Product Description

After years of playing second fiddle to perennials, annuals are now back in style and extremely popular with top garden designers. In Annuals with Style, noted gardening experts Michael Ruggiero and Tom Christopher have created an inspirational design book that features new ways to use these versatile, colorful, and inexpensive plants. Included are complete profiles and growing tips.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1617322 in Books
• Published on: 2000-03-01
• Released on: 2000-03-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 240 pages

Amazon.com Review
A few years ago, when perennials were the buzz, we would have laughed at the idea of annuals being described as "cutting edge." Annuals were tacky purple petunias or globs of geraniums; maybe your Grandma liked annuals, but they weren't for modern gardens.

Now annuals are so hot they sizzle. Horticulturists introduce new colors and exciting forms so fast we grow dizzy. Old, forgotten types of annuals are being reintroduced, and many of these are noteworthy for their statuesque shapes or spectacular perfume. Annuals with Style explores this newly fashionable world of gardening with annuals, where innovation in flower and foliage keeps pace with ideas about style.

One of the greatest things about annuals is that they grow to maturity and die in one gardening season, so they are fun to play around with. A tree is a big investment of money and space, and shrubs grow for years, but annuals require no such commitment of time, room, or resources. You can experiment, experience near-instant gratification, toss them out at the end of the season, and try something new next year.

Mike Ruggiero and Thomas Christopher capture the essence of garden creativity as they advise on how best to use the many kinds of annuals now widely available. Have you seen the new variegated impatiens? How about coleus leaves so boldly splashed with color that they look as though variegation was invented just for them? Scale, texture, form, and color are all considered when using annuals in pots, hanging baskets, or in the ground. Practicalities such as starting from seed, soil preparation, mulching, watering, pinching, and fertilizing are thoroughly discussed and an encyclopedia of essential annuals provides the basics as well as plentiful color photographs. --Valerie Easton

From Publishers Weekly
The New York Botanical Garden's Ruggiero and author Christopher (The 20-Minute Gardener) team up to illustrate the versatility, ease and rewards of using annuals in the garden. From such old standbys as pansies and petunias to more flamboyantly tropical options such as Caladium and Amaranthus, the authors discuss various annual plantings--in mixed plantings, in containers, as quick-growing vertical accents, as "plugs" to fill in gaps where more short-lived perennials have bloomed and faded or as "featured players." The snappy prose is alight with humor (on scaling down the showy Victorian carpet bed for today's staff-less home gardens, for instance, the authors note "think prayer rug rather than wall to wall"). While they are both clearly knowledgeable plantsmen, the authors take equal delight in focusing on more lighthearted displays ("We've seen a dozen football helmets upended, filled with potting mix, and hung in a row to make an annual garden in Texas") as they do on elegant mixed borders. The reader-friendly layout includes helpful sidebars and glorious photos. This book is ideal for beginners, yet seasoned gardeners should enjoy the fresh spin on an often overlooked subject.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Just as interest in annuals resurges this season, Ruggiero, a garden designer for the New York Botanical Garden, and Christopher (The 20-Minute Gardener) have teamed up to produce a guide to planting and enjoying them. Similar in presentation and arrangement to Marjorie Mason Hogue's Amazing Annuals (LJ 5/1/99) and Graham Rice's Discovering Annuals (LJ 6/15/99), this book traces the history of annuals and offers design ideas and instruction on the various methods of propagation. It also covers planting and care, weed prevention, and garden layout. The last third of the book is an encyclopedia of 75 essential annuals. Each entry, which includes a photograph and a list of important facts (height, spread, propagation tips, cultivation needs, and pests and diseases), highlights what makes that plant special and suggests how to use it in a garden. An appendix lists plants tolerant of heat and humidity and shows which annuals have adapted to hot, dry climates. The entire book is lavishly illustrated with stunning photographs. For public libraries.
-Carol Cubberley, Univ. of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Not just another pretty coffee table book...
although it certainly could be used as one. Instead, it is a very comprehensive guide to annuals and garden design. Beautifully illustrated with thorough information about any annual you are likely to be interested in. It has very helpful tips on everything from the planning to the planting as well as the care of your plants. A worthwhile addition to any gardening library or a wonderful book to start one.

A Book with Passion
There are literally hundreds of books on various types of plants (perennials, annuals, trees, ...), not to mention an endless array of books on garden design. So, how does one begin to differentiate the great ones from the okay ones?

One of my litmus tests for a really great gardening book is whether or not it motivates me to try something new. Michael Riggerio and Tom Christoper's Annuals With Style not only motivated me to get planters for my deck, but converted me from an annual atheist to a devote believer in the power of annuals to make the ordinary garden extraordinary.

I'd expect nothing less from a book Michael Riggerio co-authored. Having worked at the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) since the age of 14, he is now NYBG's Head Curator. He also teaches an array of courses at NYBG's School of Professional Horticulture. While few horticulturist's resume come close to his, the secret of his book and his own professional success lies in one word, which I have heard used over and over again to describe this remarkable individual. That word is "passion".

Michael Riggerio's passion for plants is manifested through out Annuals With Style. The book has hundreds of beautiful pictures, most of which he took throughout his career. (He never goes anywhere without his camera. You never know when you will see an interesting plant!) It also gives the reader practical, clear instructions on how to lay out a bed or border, as well as how to calculate the number of plants needed to make the most intricate designs. (Following the book's guidance, I designed a giant clock made out of annual flowers, just like the one I saw in Europe many years ago!) The plant descriptions go way beyond the basic growing zones, size, shape, color and required sun light. Detailed oriented individuals and horticulturists will appreciate the extra tid-bits of information, such as each plant's family and origins.

This is one of the best gardening books I have read!
This book is not just about annuals, though it is definitely the best book about annuals. There are so many great design ideas in this book, including using annuals in a "mixed border," (perennial garden). There is an excellent section on container gardening with lots of professional tips. Some of the topics are just excellent: "using color," "harmony and contrast," "color and variegated foliage," etc. This is the only book I have read that deals with design issues in such a clear and creative way. Anyone can make a beautiful garden after reading these great design tips.

The section on propagation is also excellent. Growing from seed and making cuttings are covered in every detail with great step by step pictures. There is also a step by step formula to determine how many plants you need for an area.

The last section of the book is an alphabetical listing of each annual, listing its use, culture, and professional tips. You will find out the best and newest varieties here. The writing is filled with the enthusiasm of these authors. There is so much good information in this book, I wish every gardener would read it, including the people who think they just like perennials!