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| Author: Tracy Disabato-aust
Publisher: Timber Press, Incorporated
Category: Book
List Price: $34.95
Buy New: $21.92
You Save: $13.03 (37%)
New (31) Used (10) from $21.92
Rating:  44 reviews
Sales Rank: 5301
Format: Illustrated
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 2
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 384
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.1
Dimensions (in): 10.5 x 7.4 x 1.2
ISBN: 0881928038
Dewey Decimal Number: 635.932
EAN: 9780881928037
ASIN: 0881928038
Publication Date: July 1, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
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| Customer Reviews:
A classic July 30, 2008
As the creator of a now three year old garden of shrubs, bulbs and perennials, I got this book just in time for the pruning lessons, but sadly too late for the soil preparation lessons!
I recommend this book to anyone who is ready to move beyond the glossy magazine spreads and into the realm of truly effective techniques that do require hard work, but that also have long-term results.
Perennial Favorite about Perennials July 24, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I work as a perennial salesperson in a large, family-owned garden center in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago. Any time a customer asks for a book on perennials or gardening in general, I always recommend this one.
It provides a wealth of general gardening information on soil preparation, watering, diseases, pruning techniques and more. The plant encyclopedia section is the most valuable part of the book. In it, Ms. Aust discusses the most widely available and popular perennials individually and in detail. For each plant, there is a picture next to which she lists the latin name, the common name, the light, water and soil requirements, the height, width and bloom-time. After those details are presented, she discusses when to prune, cut back, dead-head, divide and fertilize that plant. She has gathered this information over a lifetime of gardening experience.
The appendix of the book contains many valuable lists of plants under headings such as "Plants to Pinch for Height Control" or "Clay Busters". I can't imagine selling perennials to others or tending to my own garden without this bible.
One complaint that customers have mentioned to me about this book (after I have recommended it)is that Ms. Aust uses the Latin nomenclature for everything. This was intimidating to me at first, too. I had to learn the Latin for my job as a perennial salesperson so I was forced to "embrace" it. I am glad that I did because it makes reading a book like this easier. My advice to anyone interested in gardening: learn the Latin! It's intellectually challenging and fun. It will open up a wide world of plants to you. Carpe diem!
My new gardening bible June 25, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
As a fairly new gardener I discovered this book at the library last year and it is wonderful. It really gets into how and when to pinch and prune (and what these terms mean) plants which I now realize is such an important part of how your flowers will look when they bloom...The author mostly talks about tried and true perennials, but we see them in a whole new light, you can control the height of your plants and even the bloom time. Excellent drawings and color illustrations are very helpful. I really enjoyed the "before and after" photos of gardens that the author has designed.
 Easy read but not as informative as I would like June 20, 2008
2 out of 7 found this review helpful
This book is written in a very casual way that I find very easy to read. The author, from reading the book, probably has very extensive experience and knowledge with gardening and plants. However, I think the author tries to stress her key points too much by repeating what she thinks is important and thus, the book suffers from not providing the information I would like. I think I'll be more happy with a plant encyclopedia.
great resource to have in your library June 18, 2008
i ordered this book after we moved to a new home and were faced with the monstrous task of identifying (and subsequently managing) the numerous perennials in unkempt beds around the property. this book is filled with useful information about pruning, thinning and transplanting, and has a wonderful picture index at the back. this book does not really cover garden design, so you may want to purchase a different book exclusively dedicated to that subject. nonetheless, it is well written, organized and a great reference book to have.
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