The Plant Lover's Guide to Ferns - (Plant Lover's Guides) by Richie Steffen & Sue Olsen (Hardcover)

About the Book

In the tradition of creating a valuable library of beautiful, plant-driven books, Timber Press's series of Plant Lover's Guides are packed with trusted information alongside lush, full-color photography. This guide is perfect for beginning and expert home gardeners who want to celebrate the beauty of ferns.

Book Synopsis

Ferns are easy to grow and readily available in big box stores, garden centers, and mail-order nurseries, making them a popular ornamental among new and advanced gardeners. Perfect for containers, borders, layered gardens, foliage accents, and shady areas, ferns come in a range of colors and varieties. The Plant Lover's Guide to Ferns, by fern enthusiasts Richie Steffen and Sue Olsen, is packed with information on these reliable plants. The book includes profiles for 134 plants, with information on growth and propagation, advice on using ferns in garden design, and lists of where to buy the plants and where to view them in public gardens.

From the Back Cover

Ferns are renowned for their diversity and shade tolerance. But these captivating foliage plants can also play many different roles in the garden. They add rich texture and detail to shady landscapes, and are perfect for softening edges and creating pleasing transitions. Their often brilliantly colored new fronds delight the eye with tones of green, gold, bronze, and copper. Experts Richie Steffen and Sue Olsen offer astute advice on how to get the most out of these versatile plants and highlight the most rewarding varieties.

The Plant Lover's Guide books offer a rich source of information on both new and classic garden plants. Written by enthusiastic experts, they recommend the best varieties for different situations, inspire ideas for new plant combinations, and are packed with resources for the home gardener. These gorgeous guides celebrate the beauty of each plant and form a comprehensive library that every plant lover will want to own.

Review Quotes

"Sure to get you down on your hands and knees." --New York Times Book Review

"Their abundant expertise is evident in the detailed descriptions...visually, the book is stunning." --Garden Design

"All the knowledge these two fern fanciers accumulated over their years of study are beautifully presented in The Plant Lover's Guide to Ferns." --Seattle Times

"This slim volume offers the pteridomaniac just the right amount of inspiration and information to keep them on track." --Pacific Horticulture

"If you live in Western Washington and you like plants, you need this book. . . . I am so inspired that I intend to fill a single large container with my favorite fern--as soon as I can decide which fern in this book is my favorite." --The Daily News

"Don't dare open this book unless you are ready to fall in love...Steffen and Olsen have produced a lush, user-friendly book, replete with obvious expertise and a shared love for their subject." --Hardy Fern Foundation Quarterly

"This is a book that is not just for fern lovers, but also for those who want to use the rich tapestry of foliage, color, and texture of ferns to great effect in the garden." --Pteridologist Review

About the Author

Richie Steffen is curator of the Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden in Seattle, Washington where he oversees development, manages the special collections, and oversees greatplantpicks.org. He travels extensively to collect plants and visit gardens, and regularly lectures and writes. Steffen also serves as president of the Northwest Horticultural Society and the Hardy Fern Foundation.
Sue Olsen developed a love of ferns in the late 1960s and has been studying, propagating, and writing about them ever since. Her fern nursery, Foliage Gardens, has introduced numerous ferns to North American horticulture and is the oldest mail-order nursery in the United States for spore-grown temperate ferns. Sue was a founding member and first president of the Hardy Fern Foundation, and has served since then as editor of Hardy Fern? Quarterly. Her interest and joy in photography date back to childhood and the gift of a simple box camera. She has shared her photos and plant knowledge in lectures in England and throughout North America. Sue is a graduate of Cornell University.