Groves of Beauty and Plenty: A Major Flowering Trees in India, first published in 2003, generated considerable interest and awareness about the vast diversity of flowering trees that could be made use of for improving the landscape architecture of our educational institutions, both schools and colleges, cities and towns, parks and gardens, public and private homes, tourist spots and hotel complexes, besides the airports, both domestic and international, where hundreds of thousands of tourists arrive everyday.

Within a period of an year and a half of its publication this Atlas went out of print. We felt the need to enlarge the scope of this book by bringing out its revised edition. We have included here sixteen other beautiful trees and shrubs along with their many closely allied species that could be grown to further ameliorate our surroundings.

The bibliography and nomenclatural details have been updated. Replacement photographs have been used to increase the usefulness of the Atlas and also to enhance the picture quality.

Macmillan India Ltd. has done a great service by publishing this non-subsidised edition for the benefit of students working for degrees in botany, horticulture, forestry and landscape architecture; garden enthusiasts and other people who have interest in nature and natural resources.

We are thankful to the Principal of Maharaja Agrasen Model School, Pitampura, Delhi for giving a free access to their excellent garden for our photographic work. Thanks are also due to Dr Gurucharan Singh for his help in updating the nomenclatural details.

It is hoped that this revised Atlas would be even more useful than the first edition. We shall appreciate very much receiving substitute coloured photographs or transparencies for the plants included in this edition, and also for some other garden trees and shrubs for subsequent editions.