When I first heard about this new ginger book and saw the negative comments on GardenWeb, I was in no hurry to get it. Several people said much of it was obviously taken from my own website. But recently when ordering another book, I needed something else to bring the order to $25 for the free shipping.

I was pleasantly surprised! This is a pretty darn good job at describing hardy gingers for the temperate or sub tropical garden. Some of the cultivars had to come from my website but there was also a lot of original research and solid information from other sources. Much of it is slanted toward the UK/British climate, but also for gardeners in the southern USA.

I can now recommend this book to anyone interested in collecting and growing gingers, including Costaceae (spiral gingers) as well as Zingiberaceae (true gingers).

T.M.E. Branney is co-owner of a nursery that specializes in rare, temperate-woodland plants, and is also a garden designer: this professional background lends well to a unique, authoritative guide in Hardy Gingers Including Hedychium, Roscoea And Zingiber. Color photos of hardy gingers supplement notes on growing needs, rarity, plant origins and history, and propagation. While most may associate ginger with tropical climates, it's the more unusual temperate-zone gingers that are the focus here - and there's a wealth of them.