Gardening books

Tropical Plants


 

Books of TopTropicals series (Tropical Gardener library)
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ORO VERDE by Sadhu Govardhan - is a thought-provoking publication that convincingly explains why locally grown and processed food is better for your health, our small-scale farmers, the environment
and the local economy.

Book cover designed by TopTropicals.com (Marina Rybka)

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Fruit & Nuts
A Comprehensive Guide to the Cultivation, Uses and Health Benefits of Over 300 Food-producing Plants
By Susanna Lyle

An informative and comprehensive guide to growing and using more than 200 species of fruits and nuts, this A–Z reference will inspire gardeners to grow and use a wider variety of edible plants. Each entry includes a brief history, detailed description, and authoritative information on propagation, as well as helpful advice about harvesting times and methods, cultivation and location needs, pruning, pests and diseases, nutrition and health benefits, and medicinal uses. An extensive, annotated list of cultivars will help gardeners and growers select the most appropriate plants for their location and needs. Suitable for home gardeners, horticulture professionals, orchardists, and nutritionists.

About Susanna Lyle
Susanna Lyle has over 25 years of practical and academic experience with plant and soil studies. She has taught horticulture, plant science, and garden design, and has edited many scientific and educational books and journals. Born in England, she earned her doctorate with a focus on wetland plants from Exeter University and spent several years doing horticultural and ornamental work, from laboring to planning and designing gardens and woodlands. Now a full-time author, she continues doing horticultural research in her new homeland, New Zealand. The unique New Zealand climate has allowed her to experiment with the unusual temperate and subtropical species of fruit and nuts that have become her area of focus. In particular, she has become fascinated with the many health benefits of these unusual plants.

 

An Illustrated Reference to Garden Plants of the World:
Over 4,250 of the World's Most Popular Plants
by Don Ellison

With over 4,250 internationally grown trees, shrubs, and climbers listed-every one shown in close-up photographs and alphabetized for quick and easy visual identification--this pictorial dictionary is the most exceptional guide to cultivated plants ever. Rather than providing lengthy and confusing botanical descriptions, the entries get right to the point with information on the country of origin, climatic preference, planting use, and propagation methods. Under each genus, its most relevant species appear, with their common name or names, typical characteristics, and growth habits. The thousands of examples represent all types-tropical, sub-tropical, temperate, mild, cold, desert, and wetland. Home gardeners will find this an excellent way to acquaint themselves with, or enlarge their knowledge of, the wide and amazing range of available flora; nursery owners will gratefully reach for it when helping customers; and it's a must for landscapers, botanical societies, or anyone who simply appreciates the beauty of plants.

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Hortus Third : A Concise Dictionary of Plants Cultivated in the United States and Canada
by Bailey Hortorium (Author)

Book Description
Hortus Third The one essential authoritative reference work to the plants of North American horticulture
1,312 pages
23,979 entries with description for families, genera, and species
10,326 cross-indexed synonyms
A large but uncounted number of entries for subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars
Notes on use, culture, and propagation
187 general articles
260 illustrations
3,293 authors of botanical names cited
1,105 glossary definitions of botanical terms
10,408 common names

From Library Journal: Still recognized as one of the foremost plant encyclopedias, Hortus Third consists primarily of alphabetically arranged botanical (Latin) plant names along with physical descriptions. It also has an excellent common name index and glossary. (Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.)

From TopTropicals: We suggest you buy used book from Amazon.

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Tropical Plants for Home and Garden
by William Warren

The author and photographer of The Tropical Garden, first published by Thames and Hudson in 1991, combine forces again in this book devoted to the presentation of flowers and plants native to the tropical area of the world--plants that are now also widely appreciated and cultivated in America. Tropical Plants is divided into flowering shrubs and annuals, foliage plants, ornamental trees, ornamental vines and creepers, palms and palm-like plants, exotics, water plants, ground covers, ferns and fernlike plants, and orchids. It functions as a guide, an aid to identification, and a horticultural survey. Tettoni's remarkable photography of plants and flowers meticulously observed and documented is the perfect instrument for capturing the beauty of plants and their backgrounds.

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Plants for Tropical Landscapes: A Gardener's Guide
by Fred D. Rauch, Paul R. Weissich

Plants for Tropical Landscapes will help you select and group plants to create a successful tropical garden tailored to your needs and tastes. Gardeners and landscapers will find this treasury of more than 500 common plants easy to use and one of the most comprehensive guides available today.
Plants are organized by size (ground covers, low shrubs, medium shrubs, small trees) and are fully illustrated with more than 600 color photographs to aid in their identification. The book presents guidelines on plant characteristics, soil and water requirements, and suggested landscape use for each species. In addition, appendices list plants suitable for special uses (xeriscapes, windbreaks, night gardens) and sites (beach gardens, lanai, and houseplants).

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The Tropical Look: An Encyclopedia of Dramatic Landscape Plants
by Robert Lee Riffle

This book just received the American Horticultural Society's Garden Book of the Year Award. It's filled with over 400 color photos of tropical and tropical-looking plants from both coasts -- Lotusland in Santa Barbara, the Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek CA, the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden, Fairchild Tropical Garden in FL, David Fairchild's home in Coral Gables (The Kampong), Texas gardens and various other locations around the country and the world.
The plants are easily found in alphabetical order, first by genus and then by species (with nearly 5,000 species, cultivars and hybrids listed) and the pronounciation of each has been mercifully included. The encyclopedia portion of the book also includes the plant's family name, the plant's common name, the growing zone, light and moisture requirements, special considerations of the plants and how to propagate. The author's obvious love of these plants shows through in the lively descriptions, and when you're reading about a new discovery you have Mr. Riffle sharing your passion for the plant and telling you what you need to know to ensure its survival.

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Tropical Colors: Art of Living With Tropical Flowers
by Sakul Intakul, Peta Bassett (Contributor), Wongvipa Devahastin na Ayudhya

From Booklist: Luscious color photographs by Luca Invernizzi Tettoni posit intriguing ways designers have concocted displays of the lush beauty of tropical blooms in tandem with unusual materials such as chicken wire and humble materials like leaves, reeds, or airy forms crafted of strips of bamboo. The interiors shown are predominately contemporary in style and located in Thailand. Homes, offices, and hotel settings enhanced by creative floral arrangements consistently achieve elements of surprise and visual appeal while only occasionally striking a jarring note. From highly dramatic, large-scale installations to serene pairings where a single stem and complementary vase indicate a complete idea, the book provides a wealth of fresh images ripe for contemplation.
(Alice Joyce, © American Library Association)

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Paradise Found: Growing Tropicals in Your Own Backyard
by Norman Winter

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Tropical Plants of the World
by Jens G. Rohwer (Author)

Sumptuous color photographs capture the breathtaking lushness of some of the world's most striking plant forms, while meticulous scholarship details their important features. More than 250 of the most dazzling tropical species have been selected from under the dense canopies of rain forests, grasslands, and mountainous terrains of Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa.everywhere shimmering midday heat, copious rainfall, and lengthy days convene to nurture the seductively fragrant blossoms and luxuriant foliage. Whether you are planning a journey to exotic climes or a visit to your nearby botanical garden, the in-depth information on palms, shrubs, vines, herbs, ferns, water plants, and, of course, magnificent, vibrant blooms indigenous to the tropics will prove invaluable to your venture. Descriptions of their characteristics, occurrence, biology, ecology, and history, as well as general and anecdotal information worth knowing, combine to make you an expert on exotic vegetation the world over.

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Gardens by the Sea: Creating a Tropical Paradise
by The Garden Club of Palm Beach (Editor), Garden Club of Palm Beach

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The New Exotic Garden
by Will Giles

Gardeners are moving away from the traditional gardens in favor of vibrant colors, dramatic shapes, and lush plantings. In this celebration of the new, adventurous style of gardening, glorious photographs complement the down-to-earth text. Practical advice, a directory of exotic plants, and instructions on plant care equip readers with the tools they need to integrate subtropical and Mediterranean-style plants in their own temperate gardens.

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The Tropical Garden
by William Warren, Luca Invernizzi Tettoni (Photographer), Luca Invernizzi

From Library Journal
Oversized and lavishly illustrated with 365 color photos, this book opens with an essay tracing the historical interest in tropical plants and in conservatories and glass houses. Royal and religious, private and public tropical gardens are discussed. A chapter on "Contemporary Gardens" profiles 14 gardens in Hawaii, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Mauritius, and Sri Lanka. A chapter on garden features shows walks, statuary, lighting, and pools; a chapter on tropical plants gives botanical and common names plus color photos for approximately 100 plants. Not a guide to gardening like Myles Challis's The Exotic Garden (Trafalgar Square, 1989), this title is for special collections.
- Laura Lipton, Miller Horticulture Lib., Seattle

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Landscape Plants for Subtropical Climates
by Bijan Dehgan

Reviewer: A reader from Galveston, TX
This is the first book I have found which provides useful information about gardening on the Gulf of Mexico. I live on the Texas coast, Galveston Island to be exact, and the weather and climate here is truly special! Forget the "zone 9" stuff. This text provides information about plants which will survive--and thrive--here on a barrier island where many "normal" plants perish. "Salt tolerance" is listed for each plant as well, which is so helpful as I live two blocks from the Gulf. Thank you, thank you Mr. Dehgan for this book which has made such a difference for me. I don't buy plants anymore without checking here first! I believe this book is a "must" for coastal residents all along the Gulf.

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Subtropical Plants: A Practical Gardening Guide
by Jacqueline Sparrow, Gil Hanly

From Booklist: An intriguing realm of exotic plants comes together in Sparrow's user-friendly guide aimed at introducing gardeners to subtropical and choice tropical specimens. Arranged according to groups such as trees, tender perennials, bulbs, succulents, bromeliads, and orchids, these plants promise to bring an unparalleled panache to warm climate gardens or offer knockout performances in seasonal summer displays. A convenient format allows easy access to information on plant material ranging from fluffy flowering acacias and the bold silhouettes of palms to the extravagant perfumed trumpets of shrubs like brugmansias. Structural plant material gives way to categories of plants offering lavish foliage and vibrant blooms, including fruiting specimens like bananas with lush leaves and giant-sized pelican flowers decorating vigorous vines. Species are accorded brief descriptions, while Hanly's accompanying photographs capture all sorts of striking foliage effects and uncompromising floral accents to inspire plant lovers and pique the interest of gardening newcomers.( Alice Joyce © American Library Association)

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Exotic Plants: For House and Garden
by Julia Frances, Morton

An out of print Golden Guide series was found in the estate of the author when she died. A guide to the showy ornamentals found outdoors in tropical and subtropical regions and indoors in cooler climes in homes and offices. Here are the outstanding plants that attract attention because of their colorful flowers, consipcuous foliage or decorative fruits. More than 380 species, prized members of 83 families, are illustrted in splendid full color.

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Growing Tropical Plants
by John Mason (Author)

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Hortica: Color Cyclopedia of Garden Flora and Exotic Plants Indoors
by Alfred Byrd Graf

From Library Journal
With their immense number of high-quality color photographs (Hortica has 8100; Tropica, 7000), these are the best sources for identifying and choosing tropical and indoor (Tropica) as well as garden plants (Hortica). Plant descriptions are very limited, but that's not the focus. (Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.)

From Book News, Inc.
Still a useful volume, though on the brink of being supplanted by newer references, this hefty work (now ten years old) first presents a photo gallery of thousands of color photographs taken by the intrepid author "in nearly every inhabited region on earth." The photos, occasionally of snapshot quality but nonetheless mostly adequate, are divided into 16 categories, including exotic indoor plants, bulbs and tubers, perennials, bamboos and grasses, trees, and more; then subdivided by family

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Fruits of Warm Climates
by Julia Morton

This classic 504 page reference book on tropical fruits is out of print. But now it is available on CD-ROM. The book has entries for 124 fruits, giving extensive information on the more common ones. It also has listings of local and alternate names for many of the fruits.

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Cornucopia II: A Source Book of Edible Plants
by Stephen Facciola


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Cultivar - 2004
Unusual forms of cacti and other succulents

A unique edition about exotic forms of cacti (colored, crested, monstrous etc.), with colored pictures!
The world-only publication!

Contents:

  • Colored forms of cacti: peculiarities, propagation, and cultivation (by Valery Kalishev)
  • Unusual cacti in Japan (by Larisa Zaitseva)
  • How are we to call them? (by Valery Kalishev)
  • Endogenous variability of photosynthetic pigments contents in the colored form of Gymnocalycium mihanovichii var. friedrichii 'Multicolor' (by Igor Skoulkin)
  • Homemade forms of colored cacti (by Vitaly Derevaynko)
  • Experiments in obtaining variegated sprouts (by Nikolay Shemorakov)
  • My new colored Gymnocalycium seedlings (by Nikolay Shemorakov)
  • Five curiosities in one pot (by Valery Kalishev)
  • Stocks for grafting cacti (by Valery Serovaisky)
  • Variety of colors in leaf succulents (by Peter Lapshin)
  • European diary. Traveling through collections: Donetsk, Ukraine (by Innokenty Sinev and Peter Lapshin)
  • Unusual in your collections (by Valery Kalishev)

The Cultivar magazine is published electronically every quarter in English and Russian
For more info see Cultivar page and Cultivar Website.

Buy now!
$7.95

 

 

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