The Southern Gardener's Book of Lists: The Best Plants for All Your Needs, Wants, and Whims

Just what the title promises there’s a list of plants that are appropriate for most any setting and soil type. From dry sun to moist poorly draining shade - shrubs that bloom in shade to plants perfect for rock gardens. There’s a list for every situation. This is not the only book you’ll need if new to gardening in the south, as I am, but it is very helpful. Mine is already full of sticky notes that I attached as tabs for easy reference.

This is one of my go-to books when selecting a survivor.

This is a wonderful book for the Southern gardener, with lists covering a vast range of possible problems and solutions. My one complaint--and it's a big one--is that the book doesn't have an adequate Table of Contents, nor does the index adequately address the problem. Either the beginning of each chapter or the existing, lame TOC should include a list of the lists in each section. As it is, you have to thumb through an entire chapter--if not the entire book--to find what you're looking for. As a result, my copy is bristling with better-than-nothing post-it flags.

The sketches are lovely, the info is spot on, and the ideas creative. The lists are saving me a lot of cross-referencing - ready to hit my garden center!

I moved from Colorado in 2015 to NC and found my experience out west was doing me no good for growing my plants and flowers in the moist, warm and fertile climate of NC. I was unfamiliar with the seasons and the problems brought with each change of weather. The bugs and diseases were foreign to me as well. Every month brought new surprises that I was ill equipped to deal with. I turned to books to help me out and this one was perfect.!!! Don't be afraid to buy used. Lots of fun and info for very little price.

Not very helpful

I was really excited when I bought this book. I could envision exactly how it would help me. I read through the lists - most of them are useful. I could just see carrying it in the car, always. I stop at a nursery and find a plant that I absolutely love, but where do I put it? Sun? Shade? I can look up the plant and find all the different lists that it fits. All I have to do is turn to the index and - wait - WHAT INDEX? This book has what may be the most pitiful excuse for an index I have ever seen. It might as well not have one at all.As for the complaints about no photos, I can understand that. It is, after all, a book of 'Lists', not a book of plants. I believe that one could still find the plant that fits a particular location or need based on the list, and then go to another reference to Iearn about the plant itself. This I can still do even though I cannot use the book as I had hoped. For this reason I give the book 2 stars instead of 1. It makes the book less helpful but not totally useless.So yes, the book has potential, but unless a new edition comes out with a MUCH improved index, I can't recommend it to anyone.

This is an outstanding book. If I had any negative comment, it would be that it's overwhelming. I had borrowed this from a neighbor and decided to buy it so that I could spend more time deciding what trees to put in my backyard. But if you need to match size, soil, climate, etc. this is wonderful. So glad someone wrote all of this down!