Product Description

Features over 500 of Northern California's favorite perennials. Includes planting tips, blooming periods and information on choosing plants for specific sites. Beautifully illustrated with full-color photographs, this guide also includes a plant information chart. The authors' common-sense and practical wisdom will help you meet the unique gardening challenges of Northern California.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #332088 in Books
• Published on: 2002-02-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 360 pages

Review
Bob Tanem's accumulated wisdom from 40 years in the nursery business has been packaged in a guide that will surely delight weekend horticulturists. --Monterey County Herald

Simple to navigate, loaded with color photos and stuffed with information about Northern California gardening...well worth the investment. --Sacramento Bee

About the Author
BOB TANEM, America's Happy Gardener(tm), has been in the nursery business for more than 40 years and has logged over 20 years of air time as a broadcaster on gardening. 'Bob Tanem in the Garden' is featured each Sunday morning on KSFO Radio in San Francisco, a show that has twice garnered Bob the coveted "Quill & Trowel" Award for the best radio program on gardening in America. Bob also has made numerous television appearances, written hundreds of magazine articles, writes gardening features for local newspapers and publishes his own newsletter. DON WILLIAMSON, who has turned a passion for gardening into his life's work, has a varied background in landscaping, golf course construction and management and now garden writing. He also has extensive experience in the design and construction of both annual and perennial beds in formal landscape settings. Don has a degree in applied horticultural technology and professional certificates in turf management.

Customer Reviews

Excellent resource for DIY landscapers
If you're looking to fill in some gaps in your landscaping, replace a lawn with something more natural looking, or replace annuals with perennials, this book is a great place to start.

The book shows information about a hundred or so plants (more on that number in a minute) in several different ways for ease of use. First, it shows thumbnail pictures of each, then it categorizes them in lists based on where they'll do best (sun, full or partial shade, clay or sandy soil, near salt spray, in planters) and by other characteristics (high v low maintenance, coarse v fine texture). The bulk of the book consists of detailed information about each plant in alphabetical order: appearance and aesthetics, how/when to plant, how to grow, problems, pests, and general tips. Finally, each plant is listed in a "quick reference chart" spreadsheet format, containing summary information about color, height, blooming, required soil, required light, and hardiness.

In addition to the information about specific perennials, this book contains general information about preparing soil, germinating, planting, and caring for perennials in Northern California's myriad microclimates, and contains a comprehensive glossary in back.

While the book description on Amazon says this book "features over 500 of Northern California's favorite perennials," I counted just under a hundred. However, most of these have subspecies or color variations listed, which might be where the 500 count came from. Regardless, this is plenty for most projects, and the format and content are great. Highly recommended.