Viburnums - Flowering Shrubs for Every Season

Viburnums are idiosyncratic. One variety turns your head in spring with its unexpected, sweet fragrance; another attracts attention in late summer for its clusters of brilliant berries; others gain notice throughout the year with early flowers, handsome foliage, or autumn coloring. How comforting it is to have Professor Michael Dirr finally make sense of this complex tribe. His book is the first comprehensive guide to the family, a work to which he brings an experienced eye, considerable authority, and frank insight. Covering both species and cultivars, and with generous illustrations, one-by-one he carefully -- and engagingly -- details each plant's height, spread, foliage, fruits, and hardiness, summing up with his professional appraisal as to each variety's overall garden worthiness. According to Michael Dirr, a garden without Viburnums is like a life without the pleasures of music and art. Peruse this volume and we're sure you'll agree. 264 pages. Hardcover.

Copyright© 2007 by Michael A. Dirr. All rights reserved. Published by Timber Press, Inc., Portland, OR 97204-3527.

I'm thinking a lot about viburnums these days, not just because fall is one of the cherished seasons of the plant, nor because the half-dozen types in my garden are faring reasonably well in the drought. It comes to mind because Dirr is once more championing a plant that serves so many roles and yet remains underused and undervalued. –The Washington Post

Michael A. Dirr is a professor of horticulture at the University of Georgia. He is the author of twelve books, including Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs: An Illustrated Encyclopedia and the text and reference book, Manual of Woody Landscape Plants. He has received the highest teaching and gardening awards from the University of Georgia, American Society of Horticultural Science, American Horticultural Society, American Nursery & Landscape Association, Massachusetts Horticultural Society, Southern Nursery Association, and Garden Club of America.