OVERSTOCK SPECIALS
!!!
For a brief time only, these
attractive and informative books are being offered at a greatly reduced price! A limited number of very good copies in
very good dust jackets are
available, while the supply lasts. These sale prices end on December 31,
2008!
Alice Coats, GARDEN SHRUBS AND THEIR HISTORIES. (NY: Simon & Schuster,
1992) square quarto, 223 pp., Foreword by John Creech, bibliography, brief
biographical sketches, ill. in color from period works. An attractively produced quality reprint of the scarce 1962 original work
in a different, larger format. This is the only work to date on this subject. very good copy in
dust jacket.
Originally issued in both the United States and
United Kingdom in 1962, this remains the only book written to date specifically
dealing with the history of cultivated shrubs. Alice Coats (1902-1978) was a leading authority on the history of garden
plants and on botanical illustration. The 1992 reissue retains the original text, and adds new introductory
material by John L. Creech, as well as 112 color plates which faithfully
reproduce classic botanical paintings. The book was redesigned and reissued in a more attractive larger
format. This is a decided improvement on the first edition. special sale price: $15
Christopher Lloyd, CLEMATIS. (Deer Park, Wis.: Capability's, 1989) revised, with the assistance of Tom Bennett.
217 pp., index, glossary, ill. with fine color photos.
Originally issued in 1965, this revised edition remains the definitive
modern monograph on the genus in cultivation. This
the latest, revised edition, completed with the assistance of Tom Bennett.
It includes an index, glossary, deals with plant nomenclature and name
pronunciation.
It is illustrated with fine color photos and a few line drawings in the
text.
Originally issued in 1965, this is the best edition and now constitutes
the definitive modern monograph on the genus in cultivation.
The work contains useful information on all phases of clematis
cultivation, propagation, pruning, training, hybridization and diseases.
Lloyd deals first with both large-flowered hybrids and then species and
small-flowered hybrids in great detail.
Few books are as valuable to gardeners as substantial horticultural
monographs as this one. special sale price: $4
Jan Dean, THE
GARDENER'S READING GUIDE. Foreword by
Allen Lacy.(NY: Facts on File,
1993) 250 pp., subject and author
indices, chapter head illustrations from old engravings. Covering late 20th
century works, this out-of-print guide is surprisingly the only work on the
subject, with over 3000 entries. It
includes works published up to 1993, and is a very useful reference book for
the serious practical gardener, including mostly works issued after 1975.
special sale
price: $5
Michael Jefferson-Brown,
LEAVES: For All-Year Round Colour and Interest in the Garden. (Newton Abbot, UK:
David & Charles, 1989) 192 pp.,
index, nicely ill. with color photos by John Glover and attractive line
drawings; covering trees, shrubs, grasses and ground covers, this is an
attractive and useful recent work on foliage plants.
Published in the
United Kingdom
in 1989 and imported
into the
United States
, this work is
foremost to date in presenting the creative use of foliage to gardeners.
The author, best known for a number of valuable horticultural monographs,
especially on narcissus and other bulbs, covers such topics here as golden
evergreens, foliage of waterside plants, climbers with interesting leaves and
"minuscule" foliage plants. The
most attractive design of the book achieves a rarely-seen balance between text
and illustrations, making use of a suitable amount of color photographs along
with clear and well-placed line drawings.
special
sale price: $1
Graham Stuart Thomas, THREE GARDENS of Pleasant
Flowers.
(Deer Park, Wis.: Capability's, 1983)
188 pp., index, appendices (biographical notes and a long list of over
750 plants, including index references their citations in the work),
well ill. with color and b&w photos, garden plans, and drawings by
the author; a wonderfully informative as well as readable account of his
father's garden, Oak Cottage in Surrey and Brier Cottage, the latter two gardens
he created. Published in a limited quantity in 1983 in England and the United States
(these are copies of the American edition), this book never gained the
recognition achieved by the author's popular works on roses, historic gardens,
and his botanical art.
Yet this is the only of his works where the remarkable Renaissance man of
modern horticulture writes specifically about his own gardens.
The work is beautifully written and largely autobiographical, and covers
his formative years, his "interlude" as a nurseryman, and especially his two
wonderful modest-sized home gardens in Surrey.
Here he achieved his goal of creating low-maintenance gardens which
"provide interest and beauty of flower and foliage throughout the year."
This is truly the "personal odyssey of a great plantsman and gardener" as
its advertisement proclaims! special sale price: $4
Dorothy Stemler, THE
BOOK OF OLD ROSES. (Boston: Bruce Humphries,
1966) 64 pp., index, ill. with black-and-white
photos. a brief but interesting work by
the proprietor of the famous Tillotson's old rose nursery. This modest work by
the founder of the famous Tillotson's Roses in California
provides and excellent introduction to old roses by describing the most famous
ones and the best for use in gardens.
This small but attractive work with a colorful dust jacket is reasonably
priced and makes an excellent gift.
special sale
price: $1
Sue
Minter, THE GREATEST GLASS HOUSE: The Rainforests Recreated.
(London: HSMO, 1990) quarto,
216 pp., index, bibliography, glossary notes.
well illustrated in color and black-and-white, from both period sources
and from modern photos of the 1980's restoration of the great Palm House at
Royal Botanic Gardens,
Kew, dating from the
1840's. The detailed photos and
accounts of the painstaking restoration are unique for this type of garden
history; a superb work, already becoming scarce. Illustrated
from both period sources and from modern photos, this work recalls the history
of the Palm House at Royal Botanic Gardens,
Kew,
dating from the 1840's, is revealed in depth.
The detailed photos and accounts of the painstaking 1980s restoration are
unique for this type of garden history. This
is a superb work, already becoming scarce. The
book also tells the history of many of the unique specimen plant residents of
the conservatory and explains the historical background of iron glass houses
special sale price: $15
Eve Eckstein, GEORGE
SAMUEL ELGOOD: His Life and Work, 1851-1943.
(London: Alpine Fine Arts Collection, 1995)
large oblong quarto, 230 pp., appendices.
illustrated in color and black-and-white, reproducing a number of his
paintings. a carefully researched
and beautifully produced work of an artist who produced over 1000 paintings over
a 40 year career, covering his work with Gertrude Jekyll, his interest in
Italians gardens, and his rarely-seen own garden.
According to Penelope Hobhouse and Christopher Wood in Painted
Gardens (1988) George Elgood was the greatest master of
the garden picture. Many of the
buyers of his original work were British royalty and museums.
His finely executed work greatly contrasted his prickly personality.
special sale
price: $15
Allen Lacy, THE GARDEN IN AUTUMN. (NY:
Atlantic Monthly
Press, 1990) quarto, 229 pp., index, bibliography,
list of sources, ill. with color photos; there have been other work on winter
(or autumn and winter gardens) but this is the first to deal strictly and
comprehensively with autumn gardens in North America. Topics include bulbs grasses,
woody plants, annuals, and perennials, and the garden in early winter. special
sale price: $15
Sally Festing, GERTRUDE
JEKYLL. (London/NY:
Viking, 1991) 323 pp., index,
bibliography, notes, illustrated with black-and-white photos, drawings, and
sketches; the most detailed and best researched recent work on the subject.
Drawing on previously untapped resources, this work attempts to explain
seemingly contradictions in her life and work, and to debunk an overly
simplistic image of the famous writer still held by many people. The
work covers the many facets of her life other than merely garden writing. special sale price: $15
Ida Hay, SCIENCE IN THE
PLEASURE GROUND: A History of the
Arnold
Arboretum.
(Boston: Northeastern University. Press, 1995)
349 pp., index, bibliography, well illustrated in color &
black-and-white. An important
scholarly yet readable and attractive work on America's most important arboretum, where so many new
plants were introduced from abroad and so much scientific study of cultivated
plants has taken place. The
author’s research draws heavily on archival materials and the book covers all
phases of the Arboretum’s operating, including both its research and outreach
programs. The book reproduces many
historic photographs, maps, plans, and drawings.
The author’s research draws heavily on archival materials and the book
covers all phases of the Arboretum’s operating, including both its research
and outreach programs. The book
reproduces many historic photographs, maps, plans, and drawings. special sale price: $10
Judith Tankard and
Martin Wood, GERTRUDE JEKYLL AT MUNSTEAD WOOD.
Foreword by Graham S. Thomas. (Godalming,
UK: Bramley, 1998) 201 pp.,
pictorial covers, index, notes, bibliography, lists of her commissions.
well ill. with color and black-and-white reproductions of old photos,
sketches and plans. A significant
work presenting much new material and covering Jekyll's life at Munstead Wood,
and studies her own famous garden’s relationship to the gardens she created on
commission. special
sale price: $10
Christopher
Grey-Wilson, CLEMATIS: THE GENUS, A Comprehensive Guide for Gardeners,
horticulturists and Botanists. (
Portland
: Timber Press, 2000) large format octavo,
223 pp., index, bibliography, glossary, illustrated with many excellent color
photos. an excellent comprehensive guide, the best on the genus to date.
More so than other works, this monograph concentrates on Clematis species in the
wild, with detailed descriptions and distribution maps, and the most accurate
updated botanical nomenclature. special sale price: $15