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Practical Bamboos: The 50 Best Plants for Screens, Containers and More

By Paul Whittaker

The way Paul Whittaker uses bamboos shows not only an artist's eye but a love of and a feel for their essential characteristics.

Roy Lancaster

Bamboos are valued for their attractive culms, year-round foliage, and ability to add serenity to any garden scene. They add style to a garden and are ideal for screening eyesores and buffering noise. But the key to success is careful selection.

Practical Bamboos features the 50 best bamboos based on appearance and usefulness. A handy checklist allows readers to pick plants that are right for them at a glance. A section on using bamboo in the garden covers topics such as incorporating bamboos in the mixed border, using them to create Japanese-style or Mediterranean-style gardens, using them for hedges and edging, establishing them in containers, choosing the right ones for difficult places, and selecting the best plants for small gardens or waterside planting.

Gardeners new to bamboo will relish the imaginative design and landscaping ideas and feel inspired to take a chance on a dynamic, rewarding plant.

Filed under: bamboo, genus specific, plant directory, beginner, care, cultivation, sustainable

Format: Paperback
Pages: 176 pp.
Book dimensions: 7½ x 9 in. (230 x 190 mm.)
Images: 156 color photos
ISBN-10: 1604690569
ISBN-13: 9781604690569
Product code: 689056

Media reviews

"This book provides a great introduction to the subject, but even the expert will find much to entertain and enlighten."

—Andy Benham, The Garden

"A great guide for bamboo-lovers, who get 175 pages with photos and glossary. For bamboo-haters, Whittaker outlines three ways to control or eliminate out-of-control bamboo."

—Virginia Smith, Philadelphia Inquirer

"Whittaker's engaging writing style and his personal observations make this book a pleasure to read. ... Recommended for all gardeners in the applicable zones who are interested in trying these plants."

—Sue O'Brien, Library Journal

"One of the best written, most beautifully illustrated and most useful book for people interested in adding bamboo to their garden. Even die-hard bamboo collectors who think they know it all will find something new and interesting to learn, and they will definitely enjoy the stunning photographs."

—Gerhard Bock, Bamboo and More (blog)

About the author

Paul Whittaker

Paul Whittaker has worked in horticulture for almost thirty years as a nurseryman, landscaper, and consultant. He now runs his own nursery, PW Plants, that specializes in ornamental grasses and his main love, temperate bamboos. A regular exhibitor at Royal Horticultural Society shows, he has won many gold medals for his legendary foliage displays.