Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Perennials

Cole Burrell and Ellen Phillips' book has become my go-to resource for perennials, It is by turns informative but also very funny. Well worth space on your gardening shelf.

Great book. I am just getting into the world of perennials and have found this to be a perfect resource that covers a huge variety of topics I am interested in like basic botany, garden design and maintenance, etc. And, of course, there is what appears to me a comprehensive, A to Z, and totally accessible list of perennials occupying the back 1/3 of the book.

Great referdnce

Good book for any gardener. Lots of information. The book has three main parts: Designing with perennials, Growing perennials, and the encyclopedia. The part that works best for me is the growing perennials. The encyclopedia is good, but needs to provide more information on each plant. Many, many perennials are listed but the descriptions lack more information that I need, such as, pests and diseases of the plant in question, winterizing requirements, etc.Overall a good book, " a little more than your basic gardening book", but needs to have just a little more within each "plant description". That's why the four stars, instead of 5.

I bought the hardback edition of Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Perennials when it first came out in 1993. It's still the best reference after all these years. Each plant is listed alphabetically by scientific name (Latin), followed by the common names, and a color photo is included for each plant. I liked this book so much I bought it again after my original book was ruined in a moldy house. You can't go wrong with this classic - even after all these years (the plants are still the same).

We have tons of flower books so I very seldom remember all the books. But this one was filled with info and beautiful flowers. It is hard to rate a flower book as sometimes I don't look at them but once or twice a year. Especially at planting time. But Rodale's is always a good bet if you are looking for information.

I had this book years ago when I was able to garden. Sold it when we moved into a condo. My daughter has a new garden of her own to tend and I had to give her a Rodale’s book of perennials. It’s excellent!

I had had one of these books and lent it out to someone who never returned it. Recently, purchased it from Amazon and inadvertently ordered 2 of them. It is such a good resource that I was able to pass along the extra one to my niece. I am thrilled to have this book again, and look forward to the snow finally melting here in Michigan so I can get out in my garden and use all of the great information provided in this book.sparkysmom