Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Unique in its detailed and comprehensive coverage of temperate-zone trees and shrubs, and backed by the world-famous Hillier name, this book provides great expertise in a highly illustrated, eminently usable package.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

The late John Kelly, an extensive contributor to gardening literature and the BBC's Gardener's World program, presents an authoritative, alphabetically arranged plant directory covering more than 4000 plants with over 400 genres represented through the support of the Hillier Arboretum. An excellent introduction to using the guide is followed by plant hardiness zone maps and discussions of basic biology, theory and practice, selection and purchase, care and maintenance, pest and diseases, plant propagation, plant names, and plant selection. These serve as the prologue for the plant directory, listing trees, shrubs, conifers, climbers, and bamboo. The descriptions cover such details as plant size, flower color, rate of growth, special plant attributes, and hardiness for both the United States and Canada. Superb full-color photography accompanies the plant descriptions. The index gives common names, gardening terms, and techniques, and italic page numbers refer to photographs and illustrations. An earlier Hillier work of horticultural-historical comparison is Sir Harold Hillier, Desmond Clarke, Roy Lancaster, and P.H.B. Gardner's catalog of plants, Hillier Manual of Trees and Shrubs (1972), an inspiration for the present publication. Carefully composed and well written, this reference source is highly recommended for all public and academic libraries with horticultural collections, as well as special libraries in the fields of botany and horticulture.‘Daniel Kalk, Enfield, Ct. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

"If you want to create a garden for a year, then fill the borders with flowers. If you want to create a garden for a lifetime, then plant it with trees and shrubs." Thus begins this revised version of the comprehensive 1991 edition, which provides numerous charts detailing USDA hardiness zones, diseases and pests, specific plant characteristics and even plant nomenclature. Discussed are the biology of trees, principles of design (a mature garden has three layers: tree canopy; a middle layer of shrubs and small trees; and a ground level of flowers and herbacious perennials). A guide for pruning and propogating complements the alphabetical directory of 4000 high-performance trees and shrubs, with 13 pages devoted to maple tree variations alone. Other sections examine foliage, coastal trees and soil variation. Although pricey, this volume, illustrated with over 3000 color photos can serve as sole reference on trees and shrubs for all but the warmest regions of the U.S. (Dec.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Booklist Review

Edwin Hillier founded the Hillier Nurseries in England in 1864, and his enterprise rose to be one of the most highly regarded in the world for the cultivation of trees and shrubs. This oversize, gorgeously illustrated book, based on Hillier precepts and experiences, is, in addition to being a plant directory, also a source for discussion of such topics as care and maintenance, pests, and propagation.