[.uk] Continuous Color: A Month-by-Month Guide to Shrubs and ... (ISBN 1883052386)

Book Description:
A guide to using more than flowers to make a beautiful garden, this book discusses the small trees and shrubs that make up much of the structure for contemporary gardens. Trees and shrubs are arranged according to months of interest with many of the trees' characteristics described through multiple seasons-flowers in spring, foliage in summer, foliage and fruit in fall, and bark in winter. Gardeners can find the information they need quickly, and each of the 272 entries include beautiful photographs showing the plant characteristics in a natural setting. Specific gardening information is listed for each tree-the plant type, zone grown in, fruit or flower, habit or foliage, height, width, spacing, light, soil, care, uses in the garden, problems, insider's tips, and complimentary plants. Deciduous, evergreen, and broadleaf evergreen trees and shrubs are all profiled.

Continuous Color-- A Continuous Hit!:
When Continuous Bloom was released a couple of years ago, my gardening friends and I thought we'd died and gone to heaven. It was the first book ever to speak to the Midwestern perennial garndener, and to do so with such beautiful pictures and in a way we could understand, and actually take to the garden store and into our gardens with us. I never thought Pam Duthie would top Bloom,until I read her newest book, Continuous Color. It's the perfect complement to her first book, with pictures as beautiful building on the great design ideas laid out in "Color". Like "Bloom", "Color" gives the gardner many practical ideas for implementing beautiful shrubs into any landscape. I believe this book is a must have for any gardener, new or experienced.

Spiral Edition: Laminated Pages for Use in the Garden:
I must be honest and tell you that I'm the editor of this book, so my rating is potentially biased. But I did want to let everyone know that the spiral edition of Continuous Color has laminated pages and cover, making it incredibly water and dirt resistant. It's ideal for taking out to the garden. Sure, it costs a little more than the hardcover edition (which is not laminated), but it's very practical for the hands-on gardener, and is very popular with attendees of the author's seminars.

Overpriced and Uninformative:
I was very disappointed with this book. It is primarily a list of the author's favorite shrubs organized by month of best color. The quality of the pictures is uneven: some are good but others are too shadowed, or the plant blends into the background, or the shrub described is so hidden by other plants its features can't be seen. The plant descriptions and growing information are both pretty basic, the details easily gleaned from catalogs. The "Insider's Tips" are sometimes informative but way, way too short - if the author is an expert with these shrubs she should share more of that expertise here. The listing of 2 or 3 plants in each of the "Combines With" sections is valuable however, but overall this book is overpriced and uninformative.

FANTASTIC!!! Great author!:
I love Pam Duthie's books! She really does a wonderful job in presenting the various plants. The back of the book also has great plant info to help design unique gardens with tons of useful plant info. Great design category for color, wet, dry conditions....it's really the best book I've ever seen. Tanya

Great Reference Book:
A friend recommended this book. This is absolutely the best garden book I have obtained to date. It is very explanatory, easy to read, and just overall informative. I'd recommend it to everyone!!