Principles of Horticulture

I just wish all horticulture books for students were like this - lots of colour pictures, and an easy read. It is designed around the new Level Two RHS QCF courses - which only started this year (2010). I am studying the old RHS course at Diploma level - I just wish we had books this good instead of books like Science in the Garden which are scholarly with slabs of text, Latin names and the odd colour photograph. What I do notice in this book is the use of common names where there is one - such as Poinsettia, named after Mr Poinsett, the American Consul who brought it back from Mexico, instead of Euphorbia pulcherrima, its botanical name. It is easier for beginners to understand - there are lots of reasons why Latin names are a good thing. I went round a botanical garden in France and of course I could read the plant names because they were all in Latin. However Latin remains a huge barrier between horticulturalists and botanists and the general public. So this books is an excellent buy if you are doing the new RHS Level Two course. And it is suitable for the general gardener who wants to know more about the plants in their garden and how they work. Why doesn't a Poinsettia turn red if you keep it alive till next Christmas?

This is a very thorough and easy to understand textbook, and is a comprehensive introduction to Horticulture. However, American customers should be aware that it was published in Great Britian, so certain sections that involve discussions of geography (planting zones, climate variations, etc.) are geared for a British audience.

This book tells you all you need to know about the theory behind horticulture and is a standard for the RHS courses.

Perfect very helpful when was doing a gardening course level 2

Not enough pictures. College level reading