Campanulas: A Book Review

This book makes me long for an unlimited sized garden where I could have one of every plant I read about. Unfortunately, physical limitations do force us to select and choose our plants. Every garden should have at least one or two Campanula species. Campanulas A Gardener's Guide provides a tantalizing list of choices to choose from.

I find the historical backgrounds for the naming of plants and descriptions of early plant seeking trips fascinating. In the first section, Lewis and Lynch provide us with the names of famous plant explorers who brought back to "civilization" many of the Campanula species we now grow in our gardens. This is followed by a section thoroughly discussing the cultivation, propagation, pests and diseases of this plant genus.

The section covering the plants is excellent although it may be a little confusing for a novice gardener. Lewis and Lynch have mixed species with cultivars in their alphabetical listing. I would have found it easier to read about plants believed to be related or even forms of another variety if they were listed together. It is true that many novice gardeners wouldn't even notice this problem.

Another problem for me was the lack of standard information provided on each species. I enjoy books that list the same types of information for each plant discussed. I do appreciate that size (in centimeters only), flower color and flowering season were listed with the plant name.

One thing I particularly appreciated about this book is that the full color illustrations were spread throughout the book rather than grouped together. After I read about a plant, it is nice to see the picture on the next page or paragraph.

Timber Press's series on garden plants is outstanding even with my preferences for a different style of presentation. Each book makes you wish you collected just that plant genus. If you are a lover of Campanulas, then add this book to your library. If you don't already have some of these plants, reading the book will cause you to start checking your local nurseries out to find those species that fit into your gardening style--whether it be perennial borders or rock gardens. There is a Campanula for every garden style.

Visit Timber Press's website. You'll find a book for almost every horticultural interest. I'll be featuring many more of their books in forthcoming reviews since they are a major publisher in this field.

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