Description

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Essential Perennials focuses on what every gardener needs to know to choose from the thousands of perennials available, and care for the ones you already have. This A-to-Z guide is packed with more than 2,700 plants, with each entry listing flower color, bloom time, foliage characteristics, size, and light and temperature requirements. Each profile is supported by stunning color photography that showcases the flower and foliage that make each plant unique. 

About the Author

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Ruth Rogers Clausen is the author of 50 Beautiful Deer-Resistant Plants, and co-author of Essential Perennials and The Proven Winners Garden Book. She received a Quill and Trowel award from the Garden Writers Association (now Garden Communicators International) and has written for the American Garden Guides series. She is the former horticulture editor for Country Living Garden magazine and a long-time contributor to Country Gardens magazine. Ruth lectures widely at horticultural conventions and symposia, flower shows, and to garden societies and clubs. In 2017, she was awarded the Garden Media Award by the Perennial Plant Association.

Thomas Christopher is the author of more than a dozen gardening books. He has written for The New York Times, The Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society, and Horticulture Magazine, as well as serving as a columnist for House & Garden and a contributing editor at Martha Stewart Living.

Alan L. Detrick is a professional photographer whose images of nature and gardens appear in media worldwide. He has lectured and conducted photography workshops at Maine Media Workshops, The New York Botanical Garden, Chanticleer Garden, Brookside Gardens, and Longwood Gardens, as well as for the the American Horticultural Society, the Garden Club of America, and the Garden Writers Association, where he was elected into the Hall of Fame in 2010. He is the author of Macro Photography for Gardeners and Nature Lovers.

Praise For…

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“A beautifully illustrated ‘spam filter’ for perennial-growers.” —Library Journal

“Enthusiastically recommended for both academic and public libraries and is an essential purchase for libraries where there is an interest in gardening.” —Booklist
 
“This is a valuable reference book that deserves a spot on your garden bookshelf.” —Country Gardens

“Useful and well written. . . . Will point you in the right direction—toward a home and garden that brings years of pleasure.” —Garden Rant
 
“Will incite further plant lust.” —The American Gardener
 
“One thing about Essential Perennials is that it’s essential—maybe even mandatory—for every designer to have a copy.” —Garden Design Online

“The format is clear, it’s easy to navigate around, and there’s plenty of interesting and helpful detail interspersed with colour photos. . . . The authors write with authority yet accessibility, and their expertise leaps off the page, letting the reader know they’re in good hands and can trust the information provided.” —The English Garden

“The photographs are beautiful in this volume, and the entries are quite thorough.” —The News Gazette

“A gorgeous book and a comprehensive A to Z guide for choosing, planting, tending, and enjoying perennials.” —The Manhattan Mercury

“A welcome addition to my bookshelf and it should be for yours too. Its wide-ranging and inclusive listing gives equal time to native woodlanders, ephemerals, exotic introductions, as well as time-honored favorites and takes the confusion out of the ever-growing world of perennials.” —The Ottawa Citizen