Author Description

Writen by a team of botanists, horticulturists and gardening writers, this fully illustrated encyclopedia gives comprehensive information on over 8,500 trees and shrubs from around the world. Its range includes not only the well-known favourites, but also many less familiar plants.The plants are arranged by their botanical names. For each genus, the characteristic features are given, together with close-up photographs of bark, leaf, fruit and flower. There are pictures of plants growing in their native habitats and pictures showing how some trees can transform over the course of the four seasons. Detailed entries cover each plant's origin, appearance, growth habit, flowering time, cultivation requirements and hardiness zones.As well as the alphabetical entries, Trees and Shrubscontains a section on choosing trees and shrubs for your garden, full information on cultivation including climate, planting, pruning, propagation and pests and diseases, a glossary, and hardiness zone maps.The accompanying CD-Rom is easy and fun to use - its special features include a garden journal and links to relevant web sites.