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Winners
This year marks a decade that the American Horticultural Society has
recognized outstanding gardening books published in North America with
its annual Book Award. Nominated books are judged by the AHS Book Award
Committee on qualities such as writing style, authority, accuracy, and
physical quality. The committee also looks for trailblazing topics,
books that celebrate our horticultural heritage, and books that
emphasize our connection to nature.
Keith Crotz, owner of American Botanist Booksellers in
Chillicothe, Illinois, served as chair of the 2007 committee. Other
committee members were Gene Bussell, a garden editor for
Southern Living magazine in Birmingham, Alabama; Thomas Cooper
of Watertown, Massachusetts, former editor of Horticulture and The
Gardener magazine; Susan C. Eubank, a horticultural librarian
for the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden in Arcadia,
California; Marty Ross, a regional contributor for Better
Homes & Gardens and writer for Universal Press Syndicate who lives
in Kansas City, Missouri, and in Hayes, Virginia; Marcia Tatroe
of Centennial, Colorado, a writer for the Denver Post and
Sunset magazine; and Marty Wingate of Seattle, Washington, a
columnist for the Seattle Post Intelligencer.
This year’s three recipients, selected from more than 40 nominations of
books published in 2006, are:
 Defiant Gardens: Making Gardens in Wartime by Kenneth I. Helphand.
Trinity University Press, San Antonio, Texas. Publisher’s price,
hardcover: $34.95.
This groundbreaking book stood out
because of its timely and timeless subject and the comprehensive way in
which it was handled. “This book shows why people enter the world of
gardens, especially in times of crisis,” says Keith Crotz. “It
grounds the reader in the historical and social period, but it never
forgets it’s a garden book,” says Marty Wingate. “The photographs
are fascinating, and the book is very well documented,” says Marty Ross.
 Hellebores: A Comprehensive Guide by C. Colston Burrell & Judith
Knott Tyler. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon. Publisher’s price,
softcover: $27.95.
The committee was impressed by the thoroughness and overall
quality of the first American book on this genus published in decades.
“It achieves a very nice balance between being an authoritative
monograph and a practical guide with lots of good photographs,” says
Tom Cooper. “What I loved most about it was all of the history
concerning the breeders who developed the cultivars and hybrids,” says
Marcia Tatroe.
 Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest by Mark Turner & Phyllis
Gustafson. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon. Publisher’s price, softcover:
$27.95.
“Some of the best gardening books are field guides because
they contain a lot of cultural information about native plants and are
helpful in clearly identifying them,” says Susan Eubank. For this
reason, the committee felt this field guide should be recognized as one
of the best currently in print. “The photographs are excellent and the
book is very readable,” says Marty Wingate. “Maps are a big help
in the field and these maps are clear and easy to understand,” says
Marcia Tatroe, “and I particularly appreciated the colored page
edges for looking up a flower by color.”
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