Annuals & Perennials: Botanica's Pocket (Botanica's Pocket Series)

I have owned this book for 2 years and I use it almost daily during the "gardening season" and a lot through the cold times, dreaming and planning. There is also a wonderful reference table at the back of the book that lists quick statistics for each plant. (Perennial or annual, zone, bloom color, planting time & flowering season.) This book does not claim to be a landscape planning book, so knocking it for not being one is unjustified.The index is very comprehensive, even for common names. I've had no problems with it. But, to expect any book to know all of the strange, usually regional common names given to plants, as mentioned by an above reviewer, is unreasonable. I loved this book when it first arrived and I love it more all the time. I can't imagine how this book was made for such a reasonable price! I've paid much more for books with far fewer pictures. You will love this book!

Annuals and Perennials is a great book for gardeners of all ages. It tells you when to grow plants, when the flowers of that plant will bloom, and where in the U.S. it will grow. With full color pictures and info on tons of plants, I gave this book a five-star rating.

Botanica's books have always had great pictures and information, but in the past the books have been more for professionals than the average gardener. This book is great for the average gardener and the professional as well.One excellent feature of the book is that the authors know what gardeners are buying, and these items are all in this book. I checked for many of these relatively new items, like Osteospermum (from South Africa), the new varieties of Polemonium and Heuchera with interesting foliage, scaevola (from Australia). The descriptions in the book begin with the place of origin for each genus, which is very helpful to understanding how to grow the plant, followed by excellent cultural information, including division and propagation. Also, the hardiness zone is very easy to find for each cultivar. You won't have to get all excited about a perennial only to find that it is not hardy in your area. Each hardiness zone is listed at the bottom of the description.And of course, the pictures are wonderful. The major groups of perennials and annuals are very well represented. For example there are 7 pages of peonies, 10 pages of dianthus, many pages of day lilies, etc. There is also a reference table and a good index. This is a very worthwhile book to own, and very complete.

For the beginning gardener, it's a godsend. For the experienced gardener, it's a necessary tool. Because this book not only gives you the general low-down on run-of-the-mill garden annuals and perennials, it's also chock full of COLOR photos of the flowers and all kinds of variations within the species. If you have a flower in your garden and you're itching to identify it, or you don't know how to care for it, chances are, you'll find it here. If you can find it anywhere, this is the place. A great gift also for anyone starting a new garden. BUY THIS BOOK. You'll be happy, you did.

Amazing images. Most flower guides I've looked at have drawings or poor quality images. The photographs in this book are really clear and detailed enough to really be able to identify and learn about the flowers. Highly recommend.