The Best Reference Book For Serious Gardeners
923080
Reading over the other reviews, most were very satisfied with this book and only a few found fault with it. Casual gardeners won't need anything this extensive, but for the experienced gardener and even the novice gardener who wants to learn more, this is the book to have. It's laid out in a very easy to follow style, making one able to identify plants seen in neighbourhood gardens and parks, and then to find out what their cultural requirements are.
If a desired plant is seen in a gardening magazine,  or a plant and seed catalogue, this book enable you to check whether it would be suitable for your home garden. Saves the trouble of buying plants, only to find that they were suitable for your garden.
Also, if the home gardener would like to find a plant to fill a certain spot, blooming at a certain time of the year, and in specific colours, the format of the book makes it simple to pick out your ideal plant! Each category under the Ornamental Plant Groups (Trees, Shrubs, Climbers, Perennials, etc), are broken down into four seasons when the plant shows its best colours, and the flower colours are separated into groups. It's extremely easy to use.
I've been gardening for almost 30 years & have an extensive gardening and plant library. I agree with the reviewer, Tom Krischan, and this would be the first plant book I would save in a fire too.
1934202
This is an excellent reference book to the world of greens; it contains valuable information on how to buy, store, and prepare leafy greens. For those who get their veggies from CSA, as well as for those less familiar with leafy greens, this book is invaluable. For me, it's a great investment in health.

What I like best about the book:
- Easy to use: the leafy greens are discussed in alphabetical order.
- Makes even the most intimidating and 'bizarre' veggies seem approachable.
- Healthy recipes - I absolutely love the fact that many recipes are low-fat (although I'm not a vegetarian, I don't want to fry everything or add butter and heavy cream in all my dishes).
- Varied levels of complexity - there are 5-10 recipes for each (group of) leafy green, from basic and simple ones to more complex recipes.

Later edit (Nov2012): I cannot stress enough how wonderful this cook book is! I still discover vegetables (my latest is collard greens; never had them before, now I can't get enough), but I am yet to find one recipe that I don't like. It's simply amazing. Sometimes I'm sure the ingredients won't work, and even the look of the food is not very appealing, but all these impressions are gone after the first bite. If only I could find the same kind of book for non-leafy vegetables (like broccoli, leeks, etc), I'd never need another cook book. I've seldom done anything for my health as wise as buying Greens, Glorious Greens; kale is on my weekly shopping list, and it's mostly thanks to this book.
2305789
I have an older version 1990, but I've heard the new version is even better.  This book is a no-nonsense reference book.  It's clearly organized by plant type: trees, vines, shrubs, etc.  Within the categories it is organized in tables with nice clear photos; it's great for plant that you don't know the name of and need to find by appearance.  This is a great book for any Bay Area gardener who wants to plant responsibly and control their water requirements.  And yes, every Landscape Architect I know owns this book.
2093943
Hands down, the best book for vegetable gardeners you can buy!
3986556
If you can only afford one book regarding water gardening, then this would be the one. You would be hard-pressed to find a species that is even remotely aquatic not covered in this book. Well written in all respects. You truly sense the authors in-depth knowledge; good for both the pro and the amateur gardener.
963451
This book is a must have for novice and expert gardeners alike. The illustrations are beautiful. This is a great reference guide to help one truly organize their gardens and the upkeep during all seasons. Would make a great gift...
3696771
This is a reference book handy for Master Gardener work by a trusted author for our immediate area; it's helpful to have at hand.
4962576
Of all the gardening books I own, this is the one I use the most. I have given it to friends and family as a gift many times.
1164064
I love to garden and have numerous gardening books, but this is the one I refer to over and over when I am planning and preparing to plant!  The planting time chart in the front of the book is worth the price all by itself!  It is an easy to read chart for time frames of planting each vegetable - actually two charts, because one is for spring and one is for fall.  It is based on average freeze dates, so it is easy to determine the ideal time for your specific area.  It even has a listing of multiple cities in various southern states showing the dates for freeze probability at 10%, 50% and 90%.  Then, of course, there is the planting information about specific vegetables, herbs, and fruits.  This is an all-around, get-your-hands-in-the-dirt gardening guide.  It is not just an armchair gardener book.  I have some of those, too, and enjoy reading them, even lend them to friends and family.  I am not willing to lend this one, which is why I bought another copy.  I gave this copy to my daughter who is getting into gardening.  She lives nearby, but we will both need this book at the same time.  She can borrow some of the others I have, but not this one!
1929499
In my honest opinion, this is the best how to garden book out there. Probably not for beginners, but for those who want more.  It debunks the normal vegetable spacing on the seed packets, so you can get more that you can imagine......
1242171
This book is the basic encyclopedic reference every gardener, lawn-care, or landscape professional should have (or at least know where to find).  Some books are meant to be read.  Others are meant to be looked at.  This one is both.  The text is clear, the ideas are well organized, the photographs and illustrations are professional and appealing.  I made a gift of a copy to my lawn-care professional.  Not only was he delighted to receive it, but my lawn looks better because I could point out ideas and how-to pages that he could put to work.
4224516
I am a Master Gardener and have used this book at our sales and information tables all the time and everyone loves it! It is my all time favorite -informative -beautiful pictures -book!!!!!!
1600260
Beautiful illustrations and in depth descriptions of flowers, leaves and the whole plant. With lots and lots of reference photos, this is one book I will always be reaching for as a reference.
3881674
An easy to use reference book which tells the Illinois gardner what to plant, where to plant, and when to prune. It's a very useful handbook for novice and not-so-novice midwest gardners.
506894
Ms Bennett and Ms Zampini have produced a first-rate, compact, illustrated, reference guide to terms for the amateur gardener.  More than a lexicon of horticultural terms, the brief entries define and explain; for example, the entry for "pergola" explains the difference between that structure and an "arbor."  Great color photography and back matter: bibliography of print resources and websites, and "apps," brief bios of the authors, and an index of terms defined in the body of the book. The temperature scale on the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map is difficult to read, but the website to the same information is included in the list of resources.
4884373
Great field guide/reference for any naturalist or serious gardener. This book is primarily organized for use as a field guide, but has great value for landscaping/gardening as well. Ferns are notoriously difficult to identify in the field....unless you have this book! Mr Nelson's use of botanical keys is what makes it possible to confidently identify a particular specimen. The initial key toward the beginning of the book will direct you to a particular family or genus. At the family level you'll find another key that will help you to determine the genera, and from there the species descriptions, pictures, drawings, etc will help you to identify the particular species in question. (Some genera include very few species, in these cases, no keys are given). Even for those not accustomed to using botanical keys, mastering the use of these keys comes fairly easily with a little help from the fairly brief glossary. The color plates are of high quality and many of the pictures clearly show the arrangement of sori on the fertile fronds.

In addition to keys and species descriptions, this book contains a history of fern study in Florida, information about fern conservation, including detailed information in table form about the federal and state status of each species, information about fern gardening, information about fern classification, nomenclature, morphology, life cycle of ferns, and a glossary of terms.

I highly recommend this book for any naturalist and/or fern lover, or anyone who needs to be able to identify ferns.
4571957
This up to point book is a life-time guide for a all gardeners (beginner or advanced) to begin saving their plant seeds. I clearly advice everybody who would like to save the heirloom seeds from year to year, as well as for their taste, which is widely perceived to be better than modern varieties. And it's more fun. You will not only have seeds for the next gardening season, you will even also have greatest gifts for friends.