Perennials: The Definitive Reference With Over 2,500 Photographs - Hardcover

Phillips, Roger; Rix, Martyn

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1552096416 ISBN 13: 9781552096413

Publisher: Firefly Books, 2008

Synopsis

Indispensible

More than ten years in the making, Perennials is the most comprehensive guide available to these popular plants. It includes descriptions of over 2,500 types of perennials, each variety described in detail and illustrated with a handsome color photograph.

After three decades of collaboration, Roger Phillips and Martyn Rix continue to expand their plant collections and hone their knowledge. Perennials includes expert information on:

• Cultivation and propagation
• Plant origins
• Natural planting associations
• Flowering times for every phase of the growing season
• Combinations for borders, island beds, meadow gardens
• Sedges, grasses, hostas and ferns
• Sources, gardens to visit around the world, and further readings.

With a wide variety of old favorites and an exciting selection of rarities, Perennials is widely recognized as the indispensable and inspiring reference for color and variety for all sites and soil conditions.

About this title

About the Author

Roger Phillips is the author or co-author of 30 gardening books with total sales of more than three million copies worldwide. He is also the creator of two major BBC television series on gardening.

Martyn Rix is a botanist, plant collector and gardener, and the author of 17 books. He has collaborated with Roger Phillips since 1977.

Reviews

Just in time for planting season, two sources arrive from Firefly that include more than 1,000 photographs identifying and cataloguing almost all flowering plants. Annuals are "plants that germinate, flower, set seed and die all within a single year while biennials germinate one year and usually flower the next after spending a dormant winter." Perennials produce seed for future generations and bloom year after year. The nature photographers and horticulturists provide for each plant a brief background and describe the typical combinations to be found in various types of settings, such as north European subalpine meadows, New Zealand tussocked grasslands and Himalayan wet meadows. Typical listings begin with botanical names, original locations, where they are found and complete descriptions. Photos in actual locations and specimens on neutral backgrounds identify the great variety included. Main selection of Garden Book Club. (Apr.)
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Although this outstanding horticultural work is just appearing in Canada and the U.S., it was published previously in Great Britain in 1991 as the two-volume set, Early Perennials and Late Perennials.

Perennials includes about 2,500 plants commonly found in temperate zone gardens but hardy enough to withstand winters without shelter. Alpine, rock garden, and desert plants and succulents have been omitted. The are grouped by families within each season or flowering time (spring, early summer, midsummer, late summer and autumn).

The decidedly British tone and references to the Royal Horticultural Society in no way alter the universal scope or content of the title, which features small type and large, clear photographic layouts. That this book is geared for the more sophisticated gardener is evidenced by the practice of listing all plants by their Latin scientific names (genus and habitat) with occasional use of common names. Country of origin, natural habitat, physical characteristics, and leaf and petal measurements (in metrics) are given for every entry. Photographs have scientific labels. Sketchy but adequate propagation information appears. Horticultural associations, specific gardens to visit, hardiness zone charts, a glossary, a bibliography, and an index complete the title.

Though novices seeking detailed planting and care instructions need more basic guides, experienced horticulturalists will welcome this volume. Where the earlier British edition is owned, the new one need not be purchased. Otherwise, it will be an important addition, especially where detailed scientific flora encyclopedias are needed. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Clematis

Anemonopsis macrophylla Sieb. & Zucc. (Ranunculacea) Native of Japan, in C Honshu, growing in woods in the mountains, flowering in July-September. Plant with a thick rootstock and upright stems to 80cm. Leave much divided, 2- to 3-ternate, with leaflets 4-8cm long. Flowers with 7-10 sepals, and about 10 petals, nodding, 3-3.5cm across. For a very sheltered and shady position, acid soil. Hot, dry wind soon causes the leaves to die, although the root may survive. Hardy to -15°C.

Clematis addisonii Britton (Ranunculaceae) Native of E North America, from S West Virginia and North Carolina, possibly to Tennessee, growing on scrubby slopes, flowering in May-June, in July in cultivation. Plant with several annual climbing stems to 2m. Leaves obtuse, bluish green, ovate, sessile or the uppermost stalked with a few tendrils, 5-10cm long. Flowers 1.8-3cm long with thick, fleshy sepals. For any good soil in sun or partial shade. Hardy to -15°C.

Clematis fremontii S. Wats. Native of North America, in Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri, growing in limestone hills, flowering in April-May. Plant with hairy stems 15-45cm tall, from a stout rootstock. Leaves sessile, glabrous except on the veins and edges; flowers c.2.5cm long. For well-drained soil in full sun. Hardy to -20°C or less.

Clematis heracleifalia DC var. davidiana (Franch). Hemsl. Native of China, from the northeast, west to Hubei. growing in rocky places, flowering in July-September. 'Wyevale' is now considered a selection of var. davidiana and is named after the nursery in Hereford. The flowers of 'Wyevale' are a good pale sky-blue, well scented, c.4cm across. Stems upright to 1m, requiring staking. Hardy to -20°C or less. Other varieties, and C. stans, have more tubular, paler flowers; see Shrubs p. 199.

Clematis integrifolia L. Native of Europe, from Austria south to Bulgaria and east to C Asia and the Caucasus, growing in grassland and steppes, flowering in June-August. Plant with several upright or sprawling stems to 1m from a stout rootstock. Leaves to 9cm long, ovate. Flowers nodding, with 4 sepals to 5cm long. Forma rosea has pink flowers with wavy margins to the sepals. For good soil in full sun and exposure. Hardy to -20°C or less.

Clematis x jouiniana C. K. Schneid. 'Praecox' A hybrid between C. heracleifolia 'Davidiana' and C. vitalba, raised in c.1900 in Metz. Stems to 3m in a year, often from a woody base. Flowers each about 2cm long, produced in great quantity in July-September, scented. For sun or partial shade, either on a wall or scrambling through scrub. Hardy to -20°C or less.

Clematis recta L. Native of Europe, from France and Spain, east to Poland, Bulgaria, Russia and the Caucasus, growing in scrub and sunny hills, flowering in June-July. Plant forming a clump of hollow stems to 1.5m. Leaves I-pinnate, the leaflets to 9cm long. Flowers 1-4cm across. Forma purpurea (shown here) has purple leaves; the intensity of color varies with the season and the clone. For any soil in fully sun. Hardy to -25°C.

Clematis texensis Buckley Native of E North America, in Texas, between Colorado and the Rio Grande, growing in rich soil on shady limestone ledges, often along streams, flowering in July-September. Stems often annual, sometimes persistent near the base in warm winters, to 3m from a stout rootstock. Leaves glaucous, simple or 3-foliate, apiculate, cordate. Flowers 2-3cm long, scarlet to reddish purple. For a warm position; hardy to -15°C.

Edition details

• Publisher: Firefly Books
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1552096416
• ISBN 13: 9781552096413
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 480