Chicago Botanic Garden

Education — Lenhardt Library

Current Books & Book Reviews

PHOTO: bookcover

Penelope O'Sullivan.
The Homeowner's Complete Tree & Shrub Handbook: The Essential Guide to Choosing, Planting, and Maintaining Perfect Landscape Plants.
North Adams, Mass.: Storey Publishing, 2007.
paper, 408 pp., ISBN 978–1–5801–7570–8, $29.95.

Garden designer and writer Penelope O'Sullivan has thoughtfully put together the fundamentals on selection and care of trees and shrubs in this book written for homeowners. Divided into three sections, the text begins with applying the principle of design to plant selection and the various factors that must be considered. The second section contains equally valuable information on buying plants, installing them, and their regular maintenance, including pruning. The last section consists of a directory of 357 trees and shrubs suitable for home grounds. Each profile includes a narrative description and an illustration. Her selections are based on her familiarity with plants in the northeastern part of the U.S. The concluding appendix contains a planning chart of plant characteristics for easy comparison of trees and shrubs. The author's comments on the appeal of specific plants, either words of caution or approval, are well done and add guidance for the homeowner, whether novice or experienced gardener.

— Marilyn K. Alaimo, garden writer and volunteer, Chicago Botanic Garden.