I have used this book for years as my gardening bible. I have an edition with a foreward signed by James Bush-Brown and Louise Bush-Brown in Ambler Pennsylvania, September 1957. I'm glad to see the book has been updated, but what amazes me is that the older version is still so useful. Just this morning I looked up 'Hyssop' because I planted one in the back of my herb bed. The entry read, "P; 18-24" Seed: medicine, perfume, food -- Sunny; ordinary garden soil, not too rich. Prefers lime." This entry (in Chapter IX, The Herb Garden) told me the plant was a pernnial, would not overshadow my other plants, and would grow well in my herb garden which is laced with lime.

This book is succinct, useful, and too heavy to carry to bed for nighttime reading.

If I were stranded in a strange garden and could pick only one gardening book to take along, this would be the one. It's loaded with detailed information on all aspects of gardening, including photos and suggestions of exactly which species and varieties will work best in which situations. This is such a comprehensive effort that it's now possible to whittle your gardening library down to one volume and still be able to look up an answer to whatever question's bugging you.