I have become entranced with clematis in the last couple years, and have been looking through as many books as I can find to develop greater knowledge of their growth habits, pruning needs, care and colors. This book had succinct but ample explanations, clear illustrations on how to plant, prune and propagate, as well as a gallery of pictures of the flowers, grouped by color. Reading this small book, I felt I had everything I needed to know as an amateur. I now have seven different clematis in my garden, and they are among what pleases me most. The only negative was that I disagreed with the coloring of the H.F. Young plant--the one in my garden is much paler than the picture. I also would have liked to see even more photos of various flowers.

Wonderful clematis photos and great information!

A very basic book covering all the fundamentals of successful clematis growing. Superb color photographs. It is a must for anyone contemplating growing clematis. The information is presented in a down to earth non-technical way. It is truly worth its purchase price - some more expensive books do not have half this much information. Certainly a bargain price - a must for anyone interested in clematis. Most books are written from a U.K. perspective but this one is indeed for the U.S. gardener.

Though this title may be a little pricy, it is a must have for residents of California, Oregon, and Washington. At any rate, any family within which there is a flower collecter, should have a copy of this excellent resource. Though my family originally purchased this title because of a biology project assigned to my daughter, it has since opened up an interesting world of the natural plant life of this area and even those farther away.

I like the book and the topic, however the binding is is such bad shape that the book is useless in the field or for a more robust usage. Can this be fixed?

I take this guide (and the Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers-- west) on all my field trips to identify wildflowers. Though Peterson has fewer real photos, it does have better aids to identify specific wildflowers, as it is organized by color, as well as number and types of petals. The sketches help me do a preliminary id on the wildflower.

This is a great book on the Vanda alliance. It has many wonderful pictures of both species and hybrids. It even includes a bunch of botanical prints (artistical renditions) of a number of species. This book is great for the hobbiest or breeder. Many pages go into detail about the history of breeding Vandas, and what qualities certain species impart. I have used this section a number of times when creating new hybrids. I have also used to book to identify an unkown Vanda, what a relief!

This book offers a concise description of all vandaceous orchids, with wonderful pictures, descriptions and differences between each genera. I am a grower of over thiry years, and have not realized that there were so many. I find this book to be more friendly to the average orchidist and if I could would give it a "10". This is truly the best on the market today.

This book brings out strong emotion. "Return of the Native" demonstrates how some of the people in today's world enter into relationships only for their personal benefit. It brings on the desire to read more of the book. As a student in school, we are studying the book. The book, along with the movie, tends to draw the attention of those who watch it, bringing on true interest. I would really recommend this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I usually hate history books. It describes all the details of the characters and the time period and really made me feel like I was there, too. I have hated history ever since it was required in college, but this story and the detailed characters have made me long to understand more of the actions of the people involved and I'm now voluntarily going to look into more books on the lives and times of the main kings involved: Henry VIII and Louis XII. I definitely recommend it!

Actually I would give this book 0 stars, but there is no way to do so. I've received free rose catalogs that have had better photos and more information than this book has. This book misses such vital information as winnings by the roses listed, scent ratings, sizes, etc. We own many of the roses listed in Rosa Rugosa and find that the author is misguided in her critiques of them. I can't recommend this book to anyone who loves roses unless they have money to throw away on books or simply can't find anything else to buy. If you want a really good book on roses, including much info on rugosas, buy Lois Hole's Roses.

Suzanne Verrier's book should be considered the rose bible for northern climates. The book provides complete descriptions, photographs and parental lineage for winter hardy rosa rugosa roses. I've found no other book that contains as much comparative detail for growing organic roses in zone 4/5. Her personal comments are a strong indication of her passion, dedication and personal experience growing these wonderful roses. I no longer purchase a rugosa without looking it up first in this guide. All of the 20 varities growing in my garden are testament to how indispensable this book is.

In the many, many rose books I own this class of rose receives a short description and just a few of its roses are described. This type of rose DESERVES more attention! It can be the answer to your prayers! I grew the top rated modern roses in the world in South Texas - used a lot of rigor in the selection process to pick the hardiest, most disease free roses - the landscaper built raised beds with perfectly composed soil and automatic watering - and I watched those roses struggle against the heat and their leaves be consumed by disease and pests - no amount of spraying could help. And then ... drum roll... I planted my first Rugosa - and there it sat - unsprayed and undemanding, growing on its own roots - gleaming bright green ruffly leaves, branches covered, lovely old rose blossoms - with not a touch of black spot or anything else - while just feet away my wonderful modern roses were decimated. This book will provide you what you need to know about this cate! gory - it has lovely photographs of a wide number of rugosas. It has a very useful matrix the provides at a glance the rugosa's name, size, type foliage, blossom description, how often it blooms, how fragrant it is, its hardiness, disease characteristics and whether it makes hips. Its well worth the investment. I'm very glad I bought it and when I prune my library, it won't ever be pruned away!

Mauvais traductions!!!! This is a dual language book with the pléiade text on one side and english verse translations facing. Apearently a large amount of these translations are rather old (1900 England), and repress some of the more blasphemus passages. What is worse is that they are translated in Elizabethian english (Yuck!). I would recommend another translation, but as I dont know of one; all I can say is steer clear of this one, unless you are a English dandy!

THIS IS A FANTASTIC TRANSLATION! AND MY FAVORITE EDITION OF BAUDELAIRE BESIDES THE COMPLETE FLOWERS OF EVIL ALSO FROM NEW DIRECTIONS PUBLISHING.

Flowers of Evil is teeming with imagery that is, at times, lofty, and others, bitter. My favorite edition is the 1955 New Directions Paperbook edition. He was truly a poet who lived and thought rather than the masses who merely muse on living. Read his poetry and step lightly through the flowers.

I just finished reading this collection of humorous writings. While some of the pieces were written to be read, the vignettes from stand-up comedy do not always work as well as one imagines that they might in a club. Some of the pieces already feel a bit dated (the compilation is just from 1995). However, David Sedaris' writing is great fun. Of course, the format allows the reader to pick up and put down the book between very short "chapters"; a benefit for such light comedy. Overall, a quick read, not too heady, a bit silly, albeit a bit dry.

I agree with the editorial reviewer who said this compilation is uneven. Some of these pieces are just plain *not funny* -- bland humor, worn jokes. But some of the pieces ARE funny -- with some gay-specific humor (which isn't to say only gay people get it, just that it's topical) and some more general humorous looks at life. On balance I'd say it's about 50-50 funny and not. It's something you can skim through and get a few laughs out of in the course of a day. The flat-out essays work best; the scripts of stand-up shticks and performance art don't translate well to the page.

I am a great admierer of the french symbolists, but not when translated by Mr. Crosby. According to the biographical information in the back of the book, Mr. Crosby is qualified to translate the works of Baudelaire because as a medical doctor, his area of experise is the spleen. His experiecne with french, he claimed, came mostly from 2 years of High School study. Theoreticaly this makes me more qualified than he is to translate the works of Baudelaire.

All this you can see in the great liberties he takes with the text, and the innacurate representations he puts forth in many cases.

Aparently, this is all just a hobby for him.

At any rate, I would recomend finding a scholarly translation if you are interested in the real voice of Baudelaire.

E. A. Bowles book, MY GARDEN IN SUMMER, is part of a several part series of books he wrote describing his garden at Myddelton England during his tenure in the early part of the 20th Century.

I bought this book because I enjoyed books written by Beverly Nichols, an English writer who moved to the countryside after WWII and rebuilt the garden surrounding an old house. Nichols has the help of an excentric gardener, and all sorts of adventures with his cats and kooky maiden neighbors. I thought Mr. Bowles would prove to be another Brit gardener with a wry sense of humour but he is not -- at least in this book.

I am also a fan of Elizabeth Lawrence, a horticulturist with the N.C. State government who practiced her craft in the latter part of the 20th Century, beginning in the 1940s. Ms Lawrence referred to Mr. Bowles books in her own books. I love Ms. Lawrence writing because she not only provides the scientific particulars of each plant, she shares the gardening experiences relayed to her via her correspondance -- with Mr. Howdyshel in Ohio and gardeners in other parts of the country. Ms. Lawrence also provides the reader with many anectdotal bits about the plants, as well as the history of the plant. Ms. Lawrence is factual, sometimes amusing though not funny, and I find her books entertaining.

If MY GARDEN IN SUMMER is a fair sample of Mr. Bowles writing, his book will appeal to no one but the avid historical garden enthusiast with an in-depth knowledge of plants and curiostity about another gardener's experiences with various plants at different times in the last century. Or, someone who intends to visit Myddleton Garden in England, or has visited it might enjoy the book. Being able to see the real thing often helps, and the gardens are being restored--probably why the book was republished.

Mr. Bowles book contains a dozen or so black and white photos of mixed quality. For some reason, about half of them appear in the section he wrote on sedums and succulents. One photo in particular is very pretty, showing a long terrace with about 30-40 pots of various succulents. I'd like a blow-up of that photograph for it's aesthetic properties. You won't be able to identify many of the succulents in the pots, however.

An appendix in the back of the book provides the reader with the current names of the plants Mr. Bowles discusses. In spite of this update, I found the sections of greatest interest to me a bit deficient. On my next visit to England, I will visit Myddleton Garden, and then I'll reread the book -- or sections of it. That should help me better appreciate it.