Growing Shrubs and Small Trees in Cold Climates

Whatever one's garden's statusDa new yard, a landscape under renovation or a flimsy flower bed that needs some fortificationDthis book offers cold-weather comfort that northern gardeners will warm to. Written by gloves-on horticulturists who live in Minnesota, the well-organized text scrimps nowhere, giving equal attention to 750 plant species and to cultivars. Easy-reference tables rate plants on a five-star system, while simplifying plant comparisons by hardiness, size at maturity and color of leaf, flower and fruit. Additional information, often missing even in comprehensive tomes, appears in consistent categories: site, light, soil type, moisture requirements and landscape uses. Along the journey from evergreen abies to deciduous wisteria, gardeners will encounter some lovely plant combinations, such as spreading cotoneaster with its bright red berries interspersed with white potentilla, all against a dark evergreen background. Although this exhaustive treatment of individual plants serves as the book's ballast, there's still plenty of expert counsel in additional chapters covering such topics as plant selection, planting and transplanting. From rots to wilts and from bagworms to leafrollers, pests and problems also get their due. ""What to Prune and When""D24 concise paragraphs on the gardener's craft should be tacked on the wall of every toolshed. Photos not seen by PW. (Feb.)