The ultimate gardening reference work compiled by two dozen of the world's leading plant experts under the auspices of one of the world's greatest botanical gardens. Brooklyn Botanic Garden Gardener's Desk Reference is a milestone in garden publishing, the kind of groundbreaking work that appears once in a lifetime. No gardening reference--ever--has combined this scope of information in a single volume. The coverage in most gardening reference books falls into a few standard horticultural categories. The Gardener's Desk Reference unlocks the door to a vast assortment of plant knowledge from around the world. There is enough information in this single volume to serve any plant enthusiast--beginning and professional alike--over a lifetime. For easy use, the wide-ranging material is divided into twenty different sections--from "Botany for Gardeners" to "Kitchen Gardening" to "The Horticultural Traveler" to "Weights, Measures, and Conversions." The hundreds of indispensable sidebars, graphs, tables, plant lists, maps, and illustrations found throughout the reference make it even more accessible and attractive. To do justice to the continent's breathtaking diversity of climates and plant communities, all plant lists are organized by region, and every recommed species or cultivar has been chosen by an experienced landscaper tested by years of gardening in the area. Never before have gardeners had access to the breadth and quality of information in this authoritative reference.