Synopses & Reviews
Richly enshrouded in legend and superstition, valued for a wide variety of uses and prized by gardeners, hollies have always been part of our lives and gardens. Now they are enjoying a peak of popularity as gardeners wake up to their huge diversity of form, foliage and fruit, marvel at their adaptability, and appreciate the wide variety of situations in which they can be used. There is a holly for every temperate region of the world, and Christopher Bailes celebrates American, European, Chinese and Japanese hollies in equal measure, providing detailed planting advice and illustrating his account with vivid photographs. This account will inspire gardeners everywhere to discover how hollies, old and new, can enhance our gardens and landscapes.
Synopsis
Richly enshrouded in legend and superstition, hollies are enjoying a peak of popularity as gardeners awaken to their huge versatility of form, foliage and fruit. There is a holly for every temperate region of the world, and Christopher Bailes celebrates American, European, Chinese and Japanese hollies in equal measure, providing detailed planting advice and illustrating his account with vivid photographs.
About the Author
Christopher Bailes is Curator of the Royal Horticultural Society's garden at Rosemoor. He has been based at Rosemoor, which holds one of the two British NCCPG national collections of Ilex, since 1988; for six years he also managed the RHS garden at Hyde Hall. For a long time his specialist subject was orchids: he wrote numerous papers and three books on the subject and was editor of The Orchid Review for four years. His present area of expertise is wide-ranging, covering ornamentals of all kinds, including perennials, woodland gardening, structural planting and Southern Hemisphere plants.