Natural Companions: The Garden Lover's Guide to Plant Combinations

by Ken Druse, Ellen Hoverkamp (Photographer)

In Natural Companions, acclaimed garden writer Ken Druse presents recipes for perfect plant pairings using diverse species that look great together and bloom at the same time. Organized by theme within seasons, topics include color, fragrance, foliage, grasses, edible flowers and much more, all presented in photographs of gardens that show planted combinations from a wide variety of climates and conditions. Natural Companions also features more than one hundred special botanical images of amazing depth and color created in collaboration with artist Ellen Hoverkamp using modern digital technology.
Filled with an incredible amount of horticultural guidance, useful plant recommendations, and gardening lore—all written in Druse’s charming, witty style—this book is a must-have for gardeners and lovers of plants and flowers.


Praise for Natural Companions :

“Druse and Hoverkamp have made a splendid book that will be useful to careful gardeners and armchair botanists alike.” — American Scientist

"Provides seasonal tips on planting flowers that bloom (and look lovely) together. Whether or not you have a patch of dirt, you'll dig the book's stunning, hyper-detailed photography." — Wall Street Journal
“An engaging blend of humor (the punning titles are rib-ticklers), garden history, botanical knowledge, and practical advice . . ." — Organic Gardening

"Foodies have bread and chocolate. Romantics have Rogers and Astaire. Now, in Natural Companions , garden expert Ken Druse presents the perfect partners of the plant world…" —New York Spaces

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2012

Reviews

[Jen Bartush · Rating 4 out of 5]

As others mentioned, this book is not what I thought it would be. I was looking for information on companion planting from a more functional perspective. That being said, this is a gorgeous book that is well worth picking up, even if you just look at the photos. The “scanner” artwork if breathtaking and I’m glad I found it.

[Dee Roll · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great photos ant tips
Just not what I was looking for, info on plants the basically benefited , thrived because of companion planting of fruit and veggies . For a Master Gardener Project

[Beth Dillon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic! The images are unbelievable - so clear and vivid - it makes you wish you could just scoop up the plants from out of the book and put them in a vase. But it's not just that this book has beautiful (big) pictures on every other page - Ken also offers up some useful information about plant families, seasonality, and function. I got this from the library so sadly I had to give it back, but I would most definitely buy it if I had the chance. I can see it coming in handy when thinking about garden design or floral arranging - or just for drooling over the photographs.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely beautiful, eye candy, inspirational, and soul-satisfying book. The photography is stunning. The written material is interesting to read without being overwhelming. The accompanying charts for identifying the items in the photo are very easy to use and read. I immediately bought the book after studying my local library copy. Awesome!!

[Tricia Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most beautiful book I've ever seen. I was totally mesmerized by the images and plant pairings.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous Book!

[Darlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good guide for flowers. I was looking more for vegetable and herbs companions

[Connie D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous photos!

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beautifully done!!!

[Heath Ashli]

beautiful pictures