A new look at perennials

A new look at perennials

William Cullina considers himself more a student of gardening than an expert, someone who thrills at discoveries and enjoys sharing them with his readers. That’s what he set out to do with “Understanding Perennials: A New Look at an Old Favorite.”

Cullina, the plant and garden curator of the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, strives to translate scientific knowledge about perennials into a form average gardeners can understand. He takes on such topics as the functions of various plant parts, hybridizing, pests, diseases and the way plants get their botanical names, all in the hope of making us better gardeners by helping us understand why plants behave and react the way they do.

“Understanding Perennials” is published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and sells for $40 in hardcover.