Amazon.com
For the untrained observer, it can be quite a challenge to sort out the many trees that make up a stand of older forest in, say, New England or the Ozarks. This well-illustrated guidebook, covering 364 species, comes to the rescue with photographs organized in several ways: by, for example, the shape of the leaf or needle, by the fruit, by the flower or cone, and by autumn coloration. Following one visible characteristic or another, the reader can narrow the range of possibilities, then turn to an informative text that describes a tree's physical characteristics, habitat, and range. Many of the species covered are relatively rare, such as the "stinking cedar" of the Georgia-Florida border; others are locally abundant, such as the paper birch of the boreal forest, used to make ice-cream sticks; still others, such as the smooth sumac, are widespread. The guidebook also covers ornamentals introduced from other continents, such as the Chinese privet and Mahaleb cherry. --Gregory McNamee
Book Description
Tree peepers everywhere will enjoy these two guides which explore the incredible environment of our country's forests-including seasonal features, habitat, range, and lore. Nearly 700 species of trees are detailed in photographs of leaf shape, bark, flowers, fruit, and fall leaves -- all can be quickly accessed making this the ideal field guide for any time of year.
Note: the Eastern Edition generally covers states east of the Rocky Mountains, while the Western Edition covers the Rocky Mountain range and all the states to the west of it.
Customer Reviews:
Great Guide that is ALMOST Perfect.......2007-08-18
I have always liked the Audubon Society Field Guides. This particular guide is great in the amount of color photos for sometimes easily identifying species in all seasons, whether from the fall leaves, bark, summer leaves, and the fruit it produces. Also the organization of the guide is very good. My cons below are NOT enough to prevent me from recommending this guide. Compared to other guides it's still the best.
CONS: The amount of information in the back is not always consistent. Also there still isn't always an easy way to differentiate some of the similar species (e.g. Oaks). In other words the pictures and/or the descriptions are not enough to distinguish like species.
helpful.......2007-07-03
Very much help for figuring out what trees we have and we have a lot. Pictures are very nice and cross reference if you aren't totally sure of what you are looking at. Very handy size too
Great Book.......2007-06-27
Every tree and every leaf that you can think of is in this book. Great clear pictures and the information is great. So glad I purchased this book for my husband. The equivalant to bird watching. Tree watching.
Information Packed.......2007-05-17
My new hobby is woodturning bowls so I bought this book to help me identify trees that supply my wood. Once I learned how to search the material, this book has been great fun and very useful. I take it with me when I walk my dog around the neighborhood to identify trees.
National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region (Eastern).......2007-02-04
Product received in great condition and very useful.
Book Description
With more than 700 mushrooms detailed with color photographs and descriptive text, this is the most comprehensive photographic field guide to the mushrooms of North America. The 762 full-color identification photographs show the mushrooms as they appear in natural habitats. Organized visually, the book groups all mushrooms by color and shape to make identification simple and accurate in the field, while the text account for each species includes a detailed physical description, information on edibility, season, habitat, range, look-alikes, alternative names, and facts on edible and poisonous species, uses, and folklore. A supplementary section on cooking and eating wild mushrooms, and illustrations identifying the parts of a mushroom, round out this essential guide.
Customer Reviews:
best mushroom guide.......2007-09-10
This guide has the clearest most detailed pictures of any field guide I've seen. The info on how to use the guide is simple and understandable. I've identified and documented many mushrooms using this guide.
A Wonderful Guide.......2007-07-09
This is book is an excellent guide to mushrooms for the money. Its portability and durability are also second-to-none.
The book is full of beautiful color photographs and full descriptions. The pictures are grouped into categories (like all Audubon field guides) for quick identification. Personally, I am very pleased with it and highly recommend it.
Pretty Darn good.......2007-03-13
This book is pretty good, a little dificult for me to use, the photos and written data are in two different sections, but is it pretty comprehensive, and not very hard to use with a little practice.
The best portable field guide out there........2006-12-30
Some reviewers here are not real mushroom collectors. As portable field guides go, this is one of the best ones. Other bigger books may do it better but for preliminary identification and portability this is the one you want. One reviewer says there are no colloquial names. There are for virtually every one where one exists. Another said there were no latin names. There are latin names for every one. Any time you use one photograph to represent a species, there will be questions since most species are quite variable. Other field guides are guilty too. Peterson's guide uses drawings rather than photographs. That said, the photographs are good. The descriptions are a bit economical but this book is almost 1000 pages. Everyone serious about mushroom collecting and identification needs more than one book. Period. This one is for the field. If you need a more comprehensive book or books you may need to buy a 4 wheeler to carry them around. This book has served me well since 1981.
Less than stellar.......2005-10-24
I was disappointed to find that there was no useful information contained therein. While the pictures were very well done there were no colloquial names to help identify species.
Book Description
The Sacred Tree was created by the Four Worlds Development Project, a native American inter-tribal group, as a handbook of Native Spirituality for indigenous peoples all over the Americas and the world. Through the guidance of the tribal elders, native values and traditions are being taught as the primary key to unlocking the force that will move native peoples on the path of their own development. The elders have prophesied that by returning to traditional values, native societies can be transformed. This transformation would then have a healing effect on our entire planet. This handbook is being used by the Four Worlds Development Project to eliminate widespread drug and alcohol abuse in tribal communities. It is now being shared for the first time with all members of the human family desiring personal growth.
Customer Reviews:
Enduring Classic.......2005-10-30
This quiet sleeper is more than just a supplementary tool for Native American rites of passage programs. This is a bondafide spiritual growth tool which is suitable for youth and adults. I have seen few books that are written in such easy to read language but truly FULL of information.
This book will cause introspection and it will give a wonderful roadmap for those that are courageous enough to take the journey. I recommend this book to peoples of all colors. The Native American Sacred Tree and Medicine Wheel applications in this book are incredibly useful.
The Sacred Tree.......2005-08-02
Great message presented in an almost poetic way. The kind of book you would not abandon in the bookshelf but would use as a companion throughout your journey into becoming your very best.
Calming.......2003-03-30
For all the people of the earth, the Creator has planted a sacred Tree, under which they may gather to find healing, power, wisdom and security. Its roots spread deeply into Mother Earth, its branches reach to Father Sky. Its fruits are the good things that our Creator has given to all peoples, the path to love, compassion, generosity, patience, wisdom, justice, courage, respect, humility and other great gifts.
The life of the Tree rests with life of the people, but if they forget to take its nourishment, many would grow sick at heart, lie, quarrel, and abuse the land, poisoning everything they touch. The people would be as in sleep, to awaken again to their search for the Tree, whose knowledge rests with the elders. I find this an especially calming and beautiful book for these terrible times.
--Alyssa A. Lappen
Spirituality 101.......2000-07-01
This book is simple and profound. It started me on a path that helps me see the big pictue and still feel comfortable on the planet.
Book Description
Many common native trees are just as beautiful as cultivated exotics. Since they have evolved with local conditions and are well adapted to their climate, they often require less maintenance and won't escape to invade a balanced ecosystem. The authors' extensive horticultural knowledge is distilled in this comprehensive cross section of trees native to North America, from the Atlantic to the Rockies and from northern Canada to the Gulf Coast. The main section of the book is divided into tree profiles, each describing flowers and fruit, native and adaptive range, culture, and problems. The authors also list the best seasonal features — whether a tree has striking bark in winter, for example, or bright fruit in fall. In all, more than 650 species and varieties, and more than 500 cultivars, are discussed.
Customer Reviews:
excellent for serious gardeners.......2007-02-13
Highly recommended for landscape design and
development of native gardens
Represents a lifetime of research and work.......2004-05-03
Guy Sternberg and Jim Wilson's Native Trees For North American Landscapes represents a lifetime of research and work: the authors provide an in-depth technical catalog of detail on native trees and their environments, providing tree 'profiles' which describe flowers, fruit, plant ranges, and culture. Sections outlining best seasonal features are particularly useful, telling gardeners which plants are showiest per season. Stunning photos and outlines of common cultivation problems and solutions make Native Trees For North American Landscapes a solid, invaluable reference for landscapers, libraries and home gardens alike.
A Garden Book Classic.......2004-03-17
I am a plant freak, and I am a gardening book freak. I have many, many books, probably too many. Literally. So many books that I've bought that looked interesting at the store have wound up sitting on the shelf, never to be opened again. This is one that will never even get to the shelf.
This book is so comprehensive, so informative, so beautiful to look at, and so danged readable that I find myself seeking it out whenever I've got a free moment. How many gardening books have you bought lately that poured forth all the information you could possibly want? How many have you bought lately that were a lot of fun to read? Now, how many can you name that do both at the same time? A precious few, but this one does.
Timber Press celebrated their 25th Anniversary this past year, and I did something I never do, I wrote the company a letter. In essence, what I said was this, "I never mind buying a Timber Press Book, often sight unseen, because I know it will be good." This book is excellent, even by Timber Press standards.
If you have any interest in trees or gardening, you will find this book a "must have." Informative, enjoyable, beautiful. What else could you want?
This will become a premier reference on woody plants.............2004-03-17
This outstanding new book will become one of the primary references for all kinds of information about native woody plants of North America. Many of the plant descriptions have far more detailed information on culture, diseases, and ornamental characteristics than the widely known reference books by Michael Dirr (the 'standards' by which all other woody plant references are judged). While the intent is to provide information and promote the ornamental characteristics of native woody plants, for home gardeners and landscape professionals, this will also prove to be a valuble reference for naturalists and others mainly interested in these plants in the native, rather than the cultivated, landscape. The photographs are outstanding, and will certainly promote interest in many little known and underutilized woody plants. I never knew there were so many native North American oaks! As a botanist and later home gardener with a life-long interest in woody plants, there are few books in the past decade which have been published with this level of detail and value.
Outstanding book for tree lovers and everyone else, too!.......2004-03-16
Guy and Jim have done it again!
I have one of Guy and Jim's other books: Landscaping with Native Trees and I am so excited to finally have their new book: Native Trees for North American Landscapes.
This book is well written and is written in a style that both the plant-person and the novice gardener can easily understand and appreciate.
Guy and Jim provide a breakdown for each of the trees listed in the book. This is a listing of the information given for each tree:
-Description (includes size)
-Leaves
-Flower and Fruit OR Cones and Seeds
-Best Season
-Native and Adaptive Range
-Culture
-Problems
-Cultivars
-Similar and Related Species
-Comments
The above information makes it very easy for anyone to decide whether a particular tree is suitable for their site (and USDA growing zone) and how they want to use the tree, whether it be as a specimen, screen, etc.
I read Ben Johnson's review of this book and I don't quite understand his vendetta against Guy and Jim and this book.
Ben had (has) some problems with some of the technical words that Guy and Jim have used periodically through the text. Ben must not be able to use the glossary that is included in the back of the book because all of the words that he has a problem with are included there along with their definitions. Don't be frightened by Ben's fear of new words. If you find a word that you are not familiar with, then check the glossary in the back of the book for the definition - it's that easy. It's how we learn.
After reading Ben's review of this book it is clear that he is not really reviewing the book so much as trying to attack Guy's character. This is not the place for that sort of thing.
I, too, frequent the forums on GardenWeb and I have found Guy to be very generous with his advise and help. I read the thread on GardenWeb regarding the removal of a tree because of a problem with the birds pooping on vehicles and, again, Ben has twisted and taken words out-of-context to attack Guy. I have never met Guy in person, but I have the utmost respect for Guy because of all of the help I have received from him through the forums on GardenWeb.
If you want help sorting out which native trees you might want to include in your landscape or you simply want to learn more about the wonderful native trees that grow in this great country of ours, then this is the book for you!
Guy and Jim have written this book about native trees because of their love for our native trees and to get people to, hopefully, include some native trees in their home landscapes.
The photography in the book is outstanding, too.
You will not be disappointed if you purchase this book.
Mike
Amazon.com
More than 300 species of trees are found in the United States and Canada west of the Rocky Mountains, some introduced from other continents but many native to the region. This handsome guidebook covers them all, with photographs that enable identification by easily discernible characteristics: by, for example, the shape of the leaf or needle, by the fruit, or by the flower or cone. The photographs are linked to texts that describe a tree's physical characteristics, habitat, and range. Some of the trees covered in this volume are exceedingly rare, such as the Monterey pine; others are locally abundant but limited in range, such as the Joshua tree; still others, such as the quaking aspen, are widespread. This guidebook is an essential addition to any western outdoor enthusiast's collection. --Gregory McNamee
Book Description
All 933 identification pictures are full-color photos of significant details of virtually all native trees and many cultivated species as you see them in their natural habitat.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book !!!.......2006-11-03
These Audubon books are the best ones for learning about the subject matter, ie: trees. Colored pictures are a MUST and these books have pictures that allow you to identify your tree easily. I have purchased a number of them over the years and will do so in the future.
North American trees, West........2004-12-14
If your going to be stuffing your field guide into your pocket, glove box, daypack or backpack, the "turtleback" binding used by Audubon is perfect. Personally, I don't use it that way. When I encounter a species I cannot identify, I take notes (usually of the mental variety) -- leaf characteristics, bark characteristics, size, form, habitat, seeds, flowers, etc. -- and identify it when I return home. The photos and drawings in this volume are generally excellent. So far as I can recall, the Audubon guide has yet to fail me. It doesn't include very many introduced (non-native) trees, that's not it's purpose, of course, so it may not help you identify the trees that have been planted in your yard. The Sunset Western Garden Book, or perhaps your local nurseryman, will fit that niche.
Could the book be better? Well, the obvious answer is always yes, I suppose, but I don't know how. Would some kind of a 'flow-chart' for identifying specimens improve this edition? Well, there is one, created quiet simply in the way the book is organized; refer to the "How to Use this Guide" section in the front. I won't claim to be a connoisseur of guidebooks, but this one has worked very nicely for me for several years and I recommend it without hesitation.
Dissappointing: Very hard to identify unknown trees.......2004-11-29
I spent $20 on this at a local bookstore (that was a mistake: it is only $14 here on Amazon) and got it home and went into my backyard. An hour later, I was only able to identify one of the three trees in the yard.
I got the book because it had the Audobon name, and it included some sharp color photos. I should have got the Peterson guide instead.
What the Audobon book is missing is an algorithm or process to identify an unknown tree (they call this "differential diagnosis" in medicine). I was expecting something like: "If it has 5 needles per cluster turn to page 45, if it has grey bark turn to page 64, etc" until you pinpoint your tree.
I would even be happy if it had some illustrations like Silbeys bird book ... with arrows pointing to the discriminating features that distinguish the tree from similar trees.
But in the Audobon book, the reader is expected to browse thru dozens of photos and try to match your tree to the photo. But SURPRISE, the photos of similar trees all look alike and what then? You are expected to browse the the dense textual (!) descriptions and flip back and forth reading minutae like "two white strips on the undersides of the needles"
How about some color illustrations? How about a list of similar trees a given tree is often confused with? How about a handful of distinguishing characteristics of each tree?
Try Petersons book instead!
Quite reliable for outdoor travellers........2004-07-11
The Audubon Guide to Western Trees will prove a long lasting reference for outdoor lovers and tree finders. This easily equals the excellent Eastern Region guide in quality, detail, number of species listed, and beautiful photographs. However, if you want a heavy duty instant identification tool, hold off on this and purchase the Peterson Guides to Trees. However, if you love to marvel at trees and identify them in any amount of time at all, buy this along with the Eastern Guide. The quality binding of this newly updated edition is nice quality, and easy to carry. The earlier, out of print, hardback Economy Press edition was bulky, but contained more species listings. Still that difference is hardly noticeable, and buy this edition at good costs. This guide, (compared to the Petersons) will please a patient outdoor searcher attempting to identify any tree they find. Though the Peterson Guide to Trees should be bought prior to this, it is still an excellent and reliable addition to your collection.
Nice guide for at home or the field........2002-03-26
This book offers excellent photographs and very extensive information on trees. I use it often and have had great success identifying trees that otherwise I wouldn't know what they were. nicely organized and easy to use. The compact size is awesome for travelling and taking it hiking. Another great Audobon guide.
Customer Reviews:
I can't say enough about these books!.......2002-04-02
The entire series is excellent!!! I have all four and I highly reccomend them. They teach science, literature, native american culture, and give children a respect for the natural world at the same time. (there is even the occasional bit of math thrown in). My son loves doing the activities with me! Excellent for unit studies!
Great for Homeschooling Ecology Unit.......2001-08-02
We use this book as a homeschool social studies/ecology resource. Each section begins with a Native American story related to the topic of the chapter, then moves on to a discussion of the subject matter. Each section also has activities/experiments, questions for review and discussion, and recommendations for materials for further study. My kids really look forward to each lesson in this book, because the information is presented in a fun manner, and the activities are appropriate for a wide-range of ages!
Amazon.com
Slipping back and forth between her writer's life as a white woman in New York City and her mystical life amongst the native Indian women of northern Canada, Lynn Andrews weaves a wise woman's tale of aging. As the popular bestselling author (Medicine Woman) now faces her own midlife passage and wrestles with immortality, she finds herself seeing visions of her old nemesis, the evil sorcerer Red Dog, who has seemingly risen from the dead. What does this all mean? Andrews brings her fears and questions to her elder teachers in Canada, whom she has informally apprenticed with for many years. This is all vintage Andrews--complete with visions, dreams, and lessons from the elders.
Now that our political consciousness has been elevated, it is hard to wholly embrace this white woman's interpretation of native teaching. At times it is even hard to believe that all the encounters with the women in northern Canada really occurred. The dialogue seems stilted, forced into recounting past events from previous books, or contrived into teaching a lesson rather than relaying actual conversations. Yet, there is no doubting that Andrews has some interesting insights on aging, especially for her fans who appreciate and feel at ease in her shape- and place-shifting format. --Gail Hudson
Book Description
For nearly two decades since the original publication of Medicine Woman (now in its fortieth printing), Lynn Andrews has interpreted the wisdom of her Native American teachers, offering unique insight to achieve personal growth, spiritual fulfillment, and knowledge of the sacred. After sixteen published books with more than two million copies in print, Andrews is a leading voice in personal development. Now she turns her eye to the changes and transitions each of us must negotiate in daily life.
In Tree of Dreams, she invites us to explore not only the inevitable process of aging and death, but also the many "little deaths" that occur in life, such as divorce, the loss of a cherished relationship, the unexpected loss of a job, or sudden illness. We see the powerful, independent women who comprise The Sisterhood of the Shields as they gain strength, wisdom, and respect during transition into "elderhood," and we learn how to apply these lessons to our own lives. With disarming candor, the author shares personal spiritual and metaphysical battles as she comes to understand her own shortcomings and failures, which, over time, become the hallmarks of wisdom and the battle scars of the elders.
Tree of Dreams is vintage Andrews. Her core audience and new readers alike will enjoy these timeless teachings for growth, healing, and spiritual connection.
Customer Reviews:
tree of dreams.......2007-07-21
this was an excellent book about a journey to the innerself and womanhood
i would recommend this book to anyone
Visionary autobiography or fanciful visions?.......2005-03-28
For about 25 years Lynn Andrews has written memoir after memoir of life as an urban shaman living between both worlds. Tree of Dreams examines getting older and balancing her two lives. This book is less fantastical and the passage of time has lessened the melodrama of her earlier work. I still don't get The Red Dog rival and wonder still if he is some imaginary antagonist to make this Native American like. Overall, an interesting perspective on getting older and holding the medicine wheel in Andrews' world. I just wonder if this belongs in the non-fiction section and whether the Cree tribe in Manitoba, Canada are getting royalties. Having known a Native woman who lived on a reserve in New York State, one thing seems to be common - they don't rejoice at Andrews or her work.
Was Waiting For Lynn............2004-01-31
As I've followed Lynn's growth and teachings over the many years that she's written (I have an older copy of Medicine Women with the native women and crow on the front........pages have fallen apart, the cover taped back on, etc.), I was pleased when I came across this newer addition to her volume of work. In this book she descibes her feelings on what it's like to have an ailing parent and the process of death. She describes her on going search for answers which also proves that even for all she's learned, she still does not profess to have "the truth". Quite the contrary, she wonders about good and evil, duality, etc.. Her on-going relationship with Red Dog is put in a somewhat different light. It's almost a love hate relationship. A good read and very down to earth. What is interesting also is the process that was involved to write her first, Medicine Women.
A powerful and moving metaphysical reflection.......2003-06-12
Tree Of Dreams: A Spirit Woman's Vision Of Transition And Change by Lynn Andrews is a deeply moving narrative of her quest for growth, spiritual fulfillment, and better understanding of sacred things. Embracing the power of healing and coping with "little deaths" such as divorce or the sudden loss of a job, as well as the great losses of loved ones to "Time's Eternal March", Lynn Andrews' Tree Of Dreams is a powerful and moving metaphysical reflection. Also very highly recommended are Lyn Andrews' previous books: Medicine Woman and Jaguar Woman.
Deserves to be read more than once!.......2002-04-27
TREE OF DREAMS is not my favorite Lynn Andrews book -- and I've read and loved most of them. That's not to say I didn't like it! Any time spent with Agnes and Ruby is time well spent. And Lynn is a GREAT storyteller. It's just that there isn't as much adventure in this one (until the end) and there's a lot of talk. But very valuable talk it is! She's much more philosophical in this book -- reminds me of Ecclesiastes: We get older, our friends die, we think about the circle of life and death, the transitions, the fact that we are one, that our loved ones never really leave us. Be open. Believe. Move with the flow. It's all about love. Her closing words are golden: "There is magic in the world if you want the world to be magical. If you want life to be special, it will be. ... What matters is your ability to love. ..."
Book Description
For gardeners, for landscape professionals, and for anyone who cares about preserving the natural world, NATIVE TREES, SHRIBS, AND VINES is the first national guide to using, growing, and propagating North American woody plants. Written in lively, informative language and illustrated with more than two hundred photographs, William Cullina's book is a comprehensive reference to almost one thousand native woody plants. An invaluable guide for naturalists, restorationists, nursery owners, landscape architects, and designers as well as gardeners, it points out that ecological gardening offers specific benefits to the individual as well as the environment. Even more than wildflowers, native trees, shrubs, and vines are essential to providing the food and shelter that attract birds and insects to the garden. And plants that are native to an area are far easier to grow and maintain than ordinary cultivated garden plants. The author's acclaimed companion volume on wildflowers, GROWING AND PROPAGATING WILDFLOWERS, was called "an inspired effort, beautifully written and loaded with useful information" by Robert G. Breunig, director of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Along with that volume, NATIVE TREES, SHRUBS, AND VINES provides a definitive reference to the native plants of the temperate North American continent. And because Cullina writes from personal experience with the plants in his books, he offers information that is considerably more helpful (and more interesting) than the facts one finds in most plant references.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent - it's a great read and a reference........2007-06-17
William Cullina has struck a great balance in this book. Every time I pick it up I'm amazed at how it is both an informative reference and a very enjoyable read.
Bill (can I call him that?) understands there are just as many amateur gardeners as there horticulturalist. In this book, he struck a balance with both audiences. For instance, I'm not a big fan of Latin plant names: I prefer to know the background of a plant, what it needs to thrive, its purpose, etc... When I look up a plant in this book, I get so much more. This makes the informative process extremely enjoyable as well as educational. Bill also gives phonetic spelling of the plants. It helps when you go to the nursery you'll feel less intimated by those who seem to speak Latin.
For instance, I just bought 5 Artemisia plants to go with purple coneflower, Salvia, Russian Sage, etc... Looking Artemisia up in Native Trees Shrubs and Vines, I found out it is actually sagebrush (tumbleweed) from the wild west as well as the extreme hardiness of the plant, its background, how to cultivate it, use it, etc... The style of the writing made the process extraordinarily enjoyable.
PS: I've been meaning to write a review of this book for 2 years now. When I read about Artemisia a few minutes ago, it compelled me to leave the garden to write this review. I can't say enough about this book other then it's one of my top 3 favorites on gardening. I actually took 10 minutes out of a beautiful Sunday morning to write this review. Now, it's back to the garden & Bill's book for me :-)
A Must Have.......2006-02-25
William Cullina, of the New England Wild Flower society, is a highly regarded expert in Native plants. This book is the woody counterpart to his Wildflower book. Included are tips on using, growing and propagating these native wonders in North America. The photography and information provided are a source like none other. This is a must have for anyone interested in restoring the ecology of the landscape through the use of natives - beginners and experts alike - an excellent reference.
Good writing with mediocre illustrations.......2002-09-21
This book is a valuable guide to native woody plants. The habits, landscape value, propagation and culture of most( a few are missing) of the important plants are described in a very readable manner. Cullina clearly draws from a deep well, I had the impression that he had much more that he could have included, but what is here is great.
There are a couple of criticisms. The photos are relativly sparse compared to the recent books by Dirr or Darke and are not at all well-reproduced. One picture per genus just ain't enough when there is such wonderful variation within genera. Also, the pronunciation guide for Latin plant names is occasionally bizarre...since when does "Aesculus" have four syllables? (But maybe he is right I couldn't find any native Latin speakers to ask) Finally, the book has a clear East coast bias. Although there are many Western US plants that are mentioned, I suspect that many are missing.
Buy this book for the prose.
Finally-woody natives described by an expert.......2002-08-06
Even though a hard cover reference book isn't usual bedtime reading for me-I couldn't put this down. Each plant is described so personally yet so expertly. Gardening with woody plants is a commitment, and this book provided the insight and knowledge I needed to make choices confidently. The language of the book is wonderful-it is as if the author is chatting with his latest native plant buddy-you. The lists and organization of information is very helpful.
The Long Awaited Sequel to "Wildflowers...".......2002-06-16
...was well worth the wait. Cullina's beautiful prose is complemented by the luminous photography. An essential addition to the gardener's, the conservationist's and the nature lover's library.
Book Description
At the heart of every garden are the plants, which enhance our land and engage our souls. For gardeners, no matter how new or how advanced, whether we cultivate for ourselves or for landscaping clients, plants are the sine qua non. They intrigue us and inspire us. And the more we learn about them, the more they add to our pleasure in gardening. For all of these reasons, every gardener needs a good plant encyclopedia. And, as the only plant encyclopedia written exclusively for North American gardeners, Taylor's Encyclopedia of Garden Plants will be as useful twenty years from now as it is today. If a plant can't be grown on this continent, you won't find it here. Readers will use this book in a number of ways: as a resource for identifying plants, as a guide to purchasing the best species and cultivars for particular gardening locations and growing conditions, and as an important way to save the cost and disappointment of buying plants that won't thrive or will overwhelm a garden. Choosing just the right tree or shrub can add the crowning touch to your landscape plan. Here you'll find expert information about more than a thousand species of trees, shrubs, roses, bulbs, perennials, annuals, and ground covers. Illustrated with 1,200 color photos and hundreds of line drawings, the encyclopedia includes instructions on how to grow the plants and even on how to propagate many of them. An extensive glossary and a common name index make this book accessible to beginners as well as longtime gardeners. Like gardening itself, Taylor's Encyclopedia of Garden Plants will bring its readers immediate pleasure as well as long-term rewards.
Customer Reviews:
Taylor's Encyclopedia of Garden Plants: The Most Authoritative Guide to the Best Flowers, Trees, and Shrubs ..........2007-01-03
Excellent! No gardener should be without it. I have yet to have a plant not listed in this book. It is a large book, but worth it. Beautiful photos. Money well spent!
This is a great book -- but not a quick reference.......2005-04-07
You must read well into the description of a plant to find out if it's shade or sun lover. It's not something you can quickly discern.
Also missing is the distance needed between plants which is so helpful when developing a bed and purchasing more than one of each kind.
GREAT.......2004-07-01
I use this book to look up plants, all the time. It tells you about anything you want to know about flowers, trees, shrubs, etc.
Plants,WOW!!!!.......2003-11-27
This encyclopedia of plants tells you about any plant you ever heard of. If you read this whole book you will know everything and I mean everything about every kind of plant. Every plant will be in your head like white on rice. This is the book you want to read for any kind of plant project. I prefer this book to ANYONE.
Book Description
Gardeners and nature-lovers alike will find
The Encyclopedia of North American Trees informative and easy-to-use. Descriptions of 278 species, listed alphabetically by their botanical names outline each tree's growing habits, its identifying characteristics, and its place in the environment. This meticulously researched and full color guide is essential for anyone who would like to grow native trees, and for those who want to understand and identify trees in their natural environment.
The Encyclopedia of North American Trees includes:
- Comprehensive introduction to tree genera
- 350 full color photographs
- Black & white illustrations of leaf shapes, bark textures, flowers, and mature fruit
- Illustrations of tree shapes
- Habitat and growing tips for landscapers and gardeners
- A tree-hardiness chart and zone map of the United States and Canada
- Index of common and botanical names, glossary, further reading and sources
Customer Reviews:
Encyclopedia of North American Trees.......2007-01-17
It was a gift for a coworker. I was able to look through it and was quite pleased.
Okay Tree Book.......2000-06-19
Arranged alphabetically, this tree book gives usable information on 278 North American tree species. Although filled with color photographs, the pictures are somewhat small and sometimes lacking sharpness. It would have been more useful to have larger photographs with more clarity and detail. Still a good overall resource and reference book.
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Books Index
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National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers: Eastern Region - Revised Edition (National Audubon Society Field Guide)
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