The Gardener's Guide to Growing Irises (Gardener's Guide to Growing Series)

Rating:
Summary: Good reading for Iris lovers
Review: "The Gardener's Guide to Growing Irises" by Geoff Stebbings is more readable and less usable than many of the gardening books I own. It is a wonderful book to curl up with in the winter when your garden is covered with snow. The pictures are beautiful and in color, although I wish there were more of them (I think I've been spoiled by the photos in the Iris catalogues that show up in my mailbox every Spring). The author has definite opinions as to which varieties work best in the garden. In his chapter on "The Value of Iris in the Garden" he states the following:

"Perhaps it is because the bearded iris show such variety that many gardeners do not look elsewhere in the genus for garden plants. This is a mistake, however, because although the deep, blackcurrent purple of 'Superstition' may have a velvety sheen, a ruffling and size that are hard to match, the deep purple of forms of 'I. Chrysographes' are augmented by bright golden markings on a flower of refinement and poise that makes the other look clumsy and almost grotesque."

The tall, bearded Iris also gets short shrift in the popular "The Well-Tended Perennial Garden" by Tracy DiSabato-Aust, but I would venture to say that theirs is the minority opinion among gardeners. Most of us love the bearded irises for their gorgeous colors and perfumes, and in spite of their short season of bloom. This book's longest chapter is on the Tall Bearded Iris, so it can't be said that the author neglects them. There are also chapters on the Siberian Iris, the Pacific Coast Iris, the Water Iris, the Spuria Iris, the Stinking Iris, the Dwarf Bulbous Iris, and "Iris for the Specialist".

As interesting as this book is to read, it is not really organized to help you locate a quick paragraph on what to do about the Iris borer grub that you just discovered in your 'Beverly Sills' rhizome. In fact 'iris borer' isn't even listed in the index. If you flip to the lone page on 'pests', you won't find them there, either-just a few miscellaneous paragraphs on aphids and wet rot.

Buy "The Gardener's Guide to Growing Irises" if you love irises and would like to learn more about them. However, you might want to look elsewhere for a straightforward guide to growing and caring for these lovely flowers.

Rating:
Summary: From an Iris gardener in the US
Review: "The Gardener's Guide to Growing Irises" by Geoff Stebbings is more readable and less usable than many of the gardening books I own. It is a wonderful book to curl up with in the winter when your garden is covered with snow. The pictures are beautiful and in color, although I wish there were more of them (I think I've been spoiled by the photos in the Iris catalogues that show up in my mailbox every Spring). The author has definite opinions as to which varieties work best in the garden. In his chapter on "The Value of Iris in the Garden" he states the following:

"Perhaps it is because the bearded iris show such variety that many gardeners do not look elsewhere in the genus for garden plants. This is a mistake, however, because although the deep, blackcurrent purple of 'Superstition' may have a velvety sheen, a ruffling and size that are hard to match, the deep purple of forms of 'I. Chrysographes' are augmented by bright golden markings on a flower of refinement and poise that makes the other look clumsy and almost grotesque."

The tall, bearded Iris also gets short shrift in the popular "The Well-Tended Perennial Garden" by Tracy DiSabato-Aust, but I would venture to say that theirs is the minority opinion among gardeners. Most of us love the bearded irises for their gorgeous colors and perfumes, and in spite of their short season of bloom. This book's longest chapter is on the Tall Bearded Iris, so it can't be said that the author neglects them. There are also chapters on the Siberian Iris, the Pacific Coast Iris, the Water Iris, the Spuria Iris, the Stinking Iris, the Dwarf Bulbous Iris, and "Iris for the Specialist".

As interesting as this book is to read, it is not really organized to help you locate a quick paragraph on what to do about the Iris borer grub that you just discovered in your 'Beverly Sills' rhizome. In fact 'iris borer' isn't even listed in the index. If you flip to the lone page on 'pests', you won't find them there, either-just a few miscellaneous paragraphs on aphids and wet rot.

Buy "The Gardener's Guide to Growing Irises" if you love irises and would like to learn more about them. However, you might want to look elsewhere for a straightforward guide to growing and caring for these lovely flowers.

Rating:
Summary: From an Iris gardener in the US
Review: For a person who needed information on growing Irises outside England and the Pacific Northwest, this would be not be the best first purchase. I can't judge how well it would describe cultural best practice in England but with Irises climate is extremly important. What works in one climate will not work in another, Iris Borer, for example, only lives in North America but it is a terrible pest there. It would make lovely winter reading for most of us because of the artistic photographs and excellent botany of the various Iris species. However don't expect to be able to buy many of the varities shown, the English have their own set of Iris varities and only rarely import the American ones.

Rating:
Summary: A professional-quality botanical guide
Review: Written by Geoff Stebbings (the establisher of the National Collection of Award-winning Irises), The Gardener's Guide To Growing Irises is a professional-quality botanical guide profusely illustrated with full-color photographs, and suitable for flower gardens of all caliber and experience levels. Extensively detailed information concerning a wide variety of irises makes The Gardener's Guide To Growing Irises an eminently suitable and "user friendly" reference, from choosing the right strain of iris, to properly caring for and presenting it. The Gardener's Guide To Growing Irises is an essential and strongly commended addition to any dedicated personal or professional gardening collection, as well as an academic Horticultural Studies reference library.