RHS Plant Finder – not just about finding plants
April 11, 2011
Yes, the latest annual edition of the Royal Horticultural Society’s Plant Finder, one of the most important garden books ever published, is now out – both in its print edition and free online. But this is a British book, what use is it to gardeners anywhere else?
Just to remind you, this is the book that tells British gardeners which nurseries stock which plants. In this new edition there are 69,972 plants stocked by 566 nurseries! But that’s not much use in North America, although many nurseries will ship plants to other European countries only a few ship to the US and Canada.
More important to everyone else around the world, is the fact the RHS Plant Finder is also the most comprehensive reference to correct names of garden plants published anywhere. The team of RHS botanists, and their contacts all over the world, cautiously update the names as botanical science advances. All are carefully cross-referenced, of course, and in the online version all the plants that ever featured in previous editions are also included making it uniquely comprehensive. You just can't afford to be with out it.
The online edition of the RHS Plant Finder is free to anyone, an invaluable free service to gardeners from the RHS.