The Well-Designed Mixed Garden: Building Beds and Borders with Trees, Shrubs, Perennials, Annuals, and Bulbs. - book review

Science News, May 10, 2003

TRACY DISABATO-AUST

This useful text is a combination of scholarly data, beautiful photographs of plants and gardens, and a healthy dose of practical wisdom and gardening tips. DiSabato-Aust provides a thoroughgoing lesson in design fundamentals that covers site evaluation, color theory, and planning for necessary maintenance. Lists of plants used and before-and-after photographs accompany nine design plans that apply to both large and small spaces. An "Encyclopedia of Plant Combinations" details and illustrates 27 different groupings of compatible plants. Here the author explains how the plants work together and how to maintain them. Lengthy appendixes provide pertinent data about hundreds of woody plants, annuals, and perennials, including height, width, flower color, hardiness, and texture. This is an all-encompassing guide to beds and borders. Timber Pr, 2003, 460 p., color photos/illus., hardcover, $39.95.