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American
Horticultural Society
The American Gardener
May/June 2005 Recommended
Garden Books
Because the AHS Horticultural Book
Service was discontinued as of June 30, 2000 no further phone or mail orders
are filled. However, AHS members are still be able to order books at a
discount by linking to Amazon.com through the Society's Web site. Through this
partnership with Amazon.com, AHS members can receive better discounts on most
titles, faster delivery, greater inventory, and improved access to
hard-to-find books. The books listed here have not been critically evaluated;
they have been chosen for description based on unusual subject matter or
substantive content.
The following books are our current
recommended garden books from the May/June 2005 issue of
The American Gardener. To read the review just click on the
book title. You can then order the book directly from Amazon.com by clicking
on "Buy this book!" that follows each review.
BOOK REVIEWS
Recommendations for Your Gardening Library
MINI REVIEWS
GARDENER’S BOOKS
Regional Gardening Books
BOOK REVIEWS
Recommendations for Your Gardening Library
 Gardening
with Clematis: Design & Cultivation. Linda Beutler. Timber Press,
Portland, Oregon, 2004. 300 pages. Publisher’s price, hardcover: $34.95.
Buy This Book
 Simply
Clematis: Clematis Made Simple.
Edith M. Malek. American Clematis Society, Irvine, California, 2004. 304
pages. Publisher’s price, hardcover: $24.95.
When I first sat down with these books, I immediately turned to pruning,
since this is the one area where clematis writers, growers, and fanciers
can come unstuck. I should know, as I have been all three in my time. I
had not been at it long—clematis growing that is—and the more I read
about clematis and pruning the more confused I became. Eventually, I did
figure it out and had my own sizeable collection of clematis, but it
would have been nice to have these two books to help me along the way.
Linda Beutler, the author of Gardening with Clematis:
Design & Cultivation, is a floral designer, garden designer, and
“unabashed clematis obsessive,” cultivating 250 plus clematis taxa in
her Portland, Oregon, garden. In the course of discussing the subject of
her book’s title, Beutler describes the various sorts of clematis, from
herbaceous perennials to large-flowered climbers. She also introduces
some of Portland’s better known gardenistas and gurus, which is helpful
since a good way to learn about gardening is from other’s successes—and
mistakes.
Beutler’s ability to conjure word images of clematis
colors and forms growing with all sorts of other plants is impressive,
though it helps to know your crocosmias from your cryptomerias. More
than 100 attractive color photographs further illustrate the text. And
there are abundant ideas for ways to use clematis throughout the garden,
from strict tuteurs to free-form rebar supports, grocery carts (a rather
Portlandian conceit, I think) to simple arbors. Beutler’s design message
is “be inventive.” Her cultural message is “be patient”—a sentiment she
shares with Edith M. Malek, author of Simply Clematis: Clematis Made
Simple.
Malek is president and founder of the American Clematis
Society, the first clematis society in the United States. She gardens
with 200 plus clematis in Irvine, California—a very different climate
from Beutler’s Pacific Northwest garden. It was interesting to note the
variances in approach between the two pros, but was evidence, too, of
clematis’s accommodating nature; there are clematis for every condition
it would seem, but only if various cultural guidelines are adhered to.
In a direct and authoritative manner, Malek cuts straight to the chase
with brisk, hard-working, how-to-grow information, presented without
hyperbole. Beutler’s work has the how-to as well, just not quite so
readily accessible. Then, as the title proclaims, the remaining pages of
Malek’s book are filled simply with clematis. Portraits of some 120
different clematis are accompanied by information such as the history,
zones, bloom period, height, light requirements, and pruning regime. All
of this makes Malek’s guide a good companion to Beutler’s
design-oriented text and is why, if you are going to pursue clematis
with any energy, you need both these books.
Ethne Clarke
Garden Editor of Traditional Home magazine, a publication of the
Meredith Corporation.
 The
Perennial Gardener’s Design Primer: The Essential Guide to Creating
Simply Sensational Gardens. Stephanie Cohen and Nancy J. Ondra.
Photographs by Rob Cardillo. Storey Publishing, North Adams,
Massachusetts, 2005. 320 pages. Publisher’s price, hardcover: $34.95.
Buy This Book
Is it true, as the title implies, that this book will make you a
perennial gardening expert? It’s hard to believe otherwise, as the
authors have managed to pack so much in here. This book pools the wisdom
of two very experienced gardeners: Stephanie Cohen is a teacher of
perennial design at Temple University in Pennsylvania and Nancy J. Ondra
is the author of several other gardening books and a former nursery
owner.
Organized into three sections, the book begins
appropriately with a chapter titled, “Getting Started,” which discusses
the “basics of getting any design off to a great start.” This is
followed by several chapters that cover important design elements such
as color and texture, how to combine perennials with other plants such
as annuals, bulbs, and shrubs, and designing with non-plant essentials
such as paths, lighting, and fences.
The second section deals with challenging conditions like
wet soils and shade, creative color combinations and themes (including
the joys of white), and perennials for four seasons. Cottage gardens,
naturalistic styles, and other themed plantings are also considered. The
final section is especially intriguing for its before-and-after
discourse on gardens the authors have tackled personally. The book
concludes with an illustrated chart summarizing such plant details as
light needs, season of bloom, and color for a quick reference.
As a list-maker myself, I especially loved the plant
lists throughout the book. These highlight various plants for specific
needs such as “Marvelous Moisture Lovers for Sun” and “Orange You Glad?”
covering hot-colored blooms.
I also got a real kick out of the recurring sidebars,
titled “Stephanie Says” and “Nan’s Notebook,” that offer the authors’
personal observations and tips. Cohen is clearly a character, and I
laughed out loud at her wacky observations on everything from foundation
plantings with “green meatballs” to difficult sites with “plants on
life-support systems.” Ondra’s comments are equally informative—for
example, her warning about “black holes,” referring to dark-leaved
plants that are poorly sited among bright ones.
The authors’ user-friendly—and sometimes hysterically
funny—writing makes it easy to read, Rob Cardillo’s beautiful
photographs make the plants easy to recognize, and color drawings of
design plans make it easy to visualize the resulting garden. All you’ll
need then is a set of dirty fingernails.
Linda Yang
Linda Yang, a “retired” journalist for the New York Times and author of
four books, including The City Gardener’s Handbook, now writes primarily
for Better Homes & Gardens.
MINI REVIEWS
 Take
a walk down a typical city street and you might notice the absence of
green. In Garden Your City (Taylor Trade Publishing, 2005,
$24.95),
Buy This Book
Manhattan gardener Barbara Hobens Feldt asserts
that urbanites don’t have to succumb to concrete and asphalt. To reap
the rich rewards of gardening in a city, “finding a space and expanding
your horticultural horizons is the key,” she writes. Feldt begins with
gardening basics, then shares her experiences and advice on how to meet
the challenges of city gardening—such as getting water to a rooftop.
Urban gardeners everywhere will benefit from this insightful book.
Nicole Gibson, Editorial Intern
 As
roses begin their colorful and fragrant summertime show, A Bouquet of
Roses: Glorious Arrangements for All Occasions by Christina Wressell
(Chronicle Books, 2005, $19.95)
Buy This Book
offers 30 creative ideas for bringing the show indoors.
Organized by color, each arrangement includes a list of flowers to use,
container suggestions, design techniques, and a color photograph that
shows off the whole piece. Wressell also provides advice for selecting
and preparing cut roses, and a list of her favorite cultivars by color.
Viveka Neveln, Assistant Editor
GARDENER’S BOOKS
Regional Gardening Books
Gardening is an activity Americans enjoy nationwide, but
recommendations for successful practices and plant selection can vary
quite a bit from region to region. The diverse climates and ecosystems
of this country’s coasts, prairies, mountains, and deserts offer myriad
challenges and possibilities. Here are some recently published books
that offer region-specific plant and gardening advice.
UP NORTH
 Gardeners
everywhere are becoming increasingly aware of and interested in
indigenous flora. Native Plants of the Northeast by Donald J. Leopold
(Timber Press, 2005, $39.95)
Buy This Book
provides an invaluable resource for using natives in the
landscape and restoration projects. The book describes ferns, grasses,
wild flowers, vines, shrubs, and trees that are native to northeastern
North America, including eastern Canada and the eastern United States as
far as the Plains states. Hundreds of color photographs accompany the
text, and an appendix provides plant lists for various purposes such as
plants for wet soil and plants that attract wildlife.
 For
those on the other side of the country, there’s The Big Book of
Northwest Perennials by Marty Wingate (Sasquatch Books, 2005,
$24.95).
Buy This Book
The Pacific Northwest’s “accommodating growing
environment can make choosing perennials seem like an overwhelming
task,” writes Wingate. This book aims to help by providing succinct
descriptions and color photographs of more than 150 perennials that
thrive in northwestern gardens. It includes chapters on how to design
and maintain perennial gardens as well as a list of local plant
societies and public gardens as sources of further information.
MIDDLE GROUND
 For
gardeners from Delaware south to Virginia, Month-by-Month Gardening
in the Mid-Atlantic by André and Mark Viette with Jacqueline Heriteau
(Cool Springs Press, 2004, $19.99)
Buy This Book
covers when to do what during the gardening year.
Chapters are divided by major plant categories such as annuals,
perennials, houseplants, lawns, roses, and water plants. Each chapter
covers when gardening activities such as planting, pruning, watering,
and fertilizing should be done and includes a chart of recommended
plants for the region.
 Another
title in the Cool Springs Press series in 2004 is Month-by-Month
Gardening in the Prairie Lands by Cathy Wilkinson Barash and Melinda
Myers.
Buy This Book
It follows the same easy-to-use format but focuses on
gardening in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas.
DOWN SOUTH
 High
salt levels, poor soil, and tempestuous weather make gardening in
coastal areas challenging. Using plants that adapt well to seaside life
is a key to success. Landscape Plants for the Gulf and South Atlantic
Coasts by Robert J. Black and Edward F. Gilman (University Press of
Florida, 2004, $24.95)
Buy This Book
covers how to select and grow plants for coastal regions,
and describes more than 400 trees, shrubs, vines, and ground covers—each
one accompanied by a color photograph.
Viveka Neveln, Assistant Editor
More Regional Gardening Books
 Gardens
and Historic Plants of the Antebellum South. James R. Cothran.
University of South Carolina Press, 2003, $49.95.
Buy This Book
 In
Search of Great Plants: The Insider’s Guide to the Best Plants in the
Midwest. Betty Earl. Cool Springs Press, 2004, $19.99.
Buy This Book
 Landscaping
with Native Plants of Minnesota. Lynn M. Steiner. Voyageur Press,
2005, $24.95.
Buy This Book
 Ornamental
Grasses for the Southeast. Peter Loewer. Cool Springs Press, 2004,
$22.99.
Buy This Book
 Perennial
Gardening in Texas. Alan Franz. Taylor Trade Publishing, 2005,
$39.95.
Buy This Book
 Wildly
Successful Plants: Northern California. Pam Pierce. Sasquatch Books,
2004, $24.95.
Buy This Book
 Wild
Lilies, Irises, and Grasses: Gardening with California Monocots. Nora
Harlow and Kristin Jakob, editors. University of California Press,
2004, $24.95.
Buy This Book
 The
Zen of Gardening in the High and Arid West. David Wann. Fulcrum
Publishing, 2003, $17.95.
Buy This Book
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