Perennial Companions: 100 Dazzling Plant Combinations for Every Season - Softcover

Fischer, Tom

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0881929395 ISBN 13: 9780881929393

Publisher: Timber Press, 2009

Synopsis

Every gardener wants to create breathtaking designs with color, form, and texture. But perennial combinations present challenges: How do I know all plants will bloom at the same time? How do I pick plants that have interest in each season? Most perplexing -- which plants look good together in the first place?

Perennial Companions takes away the guesswork by providing Tom Fischer's 100 proven picks. New gardeners will learn how to create simple pairings with two plants and gardeners with a bit more experience -- or beginners looking for a challenge -- will find complex arrangements with four or more plants. Arranged chronologically by season, spanning the earliest spring to the onset of winter, each entry identifies all the main plants by both common and botanical names, specifies the care and conditions each requires, and indicates when the combination reaches its peak of beauty.

Love flowers? You'll find both quiet compositions and bold blends. Prefer the texture of leaves? You'll find ferns and soft sweeping grasses. Better yet? Combine both for sophisticated tapestries that beguile and dazzle the eye.Whether you want to create a small-scale sanctuary, a welcoming path, or a bewitching border, you'll find an abundance of inspiration in this perfect package.

About this title

About the Author

Tom Fischer is senior acquisitions editor at Timber Press. He previously worked at University of Chicago Press, Beacon Press, and Horticulture magazine. Fischer has been featured in Garden Design, Gardens Illustrated, Martha Stewart Living, and the Oregonian. He served as a horticultural consultant for Allied Works Architecture developing the planting design implemented at the new Sokol Blosser winery tasting room. You can read more on his website, overplanted.com.

Review

“[Fischer is] affable and quick-witted as any dude I’d ever want to know.” —Library Journal

“Much more than eye candy. . . .  [It] is compelling—one beautiful combination after another.” —Washington Gardener

“Frees the imagination to pursue a garden for all seasons.” —Toronto Star

“The author has chosen beautiful and original color and plant combinations. . . . The arrangement by season will ensure that users can have a lovely garden year round.” —American Reference Books Annual

“Takes away the guesswork of gardening.” —Houston Lifestyles and Homes

“Other books have presented companion-plant suggestions, but Fischer’s seasonal approach is particularly handy—added insurance that a carefully composed arrangement of plants will actually bloom at the same time.” —Hartford Courant

“If good garden design starts with choosing the right plant, then Tom Fischer, editor-in-chief of Timber Press, shows how.” —Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association

“Simplifies garden design by suggesting plants that not only complement one another in color, form and texture, but also bloom at the same time and have like requirements for sun and moisture.” —Akron Beacon Journal

“Fischer gives as much attention to texture as he does to color, and the results look doable as well as desirable.” —The Seattle Times

“Whether you want to create a small-scale sanctuary, a welcoming path, or a pretty border, you can find ideas in this handy guide.” —Michigan Gardener

“This little gem. . . takes a new approach to guiding gardeners toward success.” —Muskogee Phoenix Online

"100 recipes for perennial plant combinations with succinct descriptions."

About this edition

• Publisher: Timber Press
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0881929395
• ISBN 13: 9780881929393
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 216