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In Brief -
PERENNIAL GROUND COVERS by David S. MacKenzie. Thorough info. and good photos for all climates. Both herbaceous and woody plants covered. 379pgs / 8 1/2 x 11 / full colour 70 page photo insert / $39.95pb
Taylor’s Gde to PERENNIALS. A handy, quick reference in a durable binding with high quality photographs 480pgs / 5 ¾ x 8 / colour photos throughout / $34.95flexibind (others in the series– SHADE; SHRUBS; TREES, ANNUALS; BULBS)
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Some perennial reference books are comprehensive encyclopedias, some instead are filled with the experience, opinion, and choices of the author. Some focus on great pictures and others focus on comprehensive advice. There is always the right book for the right purpose, and one is never enough! The world of cultivated perennials is huge, and different gardeners look for different types of information from their reference books - a book that encompasses everything for everybody simply doesn't exist. The books we've listed here are the ones
that stand out from the crowd and do a particular job well. Give us a call if you just can't decide!
Evelyn
Books here are in alpha by author order.
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ARMITAGES GARDEN PERENNIALS: A Colour Encyclopedia, by Alan Armitage. A leading name on perennials in North America, Armitage is author of the respected textbook HERBACEOUS PERENNIAL PLANTS. I wish this photographic reference included as many plants as his textbook does, but then it would be too heavy and too dear for most tables and budgets! It does however include the popular perennials you’re likely to encounter with exceptional photographs, including many recent
cultivars of favourite plant groups (for example, at least 12 different Heucheras are photographed, with more described in the text). 324pgs / 8 ½ x 11 / full colour throughout / $69.95hc
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HERBACEOUS PERENNIAL PLANTS 2nd ed. by Alan Armitage The most comprehensive one volume information source on perennial plants in print. Never intended as a popular reference but as a textbook, it is particularly unattractive, but the quality and quantity of information on growing over 5,000 species, varieties and cultivars is unparalleled. Armitage is a leading name in perennials today, and in a casual style, he offers advise and opinions which reflect his vast experience in gardening, monitoring a trial garden, and teaching horticulture in climates as diverse as Quebec and Georgia. 1,100pgs / 6 ¼ x 9 ¼ / line drawings and a few colour photos / $112.95hc
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WELL-TENDED PERENNIAL GARDEN by Tracey DiSabato-Aust. An extremely practical book that picks up where others leave off, this is the book on the care of perennials and their beds - an essential manual on perennial garden installation and maintenance, from soil and site preparation to renovating a neglected garden. Tracey writes from a professional’s viewpoint, passing on years of experience maintaining clients' gardens, and experimenting with pruning perennials to achieve maximum bloom and sturdier, healthier, plants. 269pgs / 7 ½ x 10 ¾ / 64pg colour insert / $39.95hc Also take a look at her latest book - WELL DESIGNED
MIXED GARDEN - a similarly practical tool on design.
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GARDENING WITH PERENNIALS MONTH-BY-MONTH by Joseph  Hudak. A good choice for designers. An easy to use, hard-working book that organizes perennials by bloom time (geared to a zone 5ish climate). With descriptions on cultivation and zone hardiness, plus comments on design applications, it is a reference from a designers point of view (the author is a Landscape Architect). Each month's chapter includes everything from bulbs and groundcovers to stately giants and grasses. Thorough lists in the appendices also gather plants by site criteria (sun, shade, dry, early, late, etc.) making
selecting the right plant for the right purpose exacting. 325pgs / 7 ¾ x 10 ½ / full colour photos in 6 monthly groups / $82.95hc
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CARING FOR PERENNIALS; What to do & When to do it., by Janet Macunovich. My first choice to recommend to new perennial gardeners. Too often a first book is a plant reference, enticing gardeners to dive right into plant selection as though this alone will lead to success. CARING… steps us back a notch and instructs on how to prepare the beds first and how to  look after them well. A quote from Hortideas says it best – “…the best book we’ve seen on the day-to-day “real work” of ornamental gardening”. Macunovich shows us how connected and on-going the
work of perennial gardening is with a month by month and step by step approach to what to do when. From soil preparation to dividing overgrown perennials, line drawings and friendly text guide each task lesson. 190pgs / 8 ½ x 11 / 24pgs “before & after” colour photos, plus line drawings throughout / $29.95pb (also check out her book on garden design which is similarly well-done).
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RODALE ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PERENNIALS by Ellen Phillips & C. Colston Burrell. This is one of my most often requested books – recommended by neighbours . . . always out at the library . . . recommended in other books . . . – it clearly owns the peoples choice award, and for good reason. Full of information on perennial garden design including many suggested layout plans, care and cultivation, creating a new bed, propagation, ideas for difficult sites, theme garden layout plans, and of course an encyclopedic section with colour photos and very thorough descriptive and cultivation information for each perennial. All this in a lively format that almost
defines the term “user friendly”. 533pgs / 7 ½ x 9 / colour photos and planting plans throughout / $29.95pb
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  PERENNIALS FOR EVERY PURPOSE: Choose the Right Plants for Your Conditions, Your Garden, and Your Taste, by Larry Hodgson. A perfect choice for general perennial gardeners who are trying to get their design scheme right. Organized primarily by bloom time the full description plant entries leave no question unanswered on general care and good companions, and the helpful general chapters on designing with perennials teach the principles of design you need to learn to make your own choices. Many sample design layout plans for particular sites, and
chapters on pests and general care round out the book to be among my top recommended books to use as an essential tool in perennial garden design. 502pgs / 7 1/2 x 9 / full colour photos throughout / $29.95pb
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