Clay Perry's Fantastic Flowers Book

Clay Perry's book of fantastic flowers is--fantastic. It is filled with huge, close-up photographs of magnificent flowers, showing every little wrinkle in a petal and every little dewdrop on a stem. These are photographs of a master; the backgrounds, often black, are selected to give the full impact of a beautiful, translucent bloom with clever lighting adding a further dramatic effect.Clay Perry, whose book David Austin's English Roses was named Garden Book of the Year in 1996, explains in his introduction that he has tried to emphasise what is so fantastic about flowers of all kinds. "There is an extraordinary diversity among them, from a lily-of-the-valley, with its delicately perfumed bells to the scaly talons of a heliconia or the amazing architectural structure of the euphorbia". It is easy to catch this enthusiasm that he translates so beautifully to the page.Clay Perry's wife, Maggie, who, he says, first taught him to look closely at flowers, writes the text of this book, which follows an A to Z of flowers. A knowledgeable horticulturist herself, she writes an intriguing commentary on each flower, giving its historical background and its place in the garden of today. She provides practical information on the flowering season, soil preference, propagation, resilience and care. There is also a comprehensive index.This is a book that any gardener, lover of flowers or someone who appreciates particularly fine photography will adore. If you buy it as a present you will probably keep it. --Judy WylesRead More