Product Description

This encyclopedia by a distinguished American horticulturist is the most authoritative and best-illustrated reference ever published on ornamental grasses. At the heart of the book is the illustrated alphabetical encyclopedia of important ornamental grasses, sedges, rushes, restios, cat-tails, and selected bamboos. Many of the most important plants are illustrated in more than one season. This book is intended for gardeners in a wide range of situations and climates, and draws from the experience and creativity of great gardens and gardeners around the world. It is an invaluable tool for landscape architects, garden designers, nursery professionals, and home gardeners who seek to extend their knowledge of these beautiful and useful plants.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #287068 in Books
• Published on: 1999-02-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 326 pages

Amazon.com Review
Much has changed in the role and use of ornamental grasses over the past 100 years. Whereas turn-of-the-century gardeners had perhaps a dozen perennial grasses to choose from, today's gardeners have hundreds. Ornamental grasses now embody a huge array of textures, forms, sizes, colors, flowering times, and cultural adaptations. The Color Encyclopedia of Ornamental Grasses is intended for gardeners in a wide range of situations and climates, and draws from the experience and creativity of great gardens and gardeners around the world. It begins with an exploration of the unique aesthetics and appeal of ornamental grasses before moving on to a review of the families of grasses and a survey of grasses in their native habitats. Gardeners usually speak of "ornamental grasses" in the broad sense, including not only the true grasses but also related families of grass-like plants. Following this tradition, the book provides a detailed treatment of perennial grasses, rushes, and cattails, as well as selected bamboos. Written by horticulturist Rick Darke, this encyclopedia will be invaluable to nursery professionals, landscapers, and home gardeners.

From Library Journal
This well-written title by one of the world's authorities on ornamental grasses provides details on the biology of grasses as well as their use in garden design. The plant profiles section includes data on native habitat, physical features, culture, and cultivars.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"As the photos on these pages show, Western designers have found beautiful new ways to integrate grasses into the garden."—Sharon Cohoon, Sunset, July 2000 (Sharon Cohoon Sunset )

"It is a marvelously inclusive and authoritative reference from start to finish."—Thomas Fischer, Horticulture, May 2000 (Thomas Fischer Horticulture )

"The best book on the subject. Fabulously illustrated, it takes the guesswork out of selecting and caring for these beautiful plants."—Maureen Gilmer, HGTV.com, April 21, 2006 (Maureen Gilmer HGTV.com )

An authoritative and inspiring guide to landscaping with grasses...Darkes clear and accessible text offers instructions and ideas for both home gardeners and landscape professionals. The Color Encyclopedia of Ornamental Grasses is an essential acquisition and core title for all personal, professional, and academic horticultural library reference book collections. -- The Bookwatch, June 1999

If any one horticulturist has realised the potential of grasses it is Rick Darke, the former curator of the spectacular Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania, USA. This encyclopedia is undoubtedly the most comprehensive and beautifully illustrated work on ornamental grasses to date.(Mark Griffiths, The Garden (Royal Horticultural Soc.), January 2000) -- (Mark Griffiths)

Invaluable to professional landscape designers as well as serious home gardeners. -- Country Living Gardener, September/October 1999

Mr. Darke's book reflects many years of experience with the plants he writes about. The past decade has been marked by great interest in ornamental grass and grasslike plants. The Color Encyclopedia of Ornamental Grasses does an excellent job of both accounting for this interest and furthering it in those who are as yet unsmitten. The encyclopedic part of this book is a great success, first because it is truly encyclopedic, devoting some 170 pages to grasses both common and rare...But the plant-by-plant catalog doesn't get underway until Darke has devoted six chapters of a more general nature to his topic. He is obviously passionate about these plants, and his enthusiasm is infectious. -- Allen Lacy, Homeground, Spring 1999

Rich color photographs and evocative prose effectively illustrate Darkes understanding of grasses and their uses... The extensive individual grass entries are outstanding. -- The American Gardener, March/April 1999

The most thorough investigation to date into the plants that have changed the look of American gardens. ...every one of Darke's photographs is a thoughtfully composed work of art - whether it be a picture of a plant, a savanna habitat, or an exquisite private garden. Another singular aspect of the book is that Darke adds horticultural advice gleaned from his personal experience to the botanical descriptions. -- Ken Druse, House Beautiful, May 1999

This beautifully illustrated book combines the best features of an encyclopedic reference with sound practical advice on how to use grasses in the landscapes. -- 2000 AHS Award Books, The American Gardener, May/June 2000

This book is a model when it comes to the encyclopedic portraiture of garden plants. -- Verlyn Klinkenborg, New York Times, June 6, 1999

This hybrid of serious reference and stop in your tracks photographs will turn your mowers into growers. -- National Gardening, November 1999

Customer Reviews

Excellent information, awesome photographs
Excellent and complete information about ornamental grasses. A great book.

Thirty pages on the botany, anatomy, and classification of grasses. Twenty pages on native habitat, thirty pages on designing with grasses, and twenty pages of growing and propagating grasses. 170 page encyclopedia listing 400+ species / varieties of grasses. Each species is described in a paragraph or two of text along side a clear photograph of the plant. In the back of the book, you find a 2 page glossary, 5 page bibliography, 2 page grass nursery listing, USDA and European hardiness maps, and a complete index of all grasses by common name. Very complete book.

As a bonus, the book is also filled with awesome photography.

If you garden with ornamental grasses, this book is a must buy. Excellent information, well worth the money!

Excellent information and beautiful photos
If you have no grasses in your garden now, your yard will be transformed by this book. The cultural information is well researched and thorough, but it is the incredible photographs that will keep you reading. I often look up a particular grass and find myself still reading hour later.

Buy 2 copies...
This book is structured, written, photographed and edited with parallel purpose and effect: communication of the author's respect and regard for the book's subject and for its readers. Mr. Darke sets out to inform and does so with enconomy but in full course; when he instructs, he teaches the novice and gives pause to the critic; when he photographs he shows his passion and inspires with the nature and wonder of his subjects. The book is encyclopedic, yet its prose is always to the point with the agreeable dryness of a good, well-bodied wine. Credible, trustworthy, enlightening. This is the best gardening book I have ever read. Negatives? Only one: Mr. Darke's standards are unimpeachable; those of the book's typographer and designer, however, are not.