Annuals with Style: Design Ideas from Classic to Cutting Edge

The New York Botanical Garden's Ruggiero and author Christopher (The 20-Minute Gardener) team up to illustrate the versatility, ease and rewards of using annuals in the garden. From such old standbys as pansies and petunias to more flamboyantly tropical options such as Caladium and Amaranthus, the authors discuss various annual plantings--in mixed plantings, in containers, as quick-growing vertical accents, as ""plugs"" to fill in gaps where more short-lived perennials have bloomed and faded or as ""featured players."" The snappy prose is alight with humor (on scaling down the showy Victorian carpet bed for today's staff-less home gardens, for instance, the authors note ""think prayer rug rather than wall to wall""). While they are both clearly knowledgeable plantsmen, the authors take equal delight in focusing on more lighthearted displays (""We've seen a dozen football helmets upended, filled with potting mix, and hung in a row to make an annual garden in Texas"") as they do on elegant mixed borders. The reader-friendly layout includes helpful sidebars and glorious photos. This book is ideal for beginners, yet seasoned gardeners should enjoy the fresh spin on an often overlooked subject. (Mar.)