Book Description
Alfred Byrd Graf is probably the most widely traveled plant explorer of the world's tropics and subtropics. Horticulturist, botanist, and professional photographer, he has roamed the earth in the spirit of Von Humboll, Darwin, and David Fairchild earlier in the 19th and 20th centuries, in search of exotic botanicals to add to the enlarging horticulture of the world. Among the honors received by the author are the award of the large Gold Medal of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, the Certificate of Merit of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, the Distinguished Service Award of the Horticultural Society of New York, a Citation Award of the American Horticultural Society, and the Tercentenary Medalliou of the State of New Jersey. IN 1967 he was invested with the Sarah Champman Francis Medal of the Garden Club of America for outstanding literary achievement. In Pittsburgh, in 1972, Alfred Graf was elected to horticulture's hall of fame, the highest distinction given by the society of American Florists, and in 1978he was awarded the doctor of Science degree.
His most recent publications are TROPICA, Color-ama of Exotic Plants with 7000 photos incl. Plants indoors. Also Hortica (8100 photos), Color Cyclopedia of Garden Flora in all Climates showing Hardiness Zones.
He is the President and founder of Roehrs Company, Book division.
Customer Reviews:
tropica by alfred byrd graf.......2007-05-07
Beautifully done book with hugh number of plants with a color photos and descriptions
Tropica Color Cyclopedia of Exotic Plants and Trees.......2005-12-13
I own the 5th edition. I glanced through a few pages (after having spent hours on the Internet researching tropical plants for my personal tropical garden) and had to buy it right then and there! I did not want to chance not being able to find it again. It's the best! I can't foresee ever having to wonder what any other tropical plant looks like! I've found plants in this book that I could not identify on the web or through local nurseries. I was not able to put this book down for hours after it's purchase and continue to use it almost daily. Totally worth the $185 price! If I'd lost it on the way home from having just purchased it, I'd be right back trying to buy another!
TROPICA.......2003-04-26
This book is the ultimate,before software,computers and Wal-Mart salespersons... .a book of this magnitude was and is still the Bible of horticulture.Alfred Graf,travels the world to bring the reader an astounding volume of plants both rare and usual,not only color photos but origins as well,which happens to be the best indicator of how a plant will thrive.I've owned this book for over twenty years,even replacing it after it was stolen.What else can I say...oh yeah,...Chrisalidocarpus Lutescens.
Tropica no Nonsense!.......2002-03-13
I recently got the chance to look over a copy of this book , and although I didn't get a chance to read it extensively nor in depth, I got the feeling that this was and is, one book , that no plant loving individuals library, should be with out. It is with out a doubt , a must have if you can get your hands on a copy.
A reader from Colorado.......2000-06-27
This book is execellant for pictures. For information about growing and other details there is little.
Book Description
Here is the astonishing true story of Ruth Harkness, the Manhattan bohemian socialite who, against all but impossible odds, trekked to Tibet in 1936 to capture the most mysterious animal of the day: a bear that had for countless centuries lived in secret in the labyrinth of lonely cold mountains. In The Lady and the Panda, Vicki Constantine Croke gives us the remarkable account of Ruth Harkness and her extraordinary journey, and restores Harkness to her rightful place along with Sacajawea, Nellie Bly, and Amelia Earhart as one of the great woman adventurers of all time.
Ruth was the toast of 1930s New York, a dress designer newly married to a wealthy adventurer, Bill Harkness. Just weeks after their wedding, however, Bill decamped for China in hopes of becoming the first Westerner to capture a giant panda–an expedition on which many had embarked and failed miserably. Bill was also to fail in his quest, dying horribly alone in China and leaving his widow heartbroken and adrift. And so Ruth made the fateful decision to adopt her husband’s dream as her own and set off on the adventure of a lifetime.
It was not easy. Indeed, everything was against Ruth Harkness. In decadent Shanghai, the exclusive fraternity of white male explorers patronized her, scorned her, and joked about her softness, her lack of experience and money. But Ruth ignored them, organizing, outfitting, and leading a bare-bones campaign into the majestic but treacherous hinterlands where China borders Tibet. As her partner she chose Quentin Young, a twenty-two-year-old Chinese explorer as unconventional as she was, who would join her in a romance as torrid as it was taboo.
Traveling across some of the toughest terrain in the world–nearly impenetrable bamboo forests, slick and perilous mountain slopes, and boulder-strewn passages–the team raced against a traitorous rival, and was constantly threatened by hordes of bandits and hostile natives. The voyage took months to complete and cost Ruth everything she had. But when, almost miraculously, she returned from her journey with a baby panda named Su Lin in her arms, the story became an international sensation and made the front pages of newspapers around the world. No animal in history had gotten such attention. And Ruth Harkness became a hero.
Drawing extensively on American and Chinese sources, including diaries, scores of interviews, and previously unseen intimate letters from Ruth Harkness, Vicki Constantine Croke has fashioned a captivating and richly textured narrative about a woman ahead of her time. Part Myrna Loy, part Jane Goodall, by turns wisecracking and poetic, practical and spiritual, Ruth Harkness is a trailblazing figure. And her story makes for an unforgettable, deeply moving adventure.
From the Hardcover edition.
Amazon.com
There's nothing new about the temperate gardener's love of hot tropicals: the not-so-secretly sensual Victorians planted lavish, whimsically shaped beds full of palms, giant reeds, and angels' trumpets, many of which still survive. (Of course, manual laborers were easier to come by in the 19th century.) This book shows not only how to re-create this sort of tropical bed and border, but how to fake it on small city plots and patios with tropicals planted in sizeable containers. Author Richard Iversen, who has gardened professionally in Barbados as well as on Long Island, New York, says, "Popping a banana plant into the soil next to an azalea may look exotic, but it doesn't make an exotic garden." His emphasis on color, texture, and form turns this from a book on novelty gardening into a fine garden-design book.
If you crave a bed of exotic plants and are willing to do a bit of extra work, you can grow ficus and canna in Cleveland or Vancouver, but it is important to realize before taking on a tropical garden project that growing them is a year-round proposition, while enjoying them is a six-month pleasure; in colder climates, such as those colder than zones 7 or 8, many tropical and subtropical plants must winter over in a heated area such as a garage or greenhouse. Iversen is good at imparting this kind of careful detail, showing when to dig up tubers and how to store them, and including a picture demonstrating how early spring bulbs can share the garden with later-blooming tropicals. A glossary of 100 tropical plants at the book's end will get gardeners with a passion for the lush and dazzling off to a great start. --Barrie Trinkle
Book Description
The idea of mixing tropical plants with perennials and hardy annuals has been around since Victorian times. It is now enjoying a newfound popularity because tropical plants are more widely available. Gardeners who want to bring the lush beauty of tropicals to an existing garden, or who want to create an authentic vintage garden, will delight in The Exotic Garden. Although tropicals are novelties in temperate climates, they can successfully be grown anywhere. Iversen shows how tropicals can easily be used as annuals to perk up a garden with color during non-blooming seasons. The author's expert advice shows how to grow tropicals in beds, borders, and containers, select and combine plants, and use the tools of color, texture, and form. Plus, there are special overwintering tips and a full color glossary of more than 100 plants.
Customer Reviews:
Very informative.......2002-11-02
Dr. Iversen's book is full of wonderful ideas on using tender perennials and annuals for an exotic look in stunning combinations. In addition, there is a guide on how to care for and overwinter these plants.
as practical as it is beautiful.......2002-10-22
Gorgeously illustrated with color photographs and garden design plans, "The Exotic Garden" convincingly maintains that the luxurious foliage, texture and bloom of tropical plants will work in any garden, providing you can give the plants house room during winter.
There are separate chapters for designing tropical gardens, borders and beds, planting and caring for containers, and the care tropicals require. Many of Iversen's ideas combine tropicals with temperate-zone plants, and he uses color, leaf texture and height throughout for striking effects.
The last 30-plus pages offer a glossary of 100 tropical plants. Each entry includes a color photo, the plant's origin, decorative interest (foliage or flowers), culture characteristics, height, propagation (cutting or seed, season, time to maturity), horticultural use and overwintering needs. Iversen also provides mail-order sources.
An attractive book with ideas to fit anyone's garden.
Inspiring and educational.......2002-09-09
I had the pleasure of studying under Dr. Iverson at SUNY Farmingdale. This man knows his plant material and how to use it effectively in challenging landscapes and spaces. If you are a northern gardener looking for some new ideas instead of the same hum-drum gardens buy this book ! This man got me to learn the Latin for some 200 plants..trust me you will close the book and have learned something.
A MUST HAVE.......2001-10-25
This book is a must-have. I had Dr. Iversen as a professor at SUNY-Farmingdale and reading this book is like sitting in one of his classes or lectures. It is very clearly written and eloquent, and very informative, explaining everything from the culture and history of tropical plants, designing gardens, to the care and planting of tropicals, with beautiful photography. The SUNY-Farmingdale tropical garden is a beautiful site to see on campus. I have my own tropical container garden with my banana trees and angel trumpets by my back door at my apartment during the warm weather and inside my apartment in the cool weather. This book is excellent and should be on everyone's bookshelf.
Great photography, modestly informative.......2001-09-06
The has two main sections. The first section is about garden design and plant care, about 119 pages. It contains 11 pages on tropical environments and habitats. 22 pages on color, form, and texture. 48 pages on tropical borders and beds. 20 pages on containers. 18 pages on growing and propagation.
The second section is 33 pages. It contains an encyclopedia of 96 tropical, or exotic looking, plants. Each plant is described by common name, scientific name, country of origin, growing conditions, propagation tip, overwintering instructions, and a 2 inch photograph of the plant.
The book also contains 2 pages of common names indexed to family names, 4 page topic index, over 130 large full color photographs and dozens of drawings.
The first section about garden design and plant care is good, but not great. Much is the same old information that you can read in most every garden book. Nothing special.
Photography is awesome. Images cover a great variety of plants, design concepts, and unusual situations. Very interesting and informative captions follow each photograph.
The second section which is the tropical plant encyclopedia is great. Information is interesting and content is meaningful. Great layout of information with a photograph of each plant. Too bad this isn't the major concentration of the book - because this section is awesome!
Overall the book is a good general guide to designing with tropical plants. There are sections of great content, but they do not fill the book. Solid information for beginners, although nothing that could not be found in other texts.
Average customer rating:
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The New Exotic Garden
Will Giles
Manufacturer: Mitchell Beazley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Decorative Arts
| Design & Decorative Arts
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Garden Design
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Landscape
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
By Plant
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
| Begonias
| Berries
| Bonsai
| Cacti
| Citrus Trees
| Clematis
| Dahlias
| Ferns
| Grapes
| Grasses
| Greens
| Hostas
| Hydrangeas
| Irises
| Lavender
| Lilacs
| Lilies
| Magnolias
| Orchids
| Palm Trees
| Peppers & Chiles
| Roses
| Tomatoes
| Tulips
Temperate
| By Climate
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Tropical
| By Climate
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Decorating
| Interior Design
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Landscaping With Tropical Plants (Sunset Series)
-
The Exotic Garden: Designing with tropical plants in almost any climate
-
The Subtropical Garden
-
Tropicals
-
Paradise Found: Growing Tropicals in Your Own Backyard
ASIN: 1840006927 |
Book Description
Celebrate a new, adventurous style of gardening—one where vibrant colors, large and lush leaves, and dramatic shapes hint at tropical climes. Will Giles proves that both subtropical and Mediterranean-style plants can be grown as easily in temperate as in hot climates. In addition to individual chapters on the different styles of plants, a practical guide offers step-by-step instructions on growing a range of exotics, plus a directory of key plants to grow in your own garden.
Customer Reviews:
Lee's 'review'........2000-05-09
A very colourful book,quite similar to Richard Iversen's 'The Exotic Garden',except it's British.Ideal for the novice into exotic gardening,but doesn't really give any advanced info for established exoctists.I don't agree with what Will says about certain plants and their requirments,like eg.Cordyline australis needs to be brought indoors in winter for protection.It's a hardy plant in most of the UK(95%).I wish he would tell us more about growing cold hardy cacti and succulents outdoors all year round as he lives in a 'semi-arid' region of Britain.
Customer Reviews:
introduction to a hidden problem.......2002-03-21
I will go a long way in agreeing with the other reviewers. This is a simple, accessible book, that gives a lot of practical information on a problem that is worse than I thought and certainly deserves attention.
However, some minor quibles with the other reviews: this is a modest book with photographs that are only modest in size. It falls short of being an attractive book for browsing (a coffee-table book) as well as short of being a field guide (used to ID plants). Also it showcases only a modest selection of plants
Nevertheless: a useful introduction to plants invading the US.
This book is a great tool........1999-10-05
I got this book for my school's Enivornmental Club (Hartford Union High School; Hartford, WI) and used it a bunch of times to determine which plants are "good" and which plants are "bad". Our group was hired to remove Purple Loosestrife from the marsh of a nearby lake. This book was an important tool in our removal project of this noxious plant. It showed us different ways of removing this plant and showed us the pros and cons of using different chemicals. This book is a great tool for anyone interested in the outdoors and the protection of it.
Concerned about weeds in the natural environment? stop here.......1997-07-11
I work for the Department of Conservation in New Zealand. This book is refreshingly simple. Excellent pictures of around 50 species of invasive plants. The text explains weed environmental impacts, origins and distribution within the USA, and how to control the problem.
It is designed to be understood by all, layman and professional alike. It probably has wider application than the authors intended, although the title hints at their broad understanding of environmental weeds as an international problem. They knew we are needing simple on the ground solutions for identification and control of these species that threaten natural ecosystems everywhere.
It is applicable in New Zealand with many of the species being recognised as a problem here and in Australia. The other plants in this book may well become a problem here in future and I will be looking out for them here as I go about my business. The section on control methods was balanced covering both mechanical and chemical methods. As we say down under "Good on you" to the authors
Average customer rating:
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Big Leaves for Exotic Effect
Stephen Griffith
Manufacturer: Guild of Master Craftsman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Garden Design
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
By Plant
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
| Begonias
| Berries
| Bonsai
| Cacti
| Citrus Trees
| Clematis
| Dahlias
| Ferns
| Grapes
| Grasses
| Greens
| Hostas
| Hydrangeas
| Irises
| Lavender
| Lilacs
| Lilies
| Magnolias
| Orchids
| Palm Trees
| Peppers & Chiles
| Roses
| Tomatoes
| Tulips
ASIN: 1861082622 |
Book Description
Even in a cool climate, the beautiful big-leaved plants showcased in this gardener’s guide can transform a backyard into a tropical paradise. Through exquisite and detailed color photos and in-depth information, you’ll see how to choose these plants and successfully care for and cultivate them. An extensive A-to-Z directory provides a unique photographic record of large-leaved varieties and a quick reference to their optimum growing conditions—a valuable aid to formulating planting schemes and designing a garden. Each entry includes images, the family and common name, country of origin, growth requirements, and climate zone. Bananas, bulbs, and tubers, climbers, ferns and tree ferns, grasses, bamboos, palms, perennials, ground cover, trees, shrubs, water plants, and marginals are among the lush and lovely plants covered.
Average customer rating:
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Bonsai: Exotico y Fascinante / Exotic and Fascinating (Manuales Jardin En Casa / Manual Garden at Home)
Jochen Pfisterer
Manufacturer: Hispano Europea Editorial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Topiary
| Techniques
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Spanish
| Foreign Language Nonfiction
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Jardinería y Horticultura
| Hogar y jardinería
| Libros en español
| Formats
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Técnicas
| Jardinería y Horticultura
| Hogar y jardinería
| Libros en español
| Formats
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No-Ficción
| Libros en español
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| Automotriz
| Ciencias Sociales
| Crimen y Criminales
| Educación
| Estudios de la Mujer
| Feriados
| Filosofía
| Gobierno
| Hechos Verídicos
| Planeamiento Urbano y Desarrollo
| Política
| Sucesos de Actualidad
| Transportación
ASIN: 8425516196 |
Product Description
Edited and Updated by Klaus Woltmann
Product Description
Cross stitch designs for the following tropical birds: toco toucan, scarlet macaw, blue and gold macaw, leadbeater's cockatoo, citron crested cockatoo, chestnut mandible toucan.
Book Description
A landmark book for parents on why, when, and how to prepare children for going to school and how to support them in the critical early school years. This book is based on the Ramsey's twenty years of research, including their just-completed National Transition-to-School Demonstration Project, which involved over 8,000 children from kindergarten through third grade.
Customer Reviews:
Treat Yourself.......2000-11-16
This is a wonderful book filled with important information, ideas and suggestions backed up by the kind of thorough, careful research for which Sharon and Craig Ramey are well-known and respected. It's also clearly written and enjoyable. I truly believe that parents owe it to their young kids (and themselves!) to read this insightful, practical guide.
Great book!.......2000-11-07
A friend gave this book to my daughter who has three children. She liked it so much, she gave it to me to read. Although we no longer have young children, I was so impressed by the book and the practical information it provided. Its divisions are very clear, and it offers easy to follow tips and suggestions.
A Real Gem.......2000-10-26
This is a terrific book that's filled with practical information. I really appreciated the Rameys' approach of using research findings to show what matters and what doesn't in preparing my daughter for kindergarten. The chapter on "Ten Hallmarks of Children Who Succeed in School" was a gem, explaining what I can do to give my daughter a real edge in her education. This is a no-nonsense book with loads of useful advice.
Ideas and advice for raising children.......2000-10-25
This book by the Ramey's is actually third in a series of books about raising children, from infants through school age. The book is very clearly written and provides many good ideas for helping parents to relate well to their children as well as helping children adjust to changes in their lives, such as starting school. The authors provide research examples to verify the things that they recommend and my husband and I have found all three books to be very helpful and fun to read.
Save your money!.......2000-01-06
This book is a reiteration of what parents already know (At least parents concerned about their children's education enough to buy books.) It gives ridiculous examples of appropriate parenting versus non appropriate parenting. For example, your 6 year old loses a tooth and is embarrassed/scared that other children will make fun of him, he begs to stay home from school. This book tells you not to say, "Well, if you think the other children will laugh and make fun of you, I'll do it now so you'll get used to it!" (yes this is a direct quote from the book!) Makes you wonder who these authors target audience was. How many of us would react that way? Do we really NEED to be told not to treat our children like that? Other advice includes making your children wear seat belts, having them get enough sleep before school, and making sure they eat well at home (Creative advice, huh?) . The book is loaded with "advice" just like that. The only amazing thing about this book is that it won a parenting choice award. Save your money!
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Hortica: Color Cyclopedia of Garden Flora and Indoor Plants
Tropical Flowering Plants: A Guide to Identification and Cultivation
Plants for Tropical Landscapes: A Gardener's Guide
An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms
Tropical Ornamentals : A Guide
