The Know Maintenance Perennial Garden

by Roy Diblik

“A veritable goldmine for gardeners.” —Plant Talk We’ve all seen gorgeous perennial gardens packed with color, texture, and multi-season interest. Designed by a professional and maintained by a crew, they are aspirational bits of beauty too difficult to attempt at home. Or are they?The Know Maintenance Perennial Garden makes a design-magazine-worthy garden achievable at home. The new, simplified approach is made up of hardy, beautiful plants grown on a 10x14 foot grid. Each of the 62 garden plans combines complementary plants that thrive together and grow as a community. They are designed to make maintenance a snap. The garden plans can be followed explicitly or adjusted to meet individual needs, unlocking rich perennial landscape designs for individualization and creativity. 

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Nature, Reference, Plants, Horticulture

214 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Lorilin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book because author Roy Diblik is the head gardener at Lurie Garden in Millennial Park in Chicago. He’s a mastermind, as far as I’m concerned, and I was eager to absorb his wisdom.

The book is divided into eight sections: basic facts about the garden (soil, water, etc.), understanding plants (what plants need to grow), site prep and planting, plant care and maintenance (including watering, weeding, fertilizing, etc.), key perennials to use in the Midwest, garden plans, plant communities, and profiles of “outstanding gardeners.”

I thought his basic facts were illuminating. I found new tools I needed (and I did really need them! That dutch hoe has absolutely saved my back.) Next spring, I am going to try mowing all my perennials down in March or early April and leaving the debris to act as nutrients for the plants. I also learned about the best time to divide plants.

A couple criticisms: I wish the weeds section and the garden plans section had accompanying photos of each weed/plant. I also wish the plant community section had been more robust. Show me some more good examples of plant combinations in action, you know?

Still, I learned a lot from this book. It’s such a fantastic resource for Midwestern gardeners. I know I’ll be referencing it for years to come.

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

The Know Maintenance Perennial Garden is a very well presented book packed full of everything you need to create a beautiful and thriving perennial garden. From specific plants, their care, garden plans, and site preparation and planning, all topics a novice gardener needs are discussed in detail.

The book is broken down into the following chapters: Understanding your garden, understanding plants, site preparation and planting, care and maintenance, key plants for know maintenance gardens, garden plans, creating plant communities, and examples of gardens from professionals.

The book is pleasantly image heavy, showing good and poor gardens as well as all the plants mentioned. Preparation and understanding local soils is given due discussion, whether a new house lot, established older garden, or even smaller commercial gardens as for a church or office building. Especially interesting are the most common weeds and how to take care of them (though I wish the author had included photos of the weeds as well).

A large chunk of the book is dedicated to plans and detailed descriptions/care of perennials. Included are many examples of different gardens, first for full sun and then for shadey areas. Several are based on famous paintings or works of art. Following the plans is a chapter on gardens and creating synergy among the perennials chosen.

The last portion of the book is the weakest, in my opinion. It is a section devoted to colleagues of the author and their gardens. It is meant to be inspirational but there's a LOT of text on the person and the 1-2 images of the gardens are almost an afterthought. It's difficult to be impressed by a professional's work if we can't actually see it from the images (many images are closeups of 1-2 plants or a child smelling a flower, neither of which really give us a feel for the person or their work)

In all, this is a very useful, well researched book clearly written from experience. A few more 'pullback' images of gardens and garden communities would have made this a 5 star book for me.

Received as an ARC from the publisher.

[Janie · Rating 3 out of 5]

+ Half of the recommended reading is poetry anthologies!? :)
+ The design graphics in the second half are easy to read and easy to understand and mimic. Also, they're fancifully matched to impressionist paintings.
- It does not focus even remotely on edibles. Alas.
+ Notwithstanding its inedibility, it introduces, employs, or supports a lot of biodynamic gardening principles:

• succession (how to plant a bed with respect to the natural cycles of immature and mature plants)
• seasonal beauty, seasonal succession, seasonal use
• stacked functions (plants providing a few or several functions in the garden, e.g. mulch, water handling, propagating, weed suppression, beneficial insect attraction)
• polyculture. quote: "A plant community isn't a one-note samba. It's about composition. Do you listen to music because of a favorite note?"

The text is informative but not dry.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

No wood chips! Dutch push hoe! Bulbs! Gravel gardens!

[Ruth Keeling-Holt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Applies to Mid Western gardens.

[Diane B]

Love the title!

I have a tiny plot of table land, not the large canvases that Diblik, Oudolf and the Perrenialist have to work with; so planting large groupings of plant communities won't really work for me in my personal garden.

We'll see if there are some take-aways for me to apply next season. :-)

[Wendy Rader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Roy's approach of knowing the plants throughout their lifespan, and his guide to planning and updating a garden. His voice truly comes out in this book, a rarity in many how-to gardening books.

[Henry Louis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diblik breaks things down nicely and simply for the novice (me) and has plan after plan for creating a quasi-natural aesthetic. I learned a lot from the few few chapters.

Still, when you get into the meat of the book -- plant lists and plans for how to plant them -- you either buy in to his style of gardening and live in an area where you can use those plans, or you don't.

I don't. I am trying to build a natives-only wildlife friendly garden and his plans don't really give consideration to either of those goals.

Still there is a lot here for a beginner like me to take inspiration and lessons from.

[Lada · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not for summer dry climates.

[Tracy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn't really a guidebook on maintenance, but instead their own system of growing perennials that allows you to use their technique.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of good information. I wish they had included pictures of the garden plans.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. I went into this book not knowing what to expect, but hoping for a well balanced approach to perennial gardens with a permaculture background in mind.

What I got was an encyclopedic knowledge of how well each perennial plant grows in which type of temperate soil and sun exposure, as well as great companion plants. It even has an impressive section for shade (north-facing for us temperate folks) gardens. The provided garden plans are also amazing and a great resource.

This entire book is filled with amazing examples from cover to cover. Highly recommended!

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such an informative book and very kind to the concept of more "beginner" gardeners who just want to keep things alive and have fun :) I appreciated the huge focus on plants that grow together naturally in the wild and letting them do their thing. The best part was the giant list of plants native and/or very easy to grow in the Midwest with details on how to care for them year round and which other plants they grow well with. It was also cool to find out the author grew up in Illinois and was very familiar with Chicago gardens!

[Kelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well informative book and Mr. Diblik really knows his stuff. The only negative thing I have to say about the book, giving it 4 out of 5 stars, is that the garden plans are all rectangle in shape. It would have been nice to get other types of garden plans that aren't rectangle, too. All in all, a great book.

[Laura Hoffman Brauman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imminently useful and practical information with a number of sample garden plans included. Bonus points for the author being from southern WI and often working in Illinois, so many of the plants he references are native to our area. And he owns a nursery in WI that I am looking forward to visiting this spring.

[Min · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not much new here, and info is applicable mainly to just the Midwest and Northeast. Photos are like those in many garden books I have read. The author talks about the Dutch push hoe as essential and life changing. After researching this overpriced tool, I bought a stirrup hoe instead. This is definitely a book to borrow from the library, and I'm glad I did not buy it.

[Kasia McDermott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really dig what Dublik is trying to convey, that a new way of looking at gardening needs to be adopted that is more permanent and less focused in showy, flowering plants. And sedges are great... I totally agree! He just seems a bit preachy at times. Great resource regardless!

[Joann · Rating 4 out of 5]

In season or out, this book will make your fingers itch to get into the garden, Gardner or not.

[Whitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A few copy errors, but otherwise flawless

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful for a perennial newbie like myself, and the author seems a kindred spirit to boot.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the garden plans and the full color pictures and descriptions of many, many perennial plants.

[Joe Waters · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book with lots of great advice!

Basically covers everything you need to create your own garden. Lots of sample gardens to copy and to inspire you!!

[Donna Larson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very practical, easy to follow gardening advice.

[Karen Soanes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the garden design layouts based on works of art. I took a bunch of notes on plants and design.

[Ita · Rating 2 out of 5]

My rating is based on the usefulness of the book to *me*, who lives in a drought-stricken area. In other words, not all that useful, since the plants are geared more towards the NE or NW, areas with actual rainfall.

It is a beautiful book, nicely organized, printed on good quality paper with lots of pics. There is a section of key plants with nice pictures and information on each. Another section has garden plans for sun or shade. The general information, principles,and philosophy espoused by the author are still useful so reading this book was not a waste of time.

But sadly, nothing geared toward xeriscapes.

[Chris Eirschele · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Know Maintenance Perennial Garden is targeted at gardeners who have open landscapes and live in the northern half of the United States, or in similar climates with similar soils. The book is filled with grid plans and plants that Roy Diblik has worked with before. He has a history for building up plant communities that tie a planting bed together.

Having met him, attended his presentations, and strolled through his gardens at Northwind Perennial Farm in Wisconsin, I am confident in recommending his book to any gardener who loves growing perennials.

[Julie Rand · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roy's newest book contains lots of practical advice for the novice gardener, but is noticeably prejudiced (and I mean this in a good way) toward environmental responsibility and care for plants and the earth. His planting schemes offer many good ideas and the list of plants for the Illinois area is excellent. In short, lots of good ideas for the perennial gardener who wants to understand how plants work together.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

LOVE his philosophy and use of native plants to build plant communities that require very little maintenance. Pictures are beautiful and it has great plant descriptions. I'm trying to learn the Latin and family names that go along with the common names. There are many designs provided for sunny and shady locations but they are hard to visualize with just symbols rather than pictures of the plants.

[Deodand · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate seeing the reasoning behind my taste in gardens explained. I was never a fan of the garden with clean acres of dirt or mulch showing between the plants. To me, the best gardens mimic nature - I can appreciate a formal approach but I don't plan to emulate it. Diblik has some good advice here, even if the plant profiles don't match my zone.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very thorough book on everything perennials. Great information on the types of perennials available, the planting zones, the light, the soil, and care needed for each one. I learned a lot and can't wait to add more perennials to my yard.