Passalong Plants

I was handed a copy of Passalong Plants by my partner's cousin, who is a fantastic mix of Vicki Lawrence's grandma character (Carol Burnett) and Martha's Stewart - the Southern version. She told me that I'd learn to appreciate certain flowers based on this book. Four o'clocks? Time for tea, y'all. Moonflower? Well, let's just head to the porch after dinner, because the show's about to start. Many flowers, shrubs, and other plants that are wonderful additions to my native, pollinator-friendly garden are detailed in this book, with some wry wit and knowledge that helped me decide which ones would be best for my garden. An excellent, funny, informative read!

This is an incredible book, it is very amusing to read and full of useful information. The writers passion for the subject is readily evident and its hard to put this book down. I was surprised at how many plants I recognized from my childhood, but as an adult, had not seen in the large commercial nurseries/super stores. Each listing contains the botanical name if you need to reference additional information, and there are sources to order plants and seeds. If you need a cut and dry reference purchase the American Horticultural Society's A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, use Passalong Plants to narrow your selection. Perfect book if you are looking for plants that are drought resistant and natural to an area.

I received this book for Christmas and it was my favorite gift. The moment I opened it I read it cover-to-cover--although that took quite some time. It is written by two very different, but very knowledgable authors, Steve Bender and Felder Rushing. The essays on the different plants are written by either Bender or Rushing. Rushing's essays are donw-to-earth and friendly while Bender's are downright funny at times (just read his hilarious description of why no one grows old purple phlox). Another good attribute this book possesses besides its talented authors is its frequent use of more familiar common names than hard-to-pronounce, ever-changing Latin ones. That fragrant, night-blooming vine that climbed up your grandmother's porch is not Ipomoea alba, but moonvine. And the powderpuff pink flowers that blossomed by your great aunt's white picket fence are no longer Cleome hasslerana, but spiderlegs. If you are a Southern gardener who loves those old-fashioned plants that are ripe with nostalgia, or any gardener at all for that matter, you simply have to buy this book. It combines the easy-to-understand, entertaining writing of two talented authors and those evocative plant names you grew up with.

I read this book last fall and this spring I was invited to share the many plants growing at an old mansion in my river town. What a pleasureable day in the camaraderie of friends. I don't know the names of many of the plants as the property owner picked them up (stashed in plastic bags) as she travelled the world. So now among my named and tagged plants I have The Cincinnati Lily, Alice's Rose, and Aunt Georgia's Pink Phlox among others. Passalong Plants is a fun read that will have you trading plants with everyone you meet.-Linda Fry Kenzle, author of Gathering

I LOVED this book-it is witty,funny and very informative. I never knew what type of gardener I was until I read this book.The two authors have very different styles and personalities but together they make the book mesh and come up with a great read.