Lois Hole's Perennial Favorites: 100 Best for Beauty and Hardiness

by Lois Hole

More than 250,000 copies sold! Tried and true advice on the best plants to choose for any garden type. Includes pointers for selecting flowers for color, height range, blooming periods and drying bouquets, as well as many other valuable gardening hints.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Plants, Nature

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Lois Elsa Hole, CM, AOE, was a Canadian politician, businesswoman, academician, professional gardener and best-selling author. She was the 15th Lieutenant Governor of Alberta from 10 February 2000 until her death. She was known as the "Queen of Hugs" for breaking with protocol and hugging almost everyone she met, including journalists, diplomats and other politicians.

In 1993 Lois Hole wrote her first book, Vegetable Favourites, and went on to write five more in the "Favourites" series. There are currently more than 1,000,000 copies of the various books in this series in print. The series won the Educational Media Award from the Professional Plant Growers Association in 1996. In 1998, Hole's Greenhouse began publishing their own books starting with Hole's autobiographical I'll Never Marry a Farmer. She also wrote several books with her son, Jim. Hole's Greenhouse has continued to publish gardening books along with a successful annual magazine, Lois' Spring Gardening.

Reviews

[Molly]

I wish I'd bought this four years ago when I got my house. This would make a great housewarming gift for any new homeowners in this region (MT/north of MT). It covers everything you need to know to set up perennial planting and then how to maintain them. It lists maybe a hundred plants with everything you need to know about each plant. And, it then lists these plants by height and by color and whether they do well in shade so you can pick things out by color and so forth. The photography is great and it's all very easy to understand. I would have saved so much effort and money if I'd just shelled out the $20 when I first learned about this book!

[Deodand]

If you're going to garden in a cold zone, Lois Hole's books have everything you'll need. The Hole family started a garden business in the Edmonton area long before the rest of us even considered what to do with the dirt in our backyards two generations ago. The Holes have seen it all and tried it all - now let us benefit from their experiences. The late Lois Hole was one of the good guys on this earth - she was a person who made everyone smile with her grace and charm. And she could work like a field hand, too.

[Coatesj]

A great reference for long term yard management. So clear and readable.

[Sarca]

Extremely informative and accessible book to the beginner gardener and beyond! A lot of great ideas.

[Teresa]

I have owned this book 4 times and given it away 3 times. I bought my first copy in 1995 the year it was published.

Today I wanted dome info on 21 perennials and took this book out of my library

This is the best perennial book ever written, I recommend it for every gardener.

[Blanche]

Still my favorite gardening reference book for perennials

[Melody Redford]

Still— the one and only reference book for the Alberta gardener. It’s a great gift for ANYone. Keep an eye out for it at book fairs or used bookshops.

[June]

This Book is an on going read....very informative and go to it often