American Horticultural Society Essential Guide to Perennial Gardening: Techniques and Know-How for Planning, Planting, and Tending Low-Maintenance Perennial Plantings

by American Horticultural Society

Overview

Learn how to build an enduring, resilient, and biodiverse landscape prized by pollinators and people alike from the foremost authority on gardening in North America.

The second book in the American Horticultural Society’s series of growing guides, AHS Essential Guide to Perennial Gardening is a comprehensive and modern guide to cultivating and caring for perennial plants, including many perennials native to North America. Whether you grow in full sun or a shady corner, in a small space or a large landscape, the insight and guidance offered by the experts at AHS ensure you’ll have a thriving, bloom-filled garden. Included inside: 

• Strategies for designing the perennial garden of your dreams or incorporating perennials into an existing garden 
• Advice on selecting the best perennials for your climate and design style
• Techniques for fostering a robust and adaptable garden that requires lower maintenance 
• Eco-friendly approaches to managing pests and diseases 
• Information on routine perennial plant-care tasks such as dividing, pruning, pinching, staking, and fertilizing
• Insight on garden maintenance methods that do not negatively impact pollinators and other wildlife
• Over 150 perennial plant profiles with photographs and specific care advice 

This complete and contemporary manual contains all the information you need to grow perennials successfully in the face of today’s many gardening challenges, including weather extremes, invasive pests, water-use restrictions, and other such trials. Its modern approach to perennial gardening focuses on treating the garden as an ecosystem that depends less on human interference and more on natural resiliency.

Also included in this series is AHS Essential Guide to Organic Vegetable Gardening and AHS Essential Guide to Ecological Gardening.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780760392836
Publisher:	Cool Springs Press
Publication date:	02/04/2025
Series:	American Horticultural Society Guides Series
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.68(d)

About the Author

Founded in 1922, the non-profit American Horticultural Society (AHS) is one of the most respected and longstanding member-based national gardening organizations in North America. The Society’s membership includes aspiring, new, and experienced gardeners, plant enthusiasts, and horticultural professionals, as well as numerous regional and national partner organizations. Through its educational programs, awards, and publications, the AHS inspires a culture of gardening and horticultural practices that creates and sustains healthy, beautiful communities and a livable planet. AHS is headquartered at River Farm, a 25-acre site overlooking the Potomac River that is part of George Washington’s original farmlands in Alexandria, Virginia. ahsgardening.org

Table of Contents

Meet the American Horticultural Society
INTRODUCTION
What perennials are and why you’ll love them
CHAPTER 1 YOUR PIECE OF THE PLANET
Understanding the climate, soil, and conditions that make your garden unique
CHAPTER 2 YOUR GARDEN IS AN ECOSYSTEM
Making space for living things, big and small, to thrive
CHAPTER 3
FINDING YOUR GARDEN STYLE
Tools and tips for making a beautifully designed garden
CHAPTER 4 POPULATING YOUR GARDEN
How to shop for and propagate beautiful plants
CHAPTER 5 PUTTING PLANTS IN THE GROUND
How to prepare and plant your garden
CHAPTER 6 KEEPING THINGS GOING
Maintaining and troubleshooting your garden
CHAPTER 7 PLANT PROFILES
Resources 
Join the AHS 
Acknowledgments 
Photo Credits 
Index 

Editorial Reviews

Filled with practical, sustainable, and timely ideas and suggestions for today’s gardener, AHS’s Essential Guide to Perennial Gardening is a great resource. A refreshing read with great information.”

—Dr. Mary Hockenberry Meyer, Emeritus Professor and Extension Horticulturist, University of Minnesota

“Getting into growing perennials can be overwhelming. AHS Essential Guide to Perennial Gardening clearly explains everything you need to know to choose and grow beautiful plants that will return, growing bigger and better year after year.”

—Caleb Melchior, landscape architect & garden communicator

“AHS Essential Guide to Perennial Gardening gently guides new gardeners’ excitement for this versatile group of plants through practical strategies and top plant picks, helping them build healthy, gorgeous gardens. Well done! A solid road map for the perennial-curious gardener.”

—Marianne Willburn, author of Tropical Plants and How to Love Them

“Finally, a simple guide that takes a modern approach to growing perennials—no matter what climate you live in. Includes environmentally sound landscape practices and steps for building a thriving, ecologically diverse garden, from the plants it contains to the insects and wildlife it sustains. I’m thrilled to see so many native perennials featured alongside tried and true exotics. This book goes beyond the basics, offering something for gardeners of all skill levels.”

—Kim Toscano, horticulturist and content creator for Southern Living, Fine Gardening, The American Ga

“Bingo! What we needed was an updated perennial guide to move and shake us into a deeper understanding of our role as forward-thinking perennial gardeners. What this book delivers is a clear vision for best garden practices to create an eco-conscientious path forward partnering with plants and nature. Not just for newbies, this book reveals the science behind soils and complex ecological systems to strengthen the toolbox for seasoned gardeners. And all this essential info is delivered through an easily read, infinitely enjoyable romp.”

—Tovah Martin, horticulturist and author of The Garden in Every Sense and Season, The Unexpected Hous

“An ambitious new encyclopedia for enterprising gardeners. This latest tome from the American Horticultural Society marries science with practice, putting the fundamentals of perennial gardening within reach of a new generation.”

—Kelly Norris, author of New Naturalism and Your Natural Garden

"A process that was presented especially well was the section on growing new plants from stem or root cuttings."

—Christine Thomson, Triangle Gardener

"This complete, authoritative guide with its step-by-step instructions by a trusted organization is an essential addition to libraries’ and perennial gardeners’ collections."

—Sue O'Brien, Library Journal

"There is a wealth of information...provides all you need to know about beautiful perennial gardens for you and pollinators..."

—Jean Schanen, Ozaukee Press

From the Publisher

04/01/2025

The American Horticultural Society staff has created an attractive, comprehensive, easy-to-understand book for North American gardeners on creating and caring for perennial gardens. It opens with a discussion of climate, soils and nutrients, the garden as an ecosystem, garden size and styles, purchasing and propagating plants, and preparing, planting, and maintaining perennial gardens. The book goes on to describe and offer solutions for troubleshooting common insect, disease, and cultural problems. The final third of the book contains plant profiles for perennials for a range of hardiness zones and climates. The profiles, arranged by scientific name, list common name(s), height and width of the mature plant, bloom time, lowest hardiness zone, pruning advice, propagation techniques, dormancy, and native region, with icons showing sun/shade requirements, heat tolerance, rabbit/deer resistance, water use, growth habit (rounded, upright), whether the plant offers attractive seed heads or fragrance, and whether it is pollinator-friendly. Profiles, most running half a page in length, also include a color photo of the plant, a description, plant alternatives for different climates, and any common issues with the plant. VERDICT This complete, authoritative guide with its step-by-step instructions by a trusted organization is an essential addition to libraries' and perennial gardeners' collections.—Sue O'Brien

Library Journal