers from agapanthus to zinnia. Eachflower is depicted in a gorgeous full-page photograph, while smaller imagesshow the flowers in different stages of development, illustrating thedifference between fresh and older flowers. The informative text is writtenin a handy reference style, detailing the specifics of each flower: itsscientific name, available colors, scent, how long the blooms will lastafter being cut, relative cost, and other useful information.

The gorgeous photographs, accessible text, and handy cross-referencing willsurely inspire many readers to fill their homes and gardens withblossoms. --Robin Donovan ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Great reference book
I took a class in floral arranging for beginners and the teacher had a copy in class and recommended this book as a reference book.The photos are nice enough that
they could be cut out and framed.

greates book ever
I just recieved this book in the mail NOW THIS IS WHAT I CALL A STEP BY STEP FLOWER BOOK!!! WORTH EVERY PENNY !!!!!

Great but...
The book is great and has great tips and amazing pictures.I will agree with another review that has been written; the binding is terrible! I got the book last night and the binding is already falling apart.It could be the size of the book but they need to think about coming out with a different edition with different binding! Other than that, it's very enjoyable.

Love it but....
the binding on this book came completely apart after 2 days..Other than that the book is wonderful!! Beautiful, bright, vivid pictures along with straight to the point material. Great book to have on hand!

Big, bright, informative, and useful
This is a really useful, extremely attractive book. The pages are big, the pictures are bright and colorful and true-to-nature, and all the flowers that a typical gardener can reasonably expect to encounter in his or her hobby are covered (yep, A to Z). The tips on the individual flowers are concise and instructive, covering buying, planting, caring for, cutting, arranging, everything of flowers. The book starts with a general information section which may not be of much interest to a well-experienced flower gardener, but I found it helpful and again, very informative. And while it may be the weather or pure luck, our flower garden this year is looking better and more prosperous than it ever has. If you are serious about your flowers, you ought to seriously consider purchasing this book. ... Read more

Product Description
Structured to answer the questions of both amateurs and experienced gardeners, this book makes it easy to design and plant a garden. The encyclopedia of perennials helps identify each plant. Descriptions are arranged alphabetically by genus and cross-referenced by page number to the color plates. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Taylor's Guide to perenials
I am very new to gardening and found this book very helpful.It is cut and dry! The plants are listed in alphabetical order explaining where to plant them and how to care for them.It also describes when and if to trimthem back and if dead heading is needed.I also enjoyed how one section ofthe book organized plants based on color.

A Must Have for Gardeners
I have many helpful gardening books but this one is the one I always come back to.It's best for identitifying plants or finding the perfect plant for certain conditions.Great photos and lots of them!

The most complete color encyclopedia of periennials!
This book is arranged like a bird-identifier book-- color plates in the front arranged by flower color with plant details referenced in the back of the book. The color plates are clear, good color quality, and provideclose-ups of the flowers. Pen and ink drawings of plant profiles, leafstructures, and distinguishing features enhance the books ability to helpthe reader identify "what plant is this?" If you're looking fordetailed growing conditions or a "how to", get another book. Butif you're looking for a thorough, easy-to-carry-to- the-localgarden-nurserybook, to identify plants and the flowers they will yield then this book isfor you! I have tons of books on periennals, but this is the one that neverfails me when I need to ID a plant or flower.

The most complete color encyclopedia of periennials!
This book is arranged like a bird-identifier book-- color plates in the front arranged by flower color with plant details referenced in the back of the book. The color plates are clear, good color quality, and provideclose-ups of the flowers. Pen and ink drawings of plant profiles, leafstructures, and distinguishing features enhance the books ability to helpthe reader identify "what plant is this?" If you're looking fordetailed growing conditions or a "how to", get another book. Butif you're looking for a thorough, easy-to-carry-to- the-localgarden-nurserybook, to identify plants and the flowers they will yield then this book isfor you! I have tons of books on periennals, but this is the one that neverfails me when I need to ID a plant or flower.

The best, clearest, most complete perennial book
With its clear photographs, clear and helpful hints on propogating, planning and caring for hundreds of perennials, and a binding which is designed to allow the book to lie open and flat, it is the book I findmyself using almost to the exclusion of all others. ... Read more

Product Description
Explains the special techniques used in wild flower gardening. Cultivation instructions are provided together with suggestions on the garden use for over 250 wild flower species. The book is also a photographic guide to planting schemes and gardening ideas for each season. The author is a pioneer of wildflower gardening in Britain and through his company, Suffolk Herbs, and the Nature Conservancy Council, markets herbs and wild flower seeds. ... Read more

Product Description
The former co-host of the PBS show The Victory Garden illustrates how to plant, grow, and care for a variety of heat-resistant Southern flowers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Specifically addresses heat/humidity tolerances.
"Bulletproof Flowers for the South" --now there's a title!My first thought was this ridiculous image of Hatfields and McCoys with a bunch of flowers strapping on Kevlar between them, but the title is actually remarkably apt.This is a book of *survivors*, flowers that can stand up to the brutal temperatures and humidity of the Sweltering South.

"Bulletproof Flowers" is a dictionary-style reference on heat/humidity tolerant garden plants for gardeners living from Virginia on south, and west to Eastern Texas.Most entries include common name, scientific name, cultivar where particular varieties are prefferable, height-width specs, and a picture of the plant, along with basics of sun tolerance and miscellaneous tips on habit and cultivation.It rates plants on a relatively new "heat hardiness" scale, as well as listing the more traditional cold "hardiness zones," and includes a great deal of information based on the author's personal experiences working with the various species and cultivars.The author is clearly an experienced gardener, and in many ways this book reads like a close friend's cherished recipe box, passed along in a moment of rare generosity.

As the title suggests, the author has an easy-going sense of humor that shines thoughout the book, making it very accessible reading.It doesn't get deeply technical about cultivation of individual species, but it does contain a great deal of useful information at the front about preparing your soil with an eye to the unique challenges found in our region and climate.Probably my biggest gripe about the book is its heavy reliance on common names --which many people will consider a plus-- and the quality of the pictures.Based on the quality, I can't help wondering if this is home photography.They generally give a decent sense of the flower, but are often fuzzy, and sometimes so busy that you are not actually sure which flower is being featured.There are some useful lists in the back for various geographic areas, and the author is not shy about mentioning his favorite distributors.

Overall, I found this to be an excellent resource:I live in southeastern Virginia (northern region of Zone 8), and have had the opportunity to grow a great many of the plants he discusses and found myself basically in agreement on all points.For the ones I have not tried, I will definitely keep his opinions in mind.I think this book is well worth the price and is an excellent purchase for anyone trying to get a handle on low-maintenance, high impact southern gardening (remember, we're talking any hot & humid state, so that includes places like the lowlands of Kentucky and some of Oklahoma as well).Bear in mind however that this is targeted information focusing on climate considerations.If you are looking for a general plant cultivation reference, you may want to consider something else. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

This brought me back to my childhood.
This is a wonderful resource for anyone interested in true gardening. The photos are lovely! So many of the plants are used in herbal medicine (read of their history within the pages of this charming book) or are flowers your grandmother had in her garden by the back door.
Katherine has such a terrific knowledge of plants that, without being at all stuffy she can let you know where and how to use them. It's not a dry read at all. Get this book and you won't be disappointed. ... Read more

Product Description
Fresh flowers add a unique touch of natural beauty and color to any home, but there's a special satisfaction in creating a lovely arrangement with flowers that you've grown yourself. Now comes a complete guide to growing flowers and creating spectacular arrangements, for every season and every region. Features more than 250 full-color photographs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Gardening Favorite
Although I'd rather grow plants indoors than cut flowers, there are moments when a fresh-cut bouquet of flowers can brighten up even the most dull day.

"One of the gardener's greatest pleasures is harvesting fragrant, colorful blossoms throughout the growing season. To bring fresh flowers indoors-with their heavenly scents, exquisite colors, and wonderful shapes and textures-is to bring indoors a little piece of paradise."

This is not an extensive book, but it is practical. The contents include:

Planning a Cutting Garden
Cutting Garden Plans
Growing Flowers for Cutting
Cutting and Arranging Flowers
Encyclopedia of Plants

You will also find page after page of freshly blooming flowers all in country-like
settings. The Encyclopedia of plants has a list of 200 plants with pictures. Each includes a description, planting zone information, planting information, care, harvesting and conditioning and uses.

Also includes:

Advice on planting seasonal selections.

Instructions on how to condition and arrange flowers so they last as long as possible.
Tips on designing with color and creating eye-catching color schemes.

Happy Gardening...

~The Rebecca Review

No More Dead Flowers In Morning
I happened on this book at my library and found it to be the most helpfuland informative on cutting gardens, so I had to buy my own copy. This isthe best I have found on cutting gardens because, not only does it coverwhat you need to know from the dirt to the final blossoms, but theencyclopedia of the plants is fantastic. The most helpful is the"HARVESTING AND CONDITIONING" information. My cut flowers wherealways dead by the next morning before I had this great information. Thisis a book you will refer to constantly. My copy already has those greatdirty pages, a sign of a wonderful well used out in the garden book!

Much more than beautiful pictures.
This book's wealth of practical infomation is presented in a well thought out, easy to understand fashion.Chapters one through fourare devoted to the planning of and caring for a cutting garden, as well as creating attractive floral arrangements.Without a doubt, though, my favorite section of the book is the 53 page Encyclopedia of Plants which lists 212 perennials, annuals, herbs, tubers, corms, bulbs, vines, shrubs, and, yes, even an occasional small tree which make suitable cut flowers.Each entry in the encyclopedia contains a photograph and description as well as tips on growing conditions, planting, care, and harvesting and conditioning.Ever wonder which cut flowers require searing, splitting or dipping into boiling water?You'll find the answers here! ... Read more

Product Description
Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Product Description
As an accomplished gardener and professional florist, Linda Beutler offers unique insights into creating inspired floral arrangements and growing the plants that go into them. Among the topics that Beutler discusses are the philosophy of floral design; making creative use of plants you're already growing; techniques of harvesting and preparing cut flowers; "bouquet basics"; and creating arrangements for special occasions. The book culminates in "Plants for the Cutting Garden: Flowers, Foliage, and Fruit," which contains detailed descriptions of more than 200 outstanding plants. Adding greatly to the book's appeal and usefulness are Allan Mandell's breathtaking photographs of flowers in every stage from the garden to finished arrangement. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Misses the Mark on Several Points
When this book arrived and I perused the first time, I was thrilled.However, now that I have used this book for about a month, I am disappointed about some important and missing details.First, the good news:photos are gorgeous, author has a wonderful style and wit and this book has been helpful for me on several occasions.

My disappointments:NO index!There is a plant name index, flower meaning table, a botanical latin guide, bibliography, etc.; however, this book is much more than a listing of flowers.If one wants to research foliage or conditioning solution, good luck finding it without an index.One has to leaf through the entire book.

Second, the flower arrangements are gorgous but the flowers are not identified in any of the photos.The arrangement on the book's cover is breathtaking, and although I am an avid gardener, I could only identify two of the flowers in that particular photo.Considering the subject matter of this book, it is a travesty to not provide more detailed information on the many arrangements.

Third, very little information is provided on foliage or filler flowers for arrangements or a guide as to ratios of flowers to fillers to foliage, etc.

Fourth, the author beats up hybrid tea roses pretty hard (which is fine) and then waxes eloquently about old garden roses and how they should be the choice for a garden.Only one problem--there are many old garden roses that do not work as cut flowers because they shatter.And, when the author provides a list of the 12 best roses to grow for cutting, none of them are old garden roses (unless you consider the Austin roses to be old garden roses), and nearly half are hybrid teas!

Do I like this book?Yes; however, when I need essential information and it is not available in this type of reference, it is annoying, and especially knowing it may be in the book, but I cannot find it quickly because of the lack of an index.

Finally...A Usable Gardening Guide full of great color photos & Ideas
I love this book.Of the 1000's of gardening books out there, I've sifted through the chaff to find this gem. Full of stunning Full-Color photos (which are also great design ideas) and practical, affordable supplies, this book has become a mainstay of my gardening library.

The author intersperses wit & humor to make this easy-to-follow guide a pleasure to read.While the author seems to be based out of Oregon, the ideas presented translate very well to all parts of North America.Whether your a weekend gardener or full-blown 'Gardener's Market' seller, this volume presents numerous ideas and plans that will make your floral displays the 'Talk of the Town'.

From Japanese Ikibana arrangement to 'Old-World' traditional (& every in between), this books covers all of the practical steps needed to transform your gardening space into a productive floral producing machine...Very Highly Recommended.

Difinitive resource for cut flowers from your garden
I've been looking for a book like this for a long time!I am often at a loss
for cut-flower 1) inspiration and 2) knowledge when it comes to flowers from my own garden.I admit I've been a bit intimidated when going out in my yard with shears in hand, fear of "wrecking" what flower display I did have outside.Linda Beutler's extensive first-hand experience as both gardener and florist is helping to dispell the limiting factors of my own beliefs.And, on another level, her creative ideas think outside the box, and add many more plants to what I "thought" could be used for cut flowers.The key for me is, she shows how to SUCCESSFULLY use all these plants--successful both for flower arrangement indoors and for the vigor of the plant that's growing out in your garden.

This book tells you everything you need to know, from bloom time to potential in a vase, from how to condition a cut flower properly to the light/soil/water needs of the plant itself.And much more.Lots of artistic inspiration for the beautiful arrangements in vases (and inspiration for the vases!).Encyclopedia sections are comprehensive and easy to read.

Linda's writing style is a pleasure, fun and whimsical, from an obviously very intelligent source.My mind is expanded!And it's been a fun journey.
Thank you, Linda!

Useful Addition for any Gardener's Library
Although I have dozens of garden books that include cutting and arranging flowers, this one is so much more. It is a top-notch reference book that you will use often, whether or not you are a novice or experienced gardener. Linda Beutler not only tells you exactly how to grow, cut, prepare and arrange flowers in detail, she will inspire you. After reading her book I ventured into my own fall garden with a small bucket of water and shears to cut a few spent hydrangea blossoms, yellow margarites and gold chrysanthemum sprigs, and some wayward shrub branches. I removed a couple of stalks from the zebra grass and picked my one stunning dark purple re-blooming iris to become the center of my arrangement. As I wandered about I also gathered some broken twigs from a recent storm. Using her detailed guidelines for preparing both woody and soft stemmed cuttings, I found a wide-mouthed glass vase and created my own beautifulmasterpiece in less than a half hour.

The first part of the book covers all the "how-to-do" basics and includes stunning color photos of flower arrangements, many created from typical home gardens.She illustrates design techniques, discusses seasonal uses, advises on which plants (and fruits) to grow or buy for both fresh and dry creations. The second half of the book covers many familiar flowers, vines and shrubs in detail--many photographed in companion plantings. Each entry includes whether it is annual or perennial, planting zone, anticipated size and other details found in most garden books. But then she expands each entry to include garden availability, harvesting, conditioning, vase life and buying tips. Reading her informative and chatty text is more like talking with a gardening friend. For example, tulips are her favorite flowers because her father gave her a bouquet of red tulips for her tenth birthday.

This beautiful book is also full of creative ideas for making unusual containers out of pumpkins, gourds and basically anything that will hold water and if it doesn't do that, she has tips for making it work! I could go on and on about what a great garden book this is. If you buy it as a gift for a gardening friend, you'd better get two because once you see what it has to offer, you are going to want to keep it for yourself!

Garden to Vase: Growing and Using Your Own Cut Flowers, By Linda Beutler
What a treasure to add to my gardening library. Linda Beutler offers insights into the creation of floral arrangements and the growth of plants that go into them. The book covers the basics of floral design, giving the reader confidence to explore a fascinating aspect of gardening.Creative uses for plants from your current garden are explored. The tips for harvesting and preparing flowers for arrangements are written in a clear style for beginner and more advanced gardeners. This book includes an alphabetical directory, that describes the flowers, foliage, and fruit of more that 200 plants. Each entry includes the plants habit, hardiness, height, fragrance, and appearance; when it can be harvested; how to grow it; and how it should be conditioned. The photography of flowers and arrangements, done by Allan Mandell, is absolutely exquisite. I would highly recommend this book to all who love the beauty and possibilities of flowers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Still the best!
If you want down to earth advice on gardening and creating a fun garden to work in--this may be old but it's still the best book out there.

Highly practical "how to" book for Northeast
Despite its age, if you live in Zones 5 - 7 in the Northeast, this may still be the most useful "what to do when" book you can find. The book is arranged by month, with what should be done to various plant species arranged alphabetically (by common name), along with a few broader pointers, also by month. It can be a bit frustrating to have to look in 2 or 3 places to read all that is written about, say, Phlox, but now that it is, say, June, it is very useful to be able to scan one short chapter to see what can be done now, and what you might have overlooked. Has color photos of given plants on almost every page, but with an emphasis on practical, cultural information, and not much on putting together plant combinations, or on good garden design. (Jim Crockett was the first host of the PBS show "Crockett's Victory Garden" - this, his last book, was finished by Marjorie Waters and John Pelrine, who received credit only inside the book.)
http://www.woodedpaths.blogspot.com/

Wonderful reference guide to flower gardening
Crockett's Flower Garden is a fantastic reference book for anyone who enjoys gardening, novice or experienced.The book is written in month-by-month format, which makes it easy to follow and easy to chart yourgardening tasks.

Crockett's love for gardening shows through, asdoes his practical approach. He discusses both, buying plants andstarting from seed (when practical).

I highly recommend the book. ... Read more

Product Description
• Caretakers of the most well-known and popular public gardens reveal dozens of secrets

• Tells the inside stories and challenges of 20 fabulous gardens and their creators

• In each chapter, gardeners demonstrate several projects that homeowners can apply to their own gardens

• Ideas and tips to make every backyard garden prettier, healthier, and distinctive ... Read more

Product Description
This full-color guide from the experts at Burpee shows you how to plan, plant, and maintain a beautiful flower garden using an environmentally responsible, organic approach. It offers authoritative guidance on creating borders and beds, combining flower colors and shapes, selecting gardening tools, and much more, and features encyclopedic Plant Portraits section with profiles of more than 175 flowers—annuals, perennials, and bulbs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

All about growing flowers
This colorfully illustrated encyclopedia of flower gardening is chock full of instructions on modern and older methods that work in today's gardens. Quoting liberally from authors, poets and painters of different eras, the author helps the reader understand the science, practice and beauty of gardening.

Whether discussing tools or how to treat recalcitrant seeds to germinate, the suggestions are practical and pertinent. The majority of pages present illustrated discussion of individual plants such as asters and salvias with headings of how to grow them, what species to grow and how to use them in the garden. This book uniquely includes a table of average spring and fall frost dates and number of frost-free days for several cities in each U.S. state and Canadian Province. I like it!

Norman Pellett, author of Gardener's Quiz Book

Marvelous book
I'm thoroughly enjoying this book. I started by just looking at the excellent photos and perusing the informative Plant Portrait section (half the book!). I particularly liked the inclusion of related native plants in this section. Then I dove back into the first half of the book, with its helpful and friendly approach to all areas of flower gardening and its sidebar tips and lists. Whether you're an active long-time gardener, a wanna be or even an armchair gardener, this book will give you much pleasure.

Another winning Burpee gardening book!
My last gardening book was the "Complete Vegetable and Herb Gardener:
A Guide to Growing Your Garden Organically" written by the same author
as this book on flower gardening. Although the photos and layout are gorgeous
in this book, it is the writing that is truly stellar. For me, flower gardening
has been hiding bulbs from squirrels and scattering mixed wildflower seeds into
a section of unused vegetable garden, where the flowers eventually appear but I
have no idea what they actually are. But, because of this book, I now do know.
And I know so much more! The author quickly enveloped me in her eloquent
and witty prose and got me fascinated by historical and scientific topics
I never thought I'dfind interesting. I enjoy just sitting down and
reading this book for thedepth and variety of information it provides.
It's a perfect addition to any flower gardener's library.

The best gift book ever
We love this book.It's beatufiful to look at, fun to read, and full of helpful information.I bought one for myself (a gardening novice), then another for a Master Gardener who is helping me learn, then another for a neighbor who did us a favor, then two more for two friends who had surgery.Everyone - no matter what their gardening experience - loves this book.This is the perfect gift for Christmas, birthdays, and thank you's. Even better, it's the perfect way to brighten up the dark days of winter planning my spring garden.

A Winner
The new Burpee Complete Flower Gardener by Cutler and Ellis is atreasure.Although written as an encyclopedia ofperennialplants in alphabetical order and beautifully illustrated, it reads more like a a conversation with a fellow flower lover.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Great for color combinations
This book has a big emphasis on color and color combinations.The front of the book has pages of dried flower bunches grouped by color and the arrangements shown within the books pages all revolve around keeping within certain colors and color schemes to be used at particular times of the year or for certain occasions.Details a variety of different styles of arrangements and discusses texture and style.Photos are used to show arrangements for inspiration for your own ideas there are no detailed instructions to make particular items.There is some detailed information about making flower swags and ropes not found in a lot of books.I would not say this a book for a beginner it might be a bit intimidating but it's a great companion book anyone who wants to be creative.

Dried Flower Growing, Harvesting, and Arranging Made Easy
This book makes you want to run right out and cut a bundle of something to dry so you can make something gorgeous right away.

The fact that this book was first published in 1987 and is still being printed is testimony to the valuable information and beautiful photos contained inside.

When the two authors first penned this book, they had already been in the dried flower business for 17 years. Their expertise and understanding of their craft shows in every word they write.

Chapters include instructions for growing the plants, viewing what the plants look like when dried, choosing your wreath bases or making your own, constructing wreaths, hangings, bouquets, swags, and choosing containers for table arrangements.

One of the best features of this book is the chart at the back of the book that lists a hundred or more plants, their botanic names, which season to harvest the flowers or leaves and which drying method is the preferred for that plant.

There is a short reference to potpourri with several recipes, as well as a couple of pages on pressing flowers.

The section on Seasons and Special Occasions covers, not only the obligatory Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, but gives innovative ideas for weddings.

It is wonderful that the authors actually grow much of what they dry and that they air dry most of what they pick.

Every page has a tip or set of instructions to make your arrangements with dried flowers both successful and fun.

A Classic
I purchased this book 12 years ago when I developed an interest in making arrangements from dried flowers. Since then I have bought many more books on the topic and have made hundreds of arrangements, simple to elaborate. This is still my favorite book, and I refer to it often.Despite the fact that it was published in 1987, it is not dated. The section identifying dried flowers is comprehensive and well organized, as is the chapter on choosing containers.The instructions for making arrangements, wreaths, swags and specialty pieces are thorough and easy to follow. The floral arrangements are truly inspiring. The concepts are easily adaptable to silk, paper and fresh flowers. ... Read more

Product Description
Twice a year America's rose lovers cut the prettiest blossoms off their best plants and travel to the national rose show, where they lovingly groom their precious blooms for hours in a frigid hall in order to contend for the highest honor: the Queen of Show. Doctors. Teachers. Sheet metal mechanics. Lawyers. Truck drivers. Men and women. These are type A gardeners, and for them this is a blood sport. They grow tender roses in the frigid North and disease prone roses in the humid South simply for the challenge. They decorate otherwise lovely yards with paper bags and panty hose to isolate their choice specimens. They traipse through overgrown fields in the worst weather to save antique roses from extinction.

Aurelia Scott trails these self-professed Roseaholics as they plan, prepare, and compete, battling high winds, Japanese beetles, and the finicky demands of their precious charges. With all the appeal of Word Freak, Otherwise Normal People celebrates the singular satisfaction of cultivating beauty—and, of course, the thrill of victory. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

A big let down....
I had read a boat load of advertising about this book before it came out. So naturally "Had to Have It". Now I would gladly give it away so no one else spends the money on it. There are some just plain terrible tales in it and perhaps they needed to be told to show how really crazy some folks get about showing roses. Some of the stories of what people do, how they act, give the beautiful rose a black eye. Sorry to say but this book was a huge let down for me. I cannot recommend it to anyone. There are other books, such as A Rose By Any Name out that are so far above this book that it might as well not exist.

Rose Madness?!
I truly enjoyed this book! Regardless if you show roses or not, this is a very informative book. I don't show my roses but as rose lover I really enjoy looking at "healthy looking roses" and learning so I really had a good time reading this book.Too bad it doesn't have pictures!!!!
It's a very easy and pleasurable reading! It makes me want to see the rose gardens she mention!

Otherwise Normal Review
If you're into roses, you'll read this book with a smile and also with a notepad to record new tricks of the trade.
The personalities of the featured rosarians definitely "come through."
The style, subject matter, and the rosarians are a delight.
This is a must read for any serious rosarian.

The other side of growing roses
The innocent reader who knows nothing of roses will believe that extraordinary measures are necessary to grow them properly. Fortunately, that's completely untrue *unless* one plans to exhibit. The majority of people who love and grow roses have no interest in exhibition--but rather in the beauty of these plants.

The book is entertaining, certainly, but modern hybrid teas interest me not at all, so I was disappointed by Scott's lack of attention to old-garden roses.

A technical reader familiar with roses should have assisted in the production of this book. It is, unfortunately, rife with factual errors. Just an example from memory: Scott discusses 'New Dawn' and claims it was "bred" by a particular nursery. No, it wasn't. The most cursory research would have revealed that 'New Dawn' is a repeat-blooming sport of 'Dr. W. Van Fleet'. A sport is a spontaneous genetic mutation, thus 'New Dawn' arose from 'Dr. W. Van Fleet' and was not itself "bred" (hybridized).

A copy editor would have been useful as well. Somewhere near the beginning of the book Scott refers to someone "pouring over" reading material. Please.

Captures the envrionment and the people
It was fun reading about people that I have actually met at some of the conventions. ... Read more

Product Description
This pictorial guide presents a fresh approach to using these popular bulbs in contemporary gardens. The book begins with a history of tulips and moves on to design approaches and tips for various plant combinations. Twenty groups of tulips are described in detail, and a separate chapter deals exclusively with color varieties, making it easy for readers to choose tulips to create a wide palette of color combinations in their garden. Complete growing and maintenance instructions are also provided. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent Reading from History to Selection, Planting, and Care
I enjoy growing flowers, shrubs, trees, and vegetables but have never planted tulips. With a nice planting bed available at my office building that looked like just the place for a bed of perhaps 300 tulips, I wanted to get up to speed on their selection, planting, and care.

In this book I got everything I needed plus a fascinating history of tulips that opened the book. Did you know that tulips come from wild growths in the mountainous areas of Central Asia? Cultivated in Turkey as early as 1000 AD, they were not common in Europe until after 1600. Given all of the things we are learning to fear from Central Asia, it is nice to know and instructive to learn of things of beauty that also originated there; perhaps there are more.

The book has hundreds of colorful photos.
... Read more