From the "Galloping Gourmet" of the garden world comes a guide to perennials to fit every gardener's needs. 300 color photos. 7 color garden layouts.

Annuals are very much back in style after the decades-long perennial revolution. You see annuals in every garden, with the old-fashioned flowers still among the most popular. With new varieties being launched every year and older ones (many dating back more than four or five years) disappearing just as quickly, gardeners need help sorting them out. Author Larry Hodgson tells you what to look for among the numerous new introductions: greater adaptability to growing conditions, longer period of bloom, improved insect and disease resistance, and more--everything, in fact, that you need to know to make growing annuals both simple and fun. You'll discover: How to cut back tired annuals, like sweet alyssum, to get them to rebloom even more intensely than before. How to save money by taking cuttings of so-called "designer" annuals, using one plant to create many. All about overwintering numerous "annuals" that are really tropical perennials. Which cool-loving annuals you can sow in the fall so they can sprout when the conditions are perfect the following spring. Simple tricks that make designing with annuals a snap. And much, much more! You'll find annual gardening has never been easier--or more exciting--than when you have Annuals for Every Purpose as a handy reference.

Offers planting plans and plant descriptions to maximize the effects of color in a perennial garden

Bursting with vivid color—like the midsummer garden of your dreams—Essential Perennials for Every Garden will inspire and inform gardeners from coast to coast. This expertly written, eye-catching guide to choosing and maintaining perennials covers a vast array of plants from dainty ground huggers and wafting soft grasses to dramatic skyscrapers with unearthly blooms. Selected by authors and master gardeners Sally Roth and Jane Courtier, over 110 of the very best perennials are beautifully photographed and described, giving readers recommendations about the most reliable performers and exciting new varieties and hybrids. Whether readers are beginning a new perennial garden or perfecting an existing one, Essential Perennials for Every Garden can assist them in creating that dream garden that will add color and joy to their lives for years to come. -A fully-illustrated alphabetically arranged directory of the hardiest and most colorful perennials -Description, growing conditions, and propagation for over 110 superb perennials -Advice on inexpensive, easy methods to develop a new garden or expand an existing one -Time-saving tips on maintaining perennials, feeding plants, and warding off pests -Sidebars offer “green-thumb” tips and plant-partnering recommendations

Showcases one hundred fifty perennials of proven performance sure to live up to their catalog descriptions and offers advice on selection and cultivation

Using full-color photos, the author shows you 272 perennials -- arranged according to month of bloom -- to grow in your garden so you can have wonderful color and texture from March through November -- and even winter interest throughout the coldest months of the year.

Celebrate shade! That's author Larry Hodgson's call to gardeners everywhere, no matter if you have a small shady corner or an entire landscape overshadowed by trees. His hands-on "been there, done that" advice will help you tackle planning, planting, and problem-solving, as well as create color, texture, and light-filled areas in the shade. He also shares more than 200 outstanding plants - perennials, annuals, bulbs, ferns, ornamental grasses, and climbing plants - that you can use to create a beautiful garden that will flourish under shady conditions. In fact, after reading Making the Most of Shade, even the gardener with the sunniest yard will want to create a shady nook!--COVER.

Discover hundreds of easy, practical, & exciting ways to solve landscape problems & beautify your yard with perennials.

Essential Perennials focuses on what every gardener needs to know to choose from the thousands of perennials available, and care for the ones you already have. This A-to-Z guide is packed with more than 2,700 plants, with each entry listing flower color, bloom time, foliage characteristics, size, and light and temperature requirements. Each profile is supported by stunning color photography that showcases the flower and foliage that make each plant unique.

One of today's best gardening writers presents a visually beautiful guide to working with perennials and helping them flourish.