Perennial Companions

(Paperback)

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Description

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.

Reviews

This little gem ... takes a new approach to guiding gardeners toward success. -- Molly Day Muskogee Phoenix Online 20090305 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. -- Peter F. Sleight Hartford Courant 20090306 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. -- Mary Beth Breckenridge Akron Beacon Journal 20090321 Fischer gives as much attention to texture as he does to color, and the results look doable as well as desirable. -- Valerie Easton Seattle Times 20090510 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 20090801 Much more than eye candy. ! [It] is compelling - one beautiful combination after another. -- Madeline Caliendo Washington Gardener 20091001 Takes away the guesswork of gardening. Houston Lifestyles and Homes 20090701 [Fischer is] affable and quick-witted as any dude I'd ever want to know. -- Douglas Lord Library Journal 20090331 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 20090201

Author Bio

Tom Fischer is editor-in-chief at Timber Press in Portland, Oregon. He got his start in book publishing at the University of Chicago Press and Beacon Press, and spent 14 years on the editorial staff at Horticulture magazine in Boston. His Boston garden featured a hardscape created by Douglas Reed, of Reed Hilderbrand Associates, and contained noteworthy collections of unusual flowering shrubs, shade perennials, and delphiniums. After moving to Portland in 2004, he began a new drought-tolerant garden composed of plants from the world's five Mediterranean climate areas, with an emphasis on West Coast natives. His garden was profiled in The Oregonian in 2008. His most recent project has been a collaboration with Portland designer Lauren Hall-Behrens to create a lush, exotic garden featuring ornamental grasses, palms, ferns, salvias, Pacific Coast irises, and Southern Hemisphere plants. A prolific writer as well as an editor, Tom's articles have been featured in magazines such as Garden Design, Gardens Illustrated, and Martha Stewart Living. His book, Perennial Companions: 100 Dazzling Plant Combinations for Every Season, was published by Timber Press in February 2009. He also has a website, OverPlanted.com