The Flower Gardener's Bible: Time-Tested Techniques, Creative Designs, and Perfect Plants for Colorful Gardens

Americans love flowers. We grow them with a passion and crave helpful advice on nurturing them in our gardens. A great, friendly, indispensable book, The Flower Gardener's Bible is written with wit and authority by Lewis and Nancy Hill, who share both their joy in growing flowers and more than seventy-five years of combined experience.

This new primer is both painstakingly thorough and stunningly photographed. It covers every facet of growing perennials, annuals, bulbs, wildflowers, small trees, vines, and shrubs for season-long color and beauty. It is organized in three sections, and the first focuses on the basics — choosing the right varieties for your zone and type of garden, and planning and planting for maximum impact. The second section presents plans for twenty-five distinctively themed gardens. And finally, a photographic encyclopedia of more than 400 species includes detailed descriptions of each plant — garden uses, susceptibility to pests and diseases, propagation methods, and more. The Flower Gardener's Bible is illustrated throughout with more than 500 full-color photographs that are joyously informal, and charming in their simplicity. Dozens of charts group plants by bloom time, height, color, affinity to shade, specific soil and sun needs, appeal to birds and butterflies, and more. The Flower Gardener's Bible takes every reader — at any level of interest and expertise — and offers the one thing guaranteed to increase his or her pleasure in flower gardening — knowledge.

"Comprehensive formulas for vegetable gardening work, as did the Hills' The Vegetable Gardener's Bible, but the flower garden is perhaps too broad a subject for similar treatment....While overall the result is sometimes uneven, the handsome color photographs will invite browsing and offer gardeners a good, homey foundation." Publishers Weekly

"Helpful appendixes of hardiness and heat zones, plant societies, and a glossary complete this effective and informative compilation." Carol Haggas, Booklist

A great, friendly, indispensable book, this handbook is written with wit and authority by the Hills. In the same format as the successful The Vegetable Gardener's Bible, this new primer is both painstakingly thorough and stunningly photographed.

This is the complete guide to flower gardening, from experts Lewis and Nancy Hill. They cover it all--from choosing your site and designing your garden to improving your soil, choosing and caring for your plants, and fighting pests and disease. Create the flower garden of your dreams with this comprehensive reference.

Lewis Hill has been a nurseryman for more than 55 years. He is the author of fifteen books (half written in collaboration with his wife, Nancy Hill) that total more than 600,000 copies in print. Lewis's Secrets of Plant Propagation was selected by American Horticultural Society as one of its choices for the "Seventy-Five Great Garden Books." The Hills live in Greensboro, Vermont, where Lewis's family has been living and farming for 200 years.

Award-winning photographer Joseph DeSciose has been the contributing photographer for publications and promotional materials for both the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the New York Botanical Garden, where he also lectures frequently. His work has appeared in books and numerous magazines, including the New York Times Magazine, Country Living Gardener, House and Garden, and Country Home.

Part 1: The Joy of Flower Gardening

Chapter 1: The Fascination of Flowers
It Takes All Kinds to Make a Garden * A Perfect Marriage

Chapter 2: Designing Your Flower Garden
Where Does Your Garden Grow? * The Site That Is Right * The Garden as a Neighborhood of Plants * A Garden for Bouquets * Using the Bulb Family * Designing with Color Coordination in Mind * Designing the Garden on Paper * Ornaments in the Garden * Illuminating Your Garden

Chapter 3: Nurturing Your Garden Soil
Evaluating Soil Texture * A Look at Soil Fertility * Sweet or Sour Soil?

Chapter 4: Planting Your Flower Garden
Putting In a New Garden * Transplanting Perennials, Shrubs, and Vines * Planting Bare-Root Plants * Getting Bulbs Off to a Good Start * Planting Annuals * Moving Plants * The Many Advantages of Mulch * Living on the Edge * Reviving an Old Perennial Bed

Chapter 5: Making More Plants
Starting Plants from Seeds * Hybridizing Basics * Layering * Divide and Conquer * Starting Plants from Cuttings * Grafting Techniques

Chapter 6: Coping with Garden Pests
Chemical Gardeners vs. Organic Gardeners * Insect Invaders * Animal Scoundrels * When Diseases Are the Problem * The Fine Art of Weed Control

Chapter 7: Caring for Your Garden
The Joy of Awakening * Planting and Transplanting * Early Summer Chores * Summer Care * Fall Chores * A Flower Gardener's Calendar

Part 2: A Gallery of Gardens
Down the Garden Path
A Fantastic Foundation Garden
Wildflower Extravaganza: Meadow and Woodland
A Rock Garden to Love
Don't Forget to Smell the Flowers
Great Gardening on a Hillside
Gardening in a Shady Nook
Successful Seashore Plantings
The Charm of a Cottage Garden
The Magic Spell of Water Gardening
The Multifaceted Herb Garden
Outdoor Gardening in Containers
A Deckside Garden
A Bed for Butterflies
A Five-Star Garden for Hummingbirds
A Garden for Plant Collectors
Create a Child's Garden
An Island of Flowers
True Blue, the Zenith of Gardens
A Take-It-Easy Garden
A Shrub Garden
Gardening with Groundcovers
The Romance of a Rose Garden

Part 3: A Feast of Flowers
An alphabetical listing of plants with species-by-species information on each plant's characteristics and how to care for it.