The Piedmont Master Gardeners Association
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PMG Bookshelf: Annuals, Perennials, Shrubs and Bulbs
Annuals for Every Purpose:Choose the Right Plants….
Larry Hodgson
Rodale Books, 2003 (reprint)
“From choosing seeds to grooming and fertilizing, veteran gardening writer Hodgson (Perennials for Every Purpose) guides readers through the making of an annual garden. He explains what to look for at the nursery, how to design with annuals and how to keep plants blooming all summer long. True to its title, the book includes encyclopedic listings of annuals suited to every imaginable whim, whether gardeners want their flowers to bloom in the shade, attract birds and butterflies, hang in baskets or make pleasing dried arrangements. Hodgson's entries include growing tips for each plant, potential problems and quirks, and suggestions for "good neighbors" to plant beside it.” (Publishers Weekly)
Bulbs John E. Bryan
Timber Press, 2002
“John Bryan's substantive revision to his original magnum opus published in 1989 — selected by the American Horticultural Society as one of the 75 great American gardening books— provides expanded coverage of some 230 genera and a staggering number of species, varieties, and cultivars. Genera are treated with detail appropriate to their importance, with information on history, classification, culture, propagation, pests and diseases, uses, and species and cultivars. Detailed encyclopedic plant listings are complemented by an equally comprehensive pictorial presentation. Not only are there more than 1100 color photographs — many showing the plants in their natural habitats — but there are also 43 color reproductions of botanical illustrations from 19th-century issues of Curtis's Botanical Magazine and other publications, taken from the author's extensive collection.” (amazon.com)
Hortus Third: A Concise Dictionary of Plants Cultivated in the United States and Canada
Bailey Hortorium
Wiley, 1976
“Still recognized as one of the foremost plant encyclopedias, Hortus Third consists primarily of alphabetically arranged botanical (Latin) plant names along with physical descriptions. It also has an excellent common name index and glossary.” (Library Journal)
Manual of Woody Landscape Plants:Their Identification, Ornamental Characteristics, Culture, Propagation and Uses
Michael Dirr
Stipes Publishing LLC, 1998 (fifth edition)
“Serving as an ideal companion to Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs (above), this classic manual offers thorough information on the woody trees and shrubs used in landscaping. Aside from each plant's physical description, there's also an elaboration of hardiness, growth rate, culture, diseases and insects, landscape value, cultivars, and propagation.” (Library Journal)
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