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Timber Press Pocket Guide to Hostas

By Diana Grenfell and Michael Shadrack

One of the most important reference books a gardener can own.

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Boasting diverse leaf shape, size, color, and texture, hostas are the supreme plant for shade. This guide features 280 of the best new and old hostas, each handpicked by veteran plantswoman Diana Grenfell for its superb performance in the landscape. The descriptions include botanical details to aid in plant identification and selection, succinct cultivation notes, and brief comparisons to 545 similar and related hostas. Fabulous photographs by Michael Shadrack accompany the descriptions. Gardeners will find this a practical reference for taking to the nursery or garden center and a valuable complement to the authors' comprehensive Color Encyclopedia of Hostas.

Filed under: pocket guide, beginner, care, cultivation, perennials, reference, shade

Format: Flexibind
Pages: 212 pp.
Book dimensions: 5¾ x 8¼ in. (145 x 210 mm.)
Images: 298 color photos, 2 maps
ISBN-10: 088192847X
ISBN-13: 9780881928471

Media reviews

"One of the most important reference books a gardener can own."

—Jill Sell, Cleveland Plain Dealer

"This compact book by Diana Grenfell and Michael Shadrack describes 280 old and new cultivars, with ample advice for selecting and caring for them."

—Beth Botts, Philadelphia Inquirer

"I would certainly recommend this book for those, like me, who have been severely bitten by the hosta bug."

—Taffy Turner, Washington Gardener

About the authors

Diana Grenfell

Diana Grenfell is co-founder of the British Hosta and Hemerocallis Society and a life member of the American Hosta Society. With her husband, Roger Grounds, she is former co-owner of Apple Court, a British nursery specializing in hostas, daylilies, and grasses. Diana has done much to raise the profile of hostas throughout the world, broadcasting, lecturing, and writing many authoritative books and articles on the plant.

Michael Shadrack

Michael Shadrack is a photographer with more than six thousand hosta images in his library. He is an active member of the British Hosta and Hemerocallis Society and the American Hosta Society, and has assumed leadership roles in both organizations. Michael regularly lectures on hostas in North America and Europe, and is an avid hybridizer as well.