Designer Plant Combinations 105 Stunning Gardens Using Six Plants or Fewer

by Calhoun, Scott

• ISBN13: 9781603420778
• ISBN10: 1603420770
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-09-03
• Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC

Summary

For every gardener who has hesitated over plant pairings or wondered if an array of favorite plants will work well together in the garden, Designer Plant Combinations inspires and delights with professionally designed combinations using just two to six plants. Here are the secrets to combining French lavender with California fuchsia; prairie coneflower with hummingbird mint; and tall purple moor grass with dwarf Korean lilac in a small garden bed. The dramatic effects are marvelous. Author Scott Calhoun traveled the country searching for the freshest, most exciting plant groupings. He visited the gardens of top designers from coast to coast and chose more than 100 combinations to include in his photographic celebration. Riots of complementary colors, masses of grasses, foliage spectacles in extraordinary shades of green and purple, and height variations as arresting as city skylines are all featured in these exciting gardens, each one an intimate self-contained glimpse of a larger garden. Rather than complete garden designs, these combinations are small, understandable pieces that demystify the design process for home gardeners. The innovative ensembles are invitations to try plants together in fresh, inventive ways. The combinations are perfect as embellishments to or reinventions of existing gardens. A favorite pairing can be the beginning of a larger garden design, or a five-plant grouping might be all that is necessary to fill in a small urban garden. The possibilities are as varied as the gardener's imagination.

Author Biography

Scott Calhoun is an award-winning author and garden designer based in Tucson, Arizona, where he lives with his wife and daughter. In his design practice, he incorporates cactus into every residential space and sees them as the plant family of the future—especially in arid parts of the world. Calhoun is the author of six gardening books. His work has earned an American Horticultural Society Book Award and a Garden Writers Association Silver Book Award. He writes a monthly garden column for Sunset magazine and has written for most national gardening magazines.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Perennial Partners

Masses of Grasses

Annual Acquaintances

Accent Plant Associates

Ground Cover Groupies

Buddies for Woodies

Designer Resources

Plant Resources

Public Gardens for Design Inspiration

USDA Hardiness Zone Map

Index