This is a guide to choosing and cultivating more than 1000 of the most attractive and interesting plants that can be grown in the temperate regions of the world, including bulbs and corms, annuals and biennials, perennials, ornamental grasses, alpines and water plants. Information is provided on plant types, garden planning and propagation, and all the flowers featured in detail in the plant guide are included in a simple chart showing cultivation requirements. The plant guide itself is arranged in seasonal order with the aim of making it easy to plan a planting programme for an all-year-round display. Practical and botanical information is given in the fact panels which accompany each plant. The author is a horticultural consultant and Chelsea Gold Medal winner whose previous books include "The Gardener's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs".