THE MANUAL contains a 'Scientific Name Index' and a 'Common Name Index' so, for example, you can find cross references for Littleleaf Linden and 'Tillia cordata' as well as various 'Juglans' or nut trees. Although it's jam-packed with useful information, the MANUAL is far from exhaustive. Sometimes obvious examples are missing. I've had a nut tree in my back yard for almost thirty years, which I belived was a Black Walnut until I had a tree specialist prune it. He tells me it's a Persian Walnut, or English Walnut as it's known at the grocery store. I eagerly searched my new MANUAL and found a small entry with no illustration and little detail to help me distinguish it from the Black Walnut I believed it to be. Apparently the tree sprouted from a nut buried by a squirrel. As far as I know the Persian Walnut is not a native species and the MANUAL does seem to be more inclusive of native woody species.
The MANUAL contains a section on Roses, but you'll find a better guide for these woody flowering plants in other sources such as BOTANICA'S ROSES or the AMERICAN GARDEN BOOK published by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. There are no color photos of the roses listed, nor does the MANUAL reveal the requisite growing requirements.
All in all, the book is moderately useful for the gardener or the naturalist, but you will probably want to supplement it with other sources if you're interested in a particular group of plants like roses.
Well. It languished for a while, but when I started getting interested in horticultural plantings (my own and those I encountered on my walks) I started delving into it. Before too long I found a strange thing: this book seems to know everything about horticultural trees and bushes--certainly everything that I was interested in, living first in southern Wisconsin, then northern Kentucky, and finally northern Illinois.
It finally dawned on me that this was the reference work I had always wanted. Even when I (very rarely!) thought it didn't cover a plant, it usually did anyway (perhaps making short shrift of it in a slightly different spot). As with any other great tool, learning to use it is an iterative process: the more you learn, the better you use it, and so learn yet more.
So if you are a plant person, just buy this book, rather than half-a-dozen half-baked horticultural "theme" books. You get a great reference, and as a real bonus, you get Michael Dirr's enthusiasm and planterly asides enlivening the text. (And the paperback version is also sturdy and usable.) Put it next to your dictionary, so it's within easy reach. You'll need it.
When the lastest edition came out I bought a hardback copy. Quite and investment, but well worth it. I had literally worn my old paperback copy out.
Dr. Dirr offers by far the most complete description of the largest number of shrubs, trees, and vines that I have ever seen in a single volume. The advice on culture and propagtion are particularly detailed and helpful, but his writing style is what really makes this book unique. At first glance The Manual appears to be a whopping and potentially dry tome, (there are no photos, but it is filled with excellent line drawings by Bonnie Dirr. I understand that a photo CD is available to accompany the Manual, but have not seen one) - but read just a few pages and you will be hooked by Dirr's style. This book reads more like a collection of humorous essays than a standard reference manual. Michael Dirr puts much of himself and his personal experience with many of these plants into every page.
Perhaps the most amazing aspect of the Manual is the number of cultivars Dr. Dirr lists and provides descriptions for under each species. You are almost sure to find a description of any variety that your local garden center carries. With each new edition Dr. Dirr does a masterful job of keeping up with all the new cultivars cropping up in our catalogs and garden centers.
The result is not only the most informative book of it's kind on the market, but a delightful read for cold winter nights. It has become the benchmark by which I judge other garden books, and probably will be for many years to come.
