Variegated Trees & Shrubs : The Illustrated Encyclopedia

Rating:
Summary: Not only definitive, but attractive with its large size
Review: Ronald Houtman is secretary of the Trials Committee of the Royal Boskoop Horticultural Society in the Netherlands. This encyclopedic work has more than 760 sharp color photos enabling the reader to distinguish the numerous kinds of variegated trees and shrubs, many of which have gained popularity with modern gardeners. More than 800 varieties are catalogued with special attention given to their correct names, which are often confused by greenhouses and other places selling types of them. Short sections on the hundreds of trees and shrubs also describe them to go along with the photographs and note favorable areas of growth and problems arising from planting in an improper place. An introductory chapter by W. M. van Nicrop, another member of Houtman's Dutch horticultural group, discusses "Using Variegated Plants in a Garden." Variegated Trees And Shrubs: The Illustrated Encyclopedia is not only definitive, but attractive with its large size, glossy pages, and hundreds of fine, useful color photographs. For many gardeners, landscape architects, botanists, and the like, this will be the only text they want or need in this area of plants.


Rating:
Summary: Not perfect, but a welcome addition to the literature.
Review: The legion of plant enthusiasts that prizes showy foliage -- especially that which is striped, splattered, spotted or stippled -- has swelled greatly in recent years. Collectors of such mutants are frequently frustrated, however, by the lack of consistency concerning nomenclature and the sparse literature that addresses these special plants. For this reason it is clear this book would be embraced by hobbyists and professionals even if it was rife with errors and omissions. Thankfully, the situation is not so dire. High quality pictures supplement the alphabetical cultivar descriptions. The author should be applauded for the research time invested in determining the origin and true identity of many of the plants he covers. The supplemental essays on topics such as the origin of variegation are also useful. Despite these positive attributes, the book nonetheless suffers from a sharp focus on European (and especially Dutch) cultivars to the exclusion of many American introductions. Even when U.S. plants are discussed, the information is sometimes incomplete. While such bias is perhaps understandable given the author's nationality and position, these gaps detract from the book's quality. The content is so unique, however, that these faults should not prevent potential buyers from adding this tome to their library.