Dan Hinkley presents the most fascinating perennials from around the globe.
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Dan Hinkley's quest for distinctive plants has led him on expeditions to China, Korea, Nepal, Chile and remote areas of North America. The Explorer's Garden: Rare and Unusual Perennials presents the most fascinating perennials found during Hinkley's treks around the globe, describes the assets each plant brings to the garden and explains how it is best cultivated and propagated. Illustrated with Hinkley's own splendid photographs as well as those of Lynne Harrison, this new paperback edition includes a new preface by the author and a completely updated list of sources for plant material.
Media Reviews
Who better than [Dan Hinkley] to write about his favourite woodland perennials, many of which he has grown to perfection in his garden, as well as studied and photographed in the wild?
An excellent read that will not disappoint, it provides both topical interest and a source of reference. It may even send you off plant hunting beyond the local garden centre.
His prose melts like butter, his wit is outrageous, his knowledge is inviting and accessible. Hinkley writes about plants with passion and humility, transforming hard earned data into pure delight.
Graced by the author’s formidable knowledge of botany, the book promises to satisfy the most demanding tendencies of today’s gardener.
(The Explorer’s Garden) is one of the truly great horticultural books of the twentieth century. It is fully as delectable as Ernest H. Wilson’s A Naturalist in Western China (1913) or F. Kingdon Ward’s Plant Hunting on the Edge of the World (1930), but one of the best things about it is that all the plants it describes are available to gardeners today... (It) devotes a proper amount of attention to plants that are currently in high fashion among truly dedicated gardeners... But what I found most exciting about this book is the great number of plants discussed in great detail that I have never even heard of. Reading about Saruma henryi, Stretopus amplexifolius, Disporopsis perneyi, and Triosteum himalayanum convinced me that gardening is inexhaustible, that we will never run out of new plants to try.
This book will become a 'must have' for herbaceous plants enthusiasts.
To review a book so meticulously compiled and so competently and wonderfully written is hardly a challenge. No biting criticisms are needed here. Quite simply, this book stands far and away from a(n)... ever-burgeoning mass of garden-oriented books. ... Even the omnipresent hardy geraniums are treated unconventionally, exposing the reader to new and unfamiliar cultivars. ... In short, buy this book for your horticultural library. Buy it for your friends. Buy it for Lynn Harrison’s (and Dan’s) sumptuous, flawless, and artistic photography. Buy it so Dan can write the follow-up woody plant volume! Most of all, however, buy this book to gain a better understanding of our lone planet’s marvelous and awe-inspiring plant diversity and of each constituent species’ uniqueness--this all contributing to a constant enrichment of our gardens.
Hinkley has written a delightful and very informative book. ... Uncommon but striking species…are presented with descriptions that convey why they have so thoroughly charmed the author. Many beautifully-printed color photographs are an additional, powerful attraction for the reader. ... Highly recommended.
Clearly any book containing so much that is new yet detailed, scholarly yet personal, is going to be indispensable for any serious gardener with suitable conditions--and few of us lack at least one moist and shady corner in which to experiment with some of Hinkley’s recommendations. ... It hasn’t been pre-packaged. It isn’t formulaic. And, by heaven! It positively heaves and throbs with a love and knowledge of 'his' plants.
Oh, the places you’ll go and the plants you will meet! In this wonderful book on rare and unusual perennial Daniel Hinkley takes his readers on fascinating journeys of plant exploration and discovery. Beyond the finding of a plant--in the wild or as a cultivar--Hinkley shares what he has learned about the plants, how they grow in their native haunts, how they grow in cultivation, and what special qualities the plants possess to delight the eye and enrich the garden... Is The Explorer’s Garden one of the best books on perennials ever written? You bet it is.
Hinkley manages to educate us about these beauties and oddities without being intimidating.
This is just the kind of information we need to know.... It is experienced guidance in choosing amongst the hosts of available plants.
What the reader of this book gets is quality first-hand information from someone who has observed the plants in the wild and grown them in the garden, all spiced with wit and insightful opinion.
Is The Explorer's Garden one of the best books on perennials ever written? You bet it is.
This book will interest perennial lovers everywhere, extolling the virtues of plants that enjoy a cool, moisture-rich climate such as that encountered on the northwest coast.
The dean of modern-day plant hunters is Daniel J. Hinkley. So it’s with great excitement that the gardening world greets his first book, The Explorer’s Garden: Rare and Unusual Perennials.
Anyone who has ventured beyond the long-established favorite perennials… and tried some less known and less grown beauties… should be enthralled at finding so many new and enticing treasures, many of which can be tried in his or her garden.
If you've ever read Dan Hinkley's yearly catalog then you are familiar with his wonderful prose which exudes with enthusiasm.
If you've ever read Dan Hinkley's yearly catalog then you are familiar with his wonderful prose which exudes with enthusiasm.
The book is delightfully written, beautifully illustrated.
This is a marvelous volume of permanent value which belongs in the library of all who eschew the ordinary.
More than just a handy reference, it's a compete guide to the plants he's discovered in his explorations.
It is hard to imagine that anyone other than Hinkley, who has personally grown more than 9000 plants (and most of those included in this book), could offer better advice on hardiness, cultivation, and propagation.
To review a book so meticulously compiled and so competently and wonderfully written is hardly a challenge. No biting criticisms are needed here. Quite simply, this book stands far and away from a largely mediocre and often poorly edited, ever-burgeoning mass of garden-oriented books.
This key figure in America's gardening renaissance shares the excitement of first encountering a plant in its native habitat, and offers useful advice on the assets each plant brings to the garden and on how it is best cultivated and propagated.
Like Hinkley's voluminous Heronswood Nursery Catalog, this book, written with inimitable style and wit, comprises a virtual candy store for collectors and plant addicts.
His writing is a fine balance of sensitive description, story-telling, and hands-on knowledge of the plants, flavoured with the excitement of discovery.
It is a marvelous collection . . . It is a story of a man’s wonderment in the plant kingdom, how it started and where it is still leading.
Any plant lover will savor this book.
[Dan Hinkley's] depth of knowledge, breadth of humor, and exuberant love for all things green -- or, for that matter, variegated -- translate well to the printed page, making this intriguing and informative new volume a must-have for anyone who wants to know more about unusual garden plants.
A must book for the plant collector and those in the trade that deal with unusual plants.
I recommend this book…for any really keen gardeners in your circle.
Witty text that is a true delight to read. His enthusiasm is contagious . . . A must book for the plant collector and those in the trade that deal with unusual plants.
This is a picture book to read; a plant list to drool over; a collector’s dream come true. Read it with awe.
A wonderful safari through the lands of the uncommon . . . Good photography and a good read.
For the serious perennial gardener this book will be educational and inspirational.
Dan is an engaging writer and passionate plantsman.
Engaging, witty prose.
Reading the book is like taking a plant hunting trip with Hinkley.