Growing Conifers: The Complete Illustrated Gardening and Landscaping Guide

Description

Evergreen your landscape with the beauty and benefits of conifers Growing Conifers is a beautifully photographed, comprehensive gardening guide for selecting and cultivating conifers. Coverage includes: Conifer taxonomy, classification, and geographic distribution Selecting conifers for size, shape, color, and texture Best practices for placement and planting of trees, shrubs, and groundcovers in urban and rural gardens Growing needs and low-input maintenance Building healthy soil, minimizing water stress, and integrated pest management Benefits of conifers including habitat, water and air quality, carbon sequestration, aesthetics, and food. Conifers are often overlooked in gardening and landscaping in favor of deciduous trees and shrubs. Yet conifers come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and colors and offer tremendous aesthetic and ecological benefits for any garden. Growing Conifers is an essential, comprehensive resource for gardeners and landscape professionals looking to develop beautiful, sustainable landscapes.

John J. Albers has over 30 years of experience growing and caring for conifers in a variety of garden situations. He is an educator for the Washington State Nursery and Landscape Association (WSNLA), an ecoPRO-certified sustainable landscape professional, and a former Washington State University / Kitsap County Master Gardener. He created Albers Vista Gardens, a 4-acre property containing 1,200 different species and cultivars, including 500 different conifers representing 130 different conifer species. John is author of The Northwest Garden Manifesto and a frequent presenter to garden clubs, master gardeners, members of the nursery and landscape industry, and the general public. He lives in Bremerton, Washington. David E. Perry is a professional photographer who has photographed for books, including The Northwest Garden Manifesto, magazines, Fortune 500 corporate annual reports, and national ad campaigns for more than 35 years. He lives in Seattle, Washington.

"This is a wonderful, fantastic, encyclopedic book, worth owning for the information presented alone. Oh, but Albers writes like a poet and OMG, Perry's are not photos, but stunning photography! What an unusual and extremely winning combo." - Jeff Lowenfels, author, DIY Autoflowering Cannabis "In a world often devoid of beauty and landscapes lacking imagination, tools to correct the drab status-quo are always enthusiastically welcome. David's photography is artistry to the point of motivation and John's prose, based on decades of experience, is much more than sufficient to guide the home gardener to success, both in terms of plant selection and plant husbandry. Growing Conifers is a welcome addition to the bookshelf of any plant enthusiast and a must-add to the arsenal of those specializing in these captivating and collectable cone-bearing plants." -David Olszyk, president, American Conifer Society "Growing Conifers contains an unbelievable amount of information for the reader. John goes into all parts of cultivation about conifers and their use in the landscape. It is an invaluable resource for the novice while also containing a wealth of information for the expert. It cannot go into detail on any one topic, yet it provides a firm foundation for anyone wanting to explore any one aspect of the conifer world in greater depth. It should be a part of the library of anyone working with conifers." - Robert Fincham, co-founder, the American Conifer Society, author of five books on growing conifers "Growing Conifers is a work of love for the subject matter, reflecting a lifetime of devotion and a deep appreciation for the role of evergreens in our natural world. I am tempted to say that it's all here - that you will never need another book on this subject. It answers all questions including many that the reader would not think to ask. You owe it to yourself to wade into Growing Conifers with purpose and with time on your hands. It is thorough and passionately written and gorgeously illustrated. I will read it again and again and make it a centerpiece of my modern gardening library. I will turn the pages, slowly, in search of inspiration for my own garden. Like the best cup of coffee or finest wine you have ever tasted, Growing Conifers is not to be rushed. That would be a waste of a most incredible book." - Mark Cullen, garden columnist, Toronto Star, member, Order of Canada, author, The New Canadian Garden "Growing Conifers is a jewel of a book." - Brent Marcus, owner, Conifer Kingdom "This might be the most practical and handy book I've ever read on gardening with conifers." - Benjamin Vogt, prairie-inspired garden design, author, A New Garden Ethic