The Color Dictionary of Flowers & Plants

I'm always on the lookout for great plant reference books. The Color Dictionary of Flowers and Plants for Home and Garden came to me by way of my folks, who have used it to help plan their Southeast Alaskan garden. The reference is by Roy Hay and Patrick M. Synge, and was published in collaboration with The Royal Horticulture Society (Crown Publishers, Inc. New York, 1990, with editions stretching back to 1969). George Kalmbacher, a taxonomist with Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, was the American consultant. For its compact size, the book is packed with plant information and 2048 color plates.

The Introduction sets the stage for the book, which is organized around six plant categories: Alpine and Rock Garden, Annual and Biennial plants, Greenhouse and House plants, Hardy bulb plants, Perennial plants, and Trees and Shrubs. Cultural notes are provided for each category, as well as information about the feat of photographing the plants over an 18 month period. The Plates section provides photos of the 2048 specimens. The plates are organized by the categories mentioned, and each plate is identified by its scientific name and a number. Each photo is just under 2.5 inches square, but photographed in a way that shows flowers and foliage, plant forms, and the growing habit in the landscape. The Dictionary section provides a description of each plant, presented in alphabetical order. Scientific names are used, but common names are also provided with a reference to the scientific name (such as "Tree Poppy, see Romneya, 1837"). Each description also includes its color plate number.

I've already started scouring the plates and descriptions for good candidates for our garden renovation. I notice that quite a few plants are cultivars, so they have been bred for garden conditions and should be widely available in the trade. It's surprising how many familiar California plants are included, such as Ceanothus (California lilac, 1500); Iris douglasiana, 93; Clarkia, 269; Juniper, 2015; Crataegus (Hawthorn, 1543); Mimulus (Monkey flower, 110); and Eschscholzia (California poppy, 294) to name a few. Another treat for me is coming across pencil marks by Mom - such as those for Narcissus pseudonaricissus, 838 (its cheerful yellow buds pushing up through the snow were a sign of hope that the Alaskan winter would soon end). This is a wonderful, well organized reference manual to include in your botanical library.