Perennial All-Stars: The 150 Best Perennials for Great-Looking, Trouble-Free Gardens

Many of my gardening books are useful for referencing the occasional problem or plant profile, but "Perennial All-Stars" was an engrossing read from cover-to-cover. The author has a great deal of enthusiasm for his subject--so much so that I think he picked more than 10 'Top 10' perennials out of his favorite 150. That's okay. I admire his devotion and his knowledge of the perennial flower kingdom. His 150 all-stars also purport to be easy to grow and maintain, which is what I was looking for when I decided to add to my garden this fall. Unfortunately the author was so persuasive, I'm going to have to dig a new bed to fit in all of my choices from his book. If you have a rough idea of the plant you're searching for, the front of this book is cross-indexed by various perennial characteristics such as 'spring blooming,' 'deer-resistant,' and 'full shade.' Each of the perennials that was chosen for this book, is described in the following sections: an overall description and photograph of the plant; how to grow it; propagating the plant (useful especially for the more expensive or hard-to-find perennials); the right site for growing the plant; and other plants that go well with it. A 'spotlight' section summarizes the USDA plant hardiness zones, season of bloom, height x width, color, light requirements, soil requirements, place of origin, and where the perennial and/or its seed can be purchased. The author tried to choose perennials that would flourish in all of the U.S. hardiness zones, but there are some exceptions that can't take the heat and humidity of the Deep South, e.g. peonies, or won't live through a very cold winter, e.g. Broadleaved Bear's-Breech. "All-Star Perennials" is very useful and interesting. Just plan on doing some digging when you do read it.

I moved into my first house and wanted to get started with some perennial plants. But the variety out there was staggering! My library had some very comprehensive sources, but mostly I found them intimidating -- too many options, too much information to sort through!Then I discovered "Perennial All-Stars." I'm so covetous of this book that I went out and bought it, even though there's a copy available in my local library. The book begins with a number of lists, the type of sun/shade they prefer, their flowering season, those that attract butterflies and birds, by flower color... this book's got a list for anything I could think of!Then each of the all-star plants has two pages devoted to it. These two pages tell you where the plant prefers to grow, the ideal location for planting, some other recommended cultivars of the species, when and how to separate the plants. Even better, each article includes a list of possible "neighbor" plants, which makes it much easier for a beginner to try and plan their garden.The pictures accompanying each article are beautiful and helpful. In most cases, they included a photo that managed to highlight both the leaves and the flowers, and the photo also managed to highlight the shape of the plant. I had grown very frustrated with books that showed me close-ups of leaves or flowers, or the whole plant from far away, so that I had difficulty really "seeing" the plant. Not so with this book!I also appreciated the quality of the index, which not only included the "common" names and Latin names, but also references to the neighbor plants under the Latin name. It's a great, comprehensive index that made it easy to locate the plants I wanted.I'd combed through back issues of our local paper and found several articles in which local experts recommended plants for our area. These experts all agreed with Jeff Cox! All but one of the plants they recommended appeared in this book, and in most cases it was even the same cultivar!If you're looking for a guide to an old-fashioned garden, or if you want a guide to setting up "color-themed" gardens, there are other sources out there for you. But if you are starting out with gardening, or just want a spectacular reference source for the best hardy perennials out there, this is a great book to have.

This beautiful book will be a prized addition to my collection. The photos are breathtaking. Each section dedicated to a different perennial tells the reader how to grow it, how to propagate it, where the perennial should be planted and when, and what other flowers would be great companions to the highlighted plant. Mr. Cox has divided the plants into different categories, some of which include seasonal blooming, height ranges, color groups, location (sunny/shady), and even those that are fragrant and attract hummers and butterflies. I will definitely add Mr. Cox's other books to my wishlist!

I am a novice gardener, and this is one of my favorite books. It lists plants that are easy to care for, gives care instructions, and suggests other perennials to plant nearby.

As a novice gardener, I found this book to be the best of the 10 or so I've looked at to educate myself. Fantastically easy to use. The best feature: the many lists that cover categories such as "Best for Shade," "Fragrant Perennials," etc. Having plants listed in each category helped me narrow down the perennials that made the most sense for the constraints of my yard. In addition, it was great to have a photo of every flower in the book (most books DON'T do this) and the information included in each perennial's profile was very helpful and concise. I could learn, at a glance, the best planting/siting conditions and also get an idea of companion plants to use. I wish more flower & plant books were organized the same way this book is organized and formatted!! One improvement for this book in the next edition: put the summary info from the "Spotlight" section on a computer-readable file so that readers can electronically arrange and sort their perennial choices by color, season of bloom, etc...