Perennial Combinations- Stunning Combinations That Make Your Garden Look Fantastic Right from the St Description:

Perennial Combinations: Stunning Combinations That Make Your Garden Look Fantastic Right from the Start review:
5 stars (Still a star) - PERENNIAL COMBINATIONS by Colston Burrell is another practical and increasingly beautiful Rodale publication (remember those older Rodale volumes printed on coarse pulp paper?). Although this book was published several years ago, it is still a mega-star as far as I am concerned--printed on slick glossy paper and filled with beautiful and clear photographs. The combinations I used worked for me then and they work now in my more mature garden.



Burrell includes many suggestions for the gardener charged with developing an otherwise barren plot into a floriferous spot. Every yard is a collection of ecological zones ranging from dry loose (or compacted) soil to wet mucky bogs. Different combinations of plants work in different circumstances. For example, although I once had a professional gardener tell me Siberian Iris would grow anywhere, that has not been my experience, and Burrell confirms their best showing comes in a relatively damp area (Mine do best in the boggy area where our air conditioning unit drips ceaselessly throughout the summer-check out the lake in the middle of Central Park, Siberian Iris grow all along the shoreline). And speaking of "wet" gardens, Burrell shows ferns, Hosta, flags and various other perennials who either like or can tolerate damp feet combined into a `Garden for Three Seasons.'



Burrell covers almost any situation you can encounter in the garden: shade and wet, shade and dry, hot and dry, hot and wet. Have you just removed a dead tree and are puzzled about what to do to disguise the residual stump? Perhaps you want to grow wild flowers and don't know how or where to begin. Or, perhaps you have prairie-like conditions and wonder what to plant. And by the way, you don't have to live on the Great Plains to have prairie-like conditions, a sunny bank will do or, as in my case, where the driveway meets the street.



Burrell offers many tips and "secrets for success" with whatever condition you may encounter. Sedum and Thyme anyone?
5 stars (Burrell's Perennials) - Combining perennials in a bed or border for a soothing or striking effect can be a tricky business even for experienced gardeners. Cole Burrell's thorough treatment of this subject in his book, "Perennials Combinations," comes to our rescue. Through diagrams, photographs,and illustrations, he demonstrates what can be planted in a variety of situations. All this is accompanied by the author's perceptive comments concerning the cultural needs of each recommended plant. But this is not quite enough and Cole goes much further. Page after page of this marvelous book demonstrates a variety of combinations to appeal to a variety of tastes. Looking great is what it's all about and I, for one, as a landscape designer, will find many different combinations that truly appeal to not only what is possible in gardens of this area but what appeals to my artistic taste in renovating a country garden--my own.Ruby Weinberg-Landscape Designer, Author
5 stars (Illustrated garden design book - great!) - Book contains about 344 pages divided into three main sections. The sections are Basic Design (14 pages), Combinations (306 pages), and Mail Order Sources & Index (24 pages).Each combination discussion (there are over 200) shows a garden photograph, a photo key, and several paragraphs of discussion. Each plant in the photograph is identified to species and variety. Great job!The discussions reveal growing tricks and tips. The book is full of solid and easy to follow instructions.This is an excellent book for generating garden design ideas for your own yard. Photographs are awesome (although some images appear to have the flower colors oversaturated - that's not the color they are in my yard :-)It's my favorite garden design book so far. Very creative!