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Mind Amendment - time to hit the books - Page 2

© Emily Levitt

There are vines, conifers and unusual specimens covered here in addition to the gardening backbone plants. Pruning and propagation information is easy to understand, and the photography helps make identificaton of mystery plants much easier.

"Herbaceous Perennial Plants : A Treatise on Their Identification, Culture, and Garden Attributes" by Allan M. Armitage
Dr.Armitage, a Canadian native, has been living and teaching in Athens, Georgia since the '70's. His forte is new plant material, and how to best utilize it. Commercial and amateur gardeners find his opinions and observations are uniquely well researched.

These books are peerless references. They are more expensive than most, but the value of the information in them can't be overstated. Each author is so often quoted or cited in articles, seminars and presentations that no Southern reference library can be complete without them. All gardeners, regardless of geographic location, will find these that these are wonderful books by gifted teachers and authors.

I broke down and bought these books for my own permanent collection simply because it finally became work to check them out and return them to the library, over and over. They're big and cumbersome, but loaded with information. I wouldn't be without them.

The most recent editions are also available on CD, a form I have not yet tried. Anyone going for the CD version, please let me know how you like using them. I guess I'm just an old dog when it comes to books--I like to read my favorite plant books often, just like my favorite fiction, or Shakespeare, and I feel I'd be lost without a hard copy to hold in my hands.

"Passalong Plants" is a lighter type of read, and one I recommend for both praciticality and humor. There is no high-toned reverence for delicate specie plants here; Steve Bender (of Southern Living magazine) and Felder Rushing ( Mississippi gardener and Extension Service agent) write about the plants they really know and love, old favorites which have become familiar neighbors to Southerners. Well-known plants are identified by all their commom names as well as their genus and specie. ("Naked Ladies" for instance, are actually 'lycoris' bulbs.) Most of the vernacular names make sense in the literal directness of their descriptions, if you think about it. Milkweed and stinkweed certainly match their casual titles.

Growing habits are equally frank. "Warp speed" describes the rapidly invasive nature of one specimen.

Every flower has a story, written by one of the authors, to make the specimen a lively friend rather than just another scientific notation.

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