Claude A. Barr

This book is being reprinted with new photos, so I thought I'd check out the writing to see if the updated version would be worth buying. I had read that the author was somewhat witty. Not true. The photos would have to be mighty fantastic to get me to shell out for any edition.
The book begins with a few pages introducing the geography of the Great Plains. It then dives right into an alphabetical listing of seemingly hundreds of plants native to the area. Each species is annotated with Barr's experiences growing the plant in his garden or his journeys to try to find unusual color variations. There are some species he apparently wasn't familiar with, as he gives just a brief write-up which sounds more like nursery promotion. He ends with a chapter on the soil & growing requirements of the plants. Weedon then inserts a few pages of praise for Barr's work. Finally, there is a glossary, bibliography (dated, of course), and extensive index.
I think my botanical training prejudiced me against people who dig up wild plants, which is what Barr continually did. It isn't clear whether the plants he sold were propagates from his own garden or if he also sold wild dug plants. Yes, times were different then. That's one reason we have lost so much of our native vegetation.… (mehr)