What makes a garden perfect? The answer is simple: plants that are not only beautiful in form, charming in color, delightful in fragrance, and vigorous by nature, but are also in harmony with your own garden's conditions. These 200 of the very best plants available pass all those tests and more, giving superior garden value over much of the year, without needing excessive attention. (If one variety needs staking, for example, and one does not, the one with stronger stems is selected.) Organized into chapters devoted to ideal growing conditions, each plant is accompanied by a glorious full-color photograph, a botanical drawing, and text that is at the same time practical and inspirational. Like the works of Vita Sackville-West, Gertrude Jekyll, and other classic garden writers whose quotations pepper the text, this exceptionally well written volume is that rarity, an extremely useful gardening book that is also a pleasure to read. A Selection of the Garden Book Club. Read Less