Best Trees for Your Garden

by Allen Paterson

Book Overview

The ultimate gardener's guide to trees. Of all the planting decisions a gardener makes, the choice of trees is the most important. In this beautifully photographed reference, distinguished... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1552977706
• ISBN13: 9781552977705
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: Firefly Books
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 2.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 9.3" x 10.9"

Customer Reviews

A Beautiful Entry in the Books of Garden Trees

There are many books about trees for the garden. Since the number of trees is pretty much finite, each author works to differentiate his or her book from the rest in various ways. Allen Paterson does a good job of that in `Best Trees for Your Garden'. In this beautiful, large-format book, Paterson describes over 300 trees, their appearance, distinctive features and preferred climate. There are many beautiful photos by Steven Wooster. They alone make the book a keeper. The book is not organized in the more common `handbook' format but with smoothly flowing text. Many readers will find that refreshing and soothing. Although Paterson lives in England he includes North American specifics as well when it comes to growing conditions of the trees. Most books about garden trees contain a section on tree care, landscaping, etc. That section is probably smaller than average in this book, but don't let that keep you away. It does contain a tree selector table and, unlike many books of the type, a list of commercial sources for many of these trees.

Very readable

The writer has extensive horticultural experience at prestigious institutions in England, Canada and the US. He brings this life experience and background to this book, and he is able to relate to gardeners in the climates and conditions of all three countries. Not only does he have a vast store of knowledge and practical experience on the topic, he presents it in a friendly and readable way.This book is all about selecting the right tree for your garden. In his introduction the writer acknowledges the significance of selecting a tree that may outlive us. His first chapter, "Understanding Trees" is quite the best introduction to the topic I have ever encountered (and I've read a lot of tree books).A later chapter, "Trees and Man", while only touching a few highlights, gives a useful overview of the ways in which man has made use of trees through the ages. Rather more than half the book is devoted to directories of broad-leaved trees and conifers. These choices, while somewhat subjective, would make useful and attractive trees in the right garden environment.The book is nicely illustrated with Steven Wooster's color photographs.