Dahlias are a type of daisy, but a brilliant, diverse and exotic one that only began to become popular in the 1920's. The Plant Lover's Guide to Dahlia's presents a trove of information on the flower. I recently came into the possession of some Dahlia tubers and wanted to know more about them. I would have preferred the sections of the book presented in a different order with general information first, growing information second, landscape design third and varieties last. However, if you own the actual book, flipping between the sections isn't a big deal.

The book opens with a lot of information on landscape design with dahlias and which type of dahlias work best in different situations, in hedgerows, in pots, on borders, and for cut flowers. This is great information for more established dahlia gardeners, but not information that I needed now with only three tubers to my name. Good planting companions for dahlias are also in this section, this information was helpful for knowing which plants to place my tubers near.

The next section, Understanding Dahilas, was the information that I needed. This section discussed the history, science and types of dahlias. This information, and there is a lot, helps the grower to understand the plant as a whole. Although, information about growing and propagating is not presented until the end of the book.

There are 200 varieties of dahlias featured in the book and they are organized by color, which is nice. The varieties are presented with clear, beautiful pictures and a simple description.

Lastly, there is information on growing and propagating. I was happy to learn that dahlias are an easy plant to grow! I appreciated the information about handling and planting tubers in general and the tip to start in pots so they do not get devoured by slugs. After (finally) reading this section I feel ready to plant my dahlia tubers.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. ( )