In the original dust jacket. Blue cloth binding with silver title on the spine.

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This is a comprehensive and detailed survey of woody plants undertaken by one of the world’s most knowledgeable plantsmen. Thousands of species, their hybrids and cultivars are described in a directory accompanied by practical advice covering planting, cultivation, pruning, propagation and pests, adorned with charming and relevant quotations from other sources.

Graham Stuart Thomas discusses the history of shrubs in Britain, their introduction and use at different periods, as well as the value of shrubs in the garden today – for their individual beauty or as a structural part of mixed plantings. The expert information is always related to the interests of the gardener: characteristics such as size, evergreen or deciduous, colour of flower, scent, season of flowering, autumn colour, methods of propagation are all given in an ingenious Line of Facts for easy reference. Lively short descriptions of the characters of each plant help amateurs and professionals alike choose what to grow and what to avoid.

Review: A treasure. It is authoritative and written in a style that avoids the cloying ebullience of so many modern gardeners. It might be said that it is ‘out of date’ as it cannot include the more modern cultivars. However I regard this book as almost a necessity, along with its companion ‘Perennial Garden Plants’.

There are better books covering a particular Genus but this is the best introduction to the range of shrubs grown in this country. Knowledge and experience oozes out of every page.

Graham Stuart Thomas OBE VMH (3 April 1909 – 17 April 2003) was an English horticulturist, who is likely best known for his work with garden roses, his restoration and stewardship of over 100 National Trust gardens and for writing 19 books on gardening, many of which remain classics today. However, as he states in the Preface to his outstanding book, The Rock Garden and its Plants: From Grotto to Alpine House, “My earliest enthusiasms in gardening were for….alpines.” p8

In his obituary in the Los Angeles Times, Clair Martin, rose curator of Huntington Botanical Gardens said: “Thomas set about preserving the heritage of old roses when many of them were on the verge of extinction”.