My Perennial Library

My favorite gardening book is Perennial All-Stars: The 150 Best Perennials for Great-Looking, Trouble-Free Gardens by Jeff Cox. There are all kinds of books about perennials, but what I love about this one is that it goes into such great detail recommending particular cultivars and explaining where to plant them, how to care for them, and how to propagate them. The author also suggests wonderful companion plants for each of the perennials.

I’ve gotten so many planting ideas from this book, and I’ve had great success with all the cultivars I’ve tried (such as Helenium ‘Moerheim Beauty’ pictured above). I demand a lot of bang for my buck when it comes to perennials and this book is full of information about plants that will give you weeks of blooms but require little care. It’s great for beginners.

I also like Perennials for Every Purpose by Larry Hodgson. He separates the plants into chapters like “Perennials for Birds and Butterflies” and “Perennials That Bloom in the Shade.” It’s a great reference for when you have an empty plot of soil in a particular location (I wish I had THAT problem!) and you need some planting ideas.

I spotted a new book in the bookstore recently called Perennials: The Complete Guide to Designing, Choosing, and Maintaining Easy-Care Plants by Sally Roth and Jane Courtier. The first part of the book provides tons of information on designing with perennials, choosing the right plants and caring for them. The second part is an A to Z directory of over 100 plants.

The authors describe each of the perennials and their necessary growing conditions and suggest some of the best cultivars. I added this book to my collection because it not only contains information on many of the newer perennial cultivars (like coneflower ‘Orange Meadowbrite’ pictured below) but it has gorgeous photographs that make me want to run to the garden center. I plan to give the book a good workout as I wait impatiently for spring to arrive.