The Annual Garden

Rating:
Summary: A beautiful and practical book for annual gardening.
Review: Bennett and Forsyth have written a wonderful book that combines the beautiful with the practical. Unlike many authors who rhapsodize about impossible to grow flowers, the authors are very specific about the ease or difficulty of each type of annual. They are very specific about germination practices and times, bloom times, and the pluses and minuses of each plant. I learned how to sucessfully grow annuals that I had tried to grow two or three times without results. For many, there were detailed instructions for how to geerminate from seed both indoors and outdoors, as well as instructions on which plants to deadhead, and how (a topic often unmentioned, greatly shortening bloom times). The photos are gorgeous, and the authors are particularly gifted at picking annuals that are a little unusual, easy to grow and long lasting (agrostemmas, for example). I strongly recommend it.