Saturday, September 20, 2003

By Susan Banks, Post-Gazette Garden Editor

Do you have favorite plants in the garden that happen to have a person's name attached, like Clematis viticella 'Betty Corning' or Hosta sieboldiana 'Frances Williams'?

Did you ever wonder who in the heck those people are? Then I have a book for you -- "Legends in the Garden: Who in the World is Nellie Stevens?" by Linda L. Copeland and Allan M. Armitage (Wings Publishing, $24.95).

This great little book tells the tales of both famous and obscure Americans we can thank for some wonderful and commonly grown garden plants.

"I've always been interested in the stories of plants," says Armitage. "A number of years ago, I found a book in England and it was the same kind of thing. There are a lot of people whose names are on plants. ... I knew there were American people that plants were named after."

With that germ of an idea, he contacted Copeland, a friend who agreed to do the research for the book. Armitage wrote it but he is quick to credit Copeland.

"She got in touch with the parents and aunts," the hardest part, he says.

Then they tried to find a publisher. Though Armitage has seven other books to his credit, he had trouble getting this book into print. So they published it themselves.

Happily, the book is a hit, now going into its third printing. Armitage says it has taken on a life of its own as a "gift" book for gardeners.

The book contains 46 stories profiling plants like Aquilegia canadensis 'Corbett' and Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle'.

You don't necessarily have to be a gardener to find this book interesting. But if you are, and are familiar with many of these plants, that's just icing on the cake.

It's a fast read, or as Armitage puts it: "It's a bedside book. You read two stories and fall asleep."

Keep this one in mind for winter reading.

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