Synopses & Reviews
With Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs and Dirr's Trees and Shrubs for Warm Climates, Michael Dirr set the gold standard for horticultural reference. This season, Timber Press is proud to publish his seminal work, Dirr's Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs, the most comprehensive visual reference on this important subject. A combination of Dirr's bestselling books under one cover, adding new plants, new photographs, plus all new commentary in Dirr's signature style, it is the bible of woody plants.
From majestic evergreens to delicate vines and flowering shrubs, Dirr features thousands of plants and all the essential details for identification, planting, and care, plus full-color photographs showing a tree's habit in winter, distinctive bark patterns, fall color, and more. In a class by itself for its quality of information, the best researched recommendations for hardiness in the industry, beautiful photography, and Dirr's own preeminence as a master plantsman, Dirr's Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs is a critical addition to any garden library.
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“Seasoned gardeners, landscape professionals including nursery and garden center personnel, designers, architects and enthusiastic beginners need look no further.” P Allen Smith
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“His book Manual of Woody Landscape Plants has been a go to reference around the office years so we're excited about his latest book.” GreenProfit Buzz
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“A new gold-standard.… [R]efreshingly readable and personable for a reference manual. This book will be your personal Dr. Dirr ready and willing to advise you and your customers on the right plant for the right purpose.” Ellen Wells - OC Register
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“If you're the type of gardener who likes to settle in with big, fat reads over the winter, Dirr's 8-pound (I weighed it) "Encyclopedia of Trees & Shrubs" (Timber Press) could keep you occupied until April.” Cindy McNatt - EricaGlasener.com
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“…[H]e grows or has grown many of the plants he writes about. Fortunately for the rest of us, his passion for plants continues and this book is bound to gain him even more fans.” Erica Glasener - GardenRant
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“Professor Michael A. Dirr is THE MAN when it comes to woody plants. And I agree –‘smart, opinionated, comprehensive, wonderful’ - all true!” Erica Glasener - EricaGlasener.com
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“A gorgeous updated version of the classic. Do you need it? Yes!” Susan Harris - GardenRant
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“Excellent and thorough coverage… I would recommend this book to any gardener seeking a definitive book on woody landscape plants for North America.” Jessie Keith - Nursery Management Magazine
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“Michael A. Dirr does not disappoint." Jessie Keith - Working Mom's Garden Blog
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“Dirr has guided discerning gardeners for decades -- he has made the American landscape a better place.” Margaret Roach - AWayToGarden.com
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“The man we have all relied on for decades outdoes even himself in sussing out the woody-plant picture today.” Adrian Higgins - The Washington Post
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“Dirr has added another well-written and slickly produced book to his volumes on plants used in ornamental horticulture. Educational as well as inspirational…this is likely to become a standard reference for including trees and shrubs in gardens of all types.” Jane Berger - Better Homes and Gardens
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“Long regarded as the nations foremost expert on trees and shrubs, Dr. Dirr… draws on his encyclopedic knowledge and years of personal experience with trees and shrubs.” James B. Calkins - GeorgeWeigel.net
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“For obsessed plant geeks, this 8-pound tome gives renowned Prof. Michael Dirrs rundown on just about every woody plant youd ever want to grow (and lots you wouldnt.) Its got color photos, too.” Catriona Tudor Erler - Garden Design Online
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“Whether you're a landscape designer or architect or just a garden enthusiast, you can't do without either of these (Dirrs Encyclopedia of Trees & Shrubs and the Manual of Woody Landscape Plants) books. The new Dirr Encyclopedia is a sheer delight, and way too long in coming!” Linda Scarth - Booklist
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“This is likely to become a standard reference for including trees and shrubs in gardens of all types. Highly recommended.” Barbara Mahany - Cuttings
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"More like an arboreal expose than an encyclopedia, everyone who has something woody in their life needs to own a copy of this book…Dirrs Hardy Trees and Shrubs helps us separate the dynamos from the dregs" The American Gardener
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“Dirrs frank and often witty assessments make his works all the more special, unique, and fun to read.” The Oregonian
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The world of trees and shrubs is dealt with as thoroughly as anyone has done it before. James B. Calkins - The American Gardener
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"This is an important and valuable book, truly Michael Dirr's magnum opus, and well worth the price." Booklist
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"Dirr... fills the text with fascinating information for the gardener, landscape architect, and all those curious about the trees and shrubs they may encounter." Tri-Valley Herald
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"Everything you will ever need or want to know about the...beauties in your own yard...is here." Linda Scarth - Booklist
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"For any serious gardener, the expense of this book will be repaid many times over in the valuable advice and information it will impart, page by page and pound by pound.”
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“Professor Michael A. Dirr is THE MAN when it comes to woody plants. And I agree -‘smart, opinionated, comprehensive, wonderful - all true!” Susan Harris - Upstate Gardeners - ' - Journal
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“A gorgeous updated version of the classic. Do you need it? Yes!” Jane Millman - Working Mom - ' - s Garden Blog
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“Michael A. Dirr does not disappoint." Adrian Higgins - The Washington Post
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“The man we have all relied on for decades outdoes even himself in sussing out the woody-plant picture today.” George Weigel - Booklist
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The world of trees and shrubs is dealt with as thoroughly as anyone has done it before. Smith Mountain Laker Magazine
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"Everything you will ever need or want to know about the...beauties in your own yard...is here." Country Gardens
Synopsis
3500 photographs. Over 380 genera. More than 3700 species and cultivars.
Dirr's Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs is the most comprehensive visual reference to more than 3700 species and cultivars. From majestic evergreens to delicate vines and flowering shrubs, Dirr features thousands of plants and all the essential details for identification, planting, and care. Color photographs show each tree's habit in winter, distinctive bark patterns, fall color, and more. Dirr's Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs is a critical addition to any garden library.
About the Author
Michael A. Dirr is a professor of horticulture at the University of Georgia. He is the author of twelve books, including Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs: An Illustrated Encyclopedia and the text and reference book, Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, and has published more than 300 scientific and popular papers and articles. His teaching, lectures, seminars, garden study tours, and plant introduction programs have contributed enormously to greater horticultural awareness. He has received the highest teaching and gardening awards from the University of Georgia, American Society of Horticultural Science, American Horticultural Society, American Nursery and Landscape Association, Massachusetts Horticultural Society, Southern Nursery Association, and Garden Club of America.