Leafing through the pages of any popular gardening magazine, you’ll find authors extolling their favorite plant. Scale that up to a whole book of top picks and you have “What Gardeners Grow: 600 Plants Chosen by the World’s Greatest Plantspeople.”
This is quite unlike any other title in the Miller Library collection. There are over 200 authors. Each bringing their own voice to describing their choicest garden plant. Or, in some cases, two or three favorites. A light hand of editing allows the writers to extol, rant, describe in detail, or rely on esthetic impressions – much like you’d expect in a casual conversation with your NHS buddies.
What makes this remarkable is these are all people who have garnered considerable expertise. While focused on the UK, this is an advantage to Pacific Northwest gardeners, as most of the plants will thrive here, too.
Speaking for the publisher Bloom (for Frances Lincoln), commissioning editor Zena Alkayat writes, “the motley collection of plant descriptions [are] all written especially for this book and listed in no particular order.” This random layout could be frustrating – or delightful, depending on your preference and perhaps your mood.
Each author includes insights to best growing techniques, and a sidebar fills in season, size, soil, exposure, and hardiness needs. But most important is what excites the writer.
A good example is provided by Neil Miller, the head gardener at Hever Castle and Gardens who describes the pineapple guava (Acca sellowiana): “I love exotic and tropical plants and this is the nearest you’re going to get to growing these in the UK. The plant has beautiful, orchid-style, edible, cherry-red and white flowers with silver green leaves, and delicious fruits that taste of pineapples, apples, strawberries and mint!”
To enhance this description is an illustration by Melanie Gandyra. Through the book are many of these paintings that while botanically accurate, are soften in a style reminiscent to me of fabric illustrations. The colors are especially vivid.
This book is fun! Best for stimulating your imagination rather than as a reference source. Perfect for flipping through on a warm summer afternoon.
Reviewed by: Brian Thompson on May 13, 2024
Published in Garden Notes: Northwest Horticultural Society, Summer 2024