Taylor’s Gardening Guides

By Delores Barber, KCMGA

There are more than 20 Taylor’s Gardening Guides with titles such as Taylor’s Guide to Shrubs, Taylor’s Guide to Ground Covers, Vines & Grasses and Taylor’s Guide to Perennials to name just a few.  All of these publications provide accurate and useful reference material on the topic of the publication.  Some of these books have recently been updated or rewritten to reflect changes in gardening trends.  An example of this can be seen in the book on annuals, which has been rewritten to include container gardening.

The format of these guides includes basic botany, a color key, a visual key, a color plate with a description of the plant, and information on genus and species.  There is a section on pests and disease, a glossary and a list of sources for the material included in the book.  The index lists plants by botanical as well as common names and the color plates and descriptive material is arranged alphabetically by botanical names.

The color photos are very clear and show the true color of the plant, which is very important when looking for blooming material.  These can also be used as a source of identificaiton for plants you may have but could not identify.  The descriptive material includes a general description of the plant genus, directions on how to grow and information on species within a plant family.

All of these books contain information particular to the type of plant material discussed.  For example Taylor’s Guide to Bulbs has a seciton on how to propagate the different types of bulbous plants (true bulbs, corms and tuberous roots).  The book covering ground covers, vines and grasses has a section on lawn care and a chart that includes hardiness zone, growth rate and other pertinent information.  Taylor’s Guide to Gardening Techniques has been described as tthe “missing link” in the series.  This book explains and describes techniques needed to grow healthy and beautiful plants in the home landscape.  It includes 200 drawings and 100 color photographs, a frost date and hardiness map.

Taylor’s Guide to Growing North America’s Favorite Plants, which was published in April 2000, is designed to answer the questins of how to grow the most popular garden plants, including palnting, dividing, when and how to feritlize and the best varieties to buy.

All of these guides are reference books that would be helpful to any gardener, regardless of their level of knowledge.  They are filled with clear and concise information that is easily found an dnecessary to grow beautiful and healthy plants.

Guides are priced from $20-$35 and are available at book stores and garden centers.