Product Description

Bold and dramatic, annuals have been experiencing a resurgence, and garden centers and catalogs offer them in bewildering variety, from traditional bedding plants to new, specialty introductions. In Armitage's Garden Annuals, author Allan M. Armitage selects proven specimens from nearly 200 genera of plants and evaluates their gardenworthiness and sheer beauty. With humor, authority, and a wealth of practical experience, Armitage offers invaluable insights into those plants that truly earn their keep --- and a few that do not! He has illustrated them with more than 1300 stunning color photos, making this the definitive photographic reference to annuals, biennials, and tender perennials.

Horticulturists, students, and dedicated home gardeners will be familiar with Armitage's authority on this topic from his more technical Manual of Annuals, Biennials, and Half-Hardy Perennials. That volume was singled out as a winner of the Choice Academic Book Award, American Horticultural Society Book Award, and the Garden Writers of America Golden Globe Award. While this new offering is a perfect pictorial companion to the Manual, it also stands alone with its personal commentary and inspiring advice on the most interesting, important, or overlooked plants.

Attractive and easy to use, Armitage's Garden Annuals follows the example of the author's celebrated Garden Perennials and dispenses with the formalities, delving right into the details gardeners most desire. The book is like a private tutorial with a master teacher. Sharpen your pencils and take notes when Dr. Armitage advises, "I expect tweedia to become a bestseller," asks "How many daisies do you know that climb up trellises?" or even concludes "The flowers are boring at best..."

The encyclopedia is rounded out by more than two dozen helpful lists of plants suitable for particular situations or uses, including plants for cool-summer areas, plants for dry situations, edible plants, container plants, shade plants, vines, and flowers for cutting.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #414902 in Books
• Published on: 2004-02-01
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 368 pages

From Booklist
In dedicating his latest book to plant breeders, Armitage conveys his enthusiasm for the breathtaking range of ornamental plants now available to avid gardeners. Many green thumbs specifically count on annuals to bring vibrant color to beds and borders during the traditional growing season, and this encyclopedic reference provides a wealth of photographs to help delineate the ever-increasing arrays of annuals that can be found at nurseries and garden centers. Armitage's lively text is both informative and entertaining, and instead of emphasizing cultivation requirements, he provides savvy, up-to-date recommendations for the most desirable species and cultivars to enliven one's garden, from stunning forms of ornamental okra to fuchsias and tropicals such as ginger lily and the unusual twining vine Basella alba. A terrific resource for gardeners and an essential book for anyone who gardens in warmer regions, where many of these plants are among the choicest of year-round specimens. Alice Joyce
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"A comprehensive and boldly colorful resource for anyone looking for just the right annual for their garden ... beautiful photos and to-the-point text are perfectly balanced."— San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles, July 2004 (San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles )

"A perfect edition to round out your horticulture library..down-to-earth..the latest in garden annuals along with those long considered the best for the annual garden."— Joanne S. Carpender, National Gardener, August 2004 (Joanne S. Carpender National Gardener )

"Nobody knows annuals better than Allan Armitage."—George Weigel, People Places Plants, Summer 2004 (George Weigel People Places Plants )

A comprehensive and boldly colorful resource for anyone looking for just the right annual for their garden ... beautiful photos and to-the-point text are perfectly balanced. San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles, July 2004 (San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles )

A perfect edition to round out your horticulture library..down-to-earth..the latest in garden annuals along with those long considered the best for the annual garden. Joanne S. Carpender, National Gardener, August 2004 (National Gardener )

Nobody knows annuals better than Allan Armitage.George Weigel, People Places Plants, Summer 2004 (People Places Plants )

About the Author
Allan M. Armitage is professor of horticulture at the University of Georgia, Athens, where he teaches, conducts research, and runs the University of Georgia Horticulture Gardens. His publications include nine other books and more than 350 articles and papers. He travels widely as a lecturer and consultant and has received numerous awards from nursery trade groups and horticultural organizations, including the Medal of Honor from the Garden Club of America and the American Horticultural Society Teaching Award.

Customer Reviews

Another excellent book by Allan Armitage and Timber Press
Mr. Armitage is following the format utilized by his earlier book "Armitage's Garden Perennials" and Michael Dirr's "Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs", providing frank information of common and obscure annuals. Comments such as "Bananas...If you are reading this and are not thinking, 'this guy is nuts!', then you are an open-minded gardener, and we can drink beer together." are what makes this a good book. But the pictures are outstanding. If this book had no words other than the description below the picture, it would be an outstanding book. I now have all the reference I need along with "Armitage's Manual of Annuals, Biennials, and Half-Hardy Perennials". I just need a bigger bookshelf....