[.uk] The Exotic Garden: Designing with tropical plants in ... (ISBN 1561582328)

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.

Great photography, modestly informative:
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.

as practical as it is beautiful:
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.

A MUST HAVE:
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.

Inspiring and educational:
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.

Very informative:
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.