With stunning color photos throughout, this gardening guide describes more than 50 types of the best flowering shrubs and details their use in home landscaping. Shrubs are arranged by genus, separated into deciduous flowering and notable evergreen shrubs, and listed with the common name; size and shape; foliage color, shape, and texture; flower and fruit (if any); soil, nutrient, and light needs; pruning needs for maximum growth and/or flower; and USDA Hardiness Zones. Details of specific species, cultivars, and varieties that lead to exceptional size, color, flower, hardiness, and durability are also included. Helpful hints on soil types, watering, pest control, and pruning explore how best to plant and care for any shrub. The appendix includes lists of nurseries, web sites for further information, and an extensive index and bibliography.

"Helpful for beginners who want to put their green thumbs to work." —The Columbus Dispatch

Vincent Simeone is the director of the Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay, New York, and teaches at the New York Botanical Gardens and State University of New York–Farmingdale. He lives in Oyster Bay, New York. Bruce Curtis is an award-winning photographer whose work has appeared in Life, Sports Illustrated, and Time. He lives in Albertson, New York. Michael A. Dirr is a professor of horticulture at the University of Georgia. He is the author of 11 books, including Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs and Manual of Woody Landscape Plants. He lives in Athens, Georgia. Michael D. Coe is a professor emeritus of anthropology at Yale University and one of the chairmen of the Planting Fields Arboretum. He lives in New Haven, Connecticut.