Several concurrent trends have created the need for a new book on annual plants. One is the increasing popularity of container gardening, for which these plants are particularly suited. Another is the hottest trend in landscaping -- creating a bold, even jungly look through the use of tropical plants and other dramatic specimens, most grown as annuals in temperate zones. To meet the demand, growers have developed hundreds of new plants and improved cultivars of old favorites. In this Taylor's Guide, buyers will find more than five hundred of the latest, trendiest plants and the best cultivars of the beloved old standbys.

With seed companies offering hundreds of varieties of vegetables, gardeners need this book to sort out the best species to grow for their particular needs.

It wouldn't be spring without daffodils, tulips, and hyacinths, and this volume has dozens of varieties of each. But it also introduces gardeners to many lesser-known, and often easier, bulbs, including dozens of charmers like glory-of-the-snow, grape-hyacinth, and bluebells. 80 color photos.

After the riotous flowers of spring fade away, too many gardens are colorless in summer. The answer is to grow summer bulbs--gladioli, lilies, daylilies, dahlias, tuberous begonias, cannas, and others covered in this book. 80 color photos.

Perennials are America's favorite class of plants, and those that grow in the sun include all the great ones--peonies, iris, phlox, poppies, delphinium, chrysanthemums, asters, and lupine--as well as lesser-known but easy-to-grow beauties. 80 color photos.

The number-one complaint of gardeners is that they can't grow flowers in shade. In this guide, the reader is introduced to 80 species of perennials that will flower in shade. 80 color photos.

Flowering shrubs are the belles of the garden ball. Along with such stars as rhododendrons, azaleas, lilacs, and spirea, many other great shrubs for all parts of the country are included in this book.