Nonfiction Book Reviews

Climbers and Wall Plants by Philippa Bensley was a well-written book on climbing plants - exactly what I was needing when I checked the book out of the library.  I am just starting to get into planting and gardening, and I really don’t know a whole lot about different types of plants.  I know what I want to do (I have a large wooden fence that I want to have plants climb up,) but not how to do it.

Climbers and Wall Plants helped me figure out the differences between climbers, and what I actually needed for my own garden.  I learned from the book that there are two different kinds of climbers: Self-supporting climbers and social climbers.

*Self-supporting climbers don’t need to be tied or staked to anything - they can climb up a brick wall or fence and send out “suckers” that will cling to the fence to support it.  They need no outside help.

*The social climbers have to have a trellis or netting that it can climb up and through, and will often need help along the way in terms of ties and stakes.  They use twining leafstalks, tendrils, stems, or thorns to cling to the structure.

Who knew?  I certainly didn’t.  This was a great book for a gardening novice like me.

The book was well laid out, it explained terms and ideas simply, and had lots of pretty pictures. More than just a picture book to drool over though, it actually provided helpful information - it should have been called Climbers and Wall Plants for Dummies.

I give Climbers and Wall Plants 4.75 out of 5 stars.

Hava