What do you think?
Rate this book
The Well-Tended Perennial Garden: The Essential Guide to Planting and Pruning Techniques
“This practical guide is lush with clear, step-by-step advice.” — Real Simple
Whether you are a new gardener or a green thumb, The Well-Tended Perennial Garden is here to help you successfully plan, plant, and tend your garden. This hardworking guide includes thorough details on the essential practices of perennial care—included deadheading, pinching, and thinning—along with growing information for specific species and cultivars, on-trend garden design advice, a monthly planting and maintenance schedule, and details on native plants and gardening for wildlife. The Well-Tended Perennial Garden will be your ally in the quest for a beautiful, well-maintained garden.
Whether you are a new gardener or a green thumb, The Well-Tended Perennial Garden is here to help you successfully plan, plant, and tend your garden. This hardworking guide includes thorough details on the essential practices of perennial care—included deadheading, pinching, and thinning—along with growing information for specific species and cultivars, on-trend garden design advice, a monthly planting and maintenance schedule, and details on native plants and gardening for wildlife. The Well-Tended Perennial Garden will be your ally in the quest for a beautiful, well-maintained garden.
416 pages, Hardcover
Published February 22, 2017
233 people are currently reading
923 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
May 28, 2020
I’ve read both Tracy DiSabato-Aust and Barbara Damrosch in an attempt to do some semi-serious gardening, although I admit I skipped the vegetable part of both books, as I am only interested in flowers.
This book is in no way a light read, but a very well researched companion for experienced gardeners who want to take it to the next level, which the author does indeed with chapters on how to calculate how much compost is needed per square inch or what percentage of nitrogen does your soil need. For any other information the reader can refer to the extended glossary with lists of specific purposes.
To that end, the answer to any question the reader might have regarding soil, the author’s response is the same: test it! test the soil, test the moisture level, test the organic matter level, test the top soil, test! test! test! And take it from there. To me, a simple reader with simple needs, this reeks a tad of cheekily avoiding answering questions and maybe giving away secrets of the trade.
I’m giving this it 3/5 because it takes itself much too seriously, to the point where the author refuses to use any common names for any plant, only their Latin counterpart and I have no words to explain how tedious it is to have to google each name in a list of over 100 perennials that tolerate wet soil.
This being said, her chapters on pruning and deadheading were top notch and dead useful!
This book is in no way a light read, but a very well researched companion for experienced gardeners who want to take it to the next level, which the author does indeed with chapters on how to calculate how much compost is needed per square inch or what percentage of nitrogen does your soil need. For any other information the reader can refer to the extended glossary with lists of specific purposes.
To that end, the answer to any question the reader might have regarding soil, the author’s response is the same: test it! test the soil, test the moisture level, test the organic matter level, test the top soil, test! test! test! And take it from there. To me, a simple reader with simple needs, this reeks a tad of cheekily avoiding answering questions and maybe giving away secrets of the trade.
I’m giving this it 3/5 because it takes itself much too seriously, to the point where the author refuses to use any common names for any plant, only their Latin counterpart and I have no words to explain how tedious it is to have to google each name in a list of over 100 perennials that tolerate wet soil.
This being said, her chapters on pruning and deadheading were top notch and dead useful!
April 18, 2018
The well-tended perennial garden is a must read for amateur gardeners, hobbyists and professional gardeners. Everything is covered from soil conditions (wet, dry, clay, sand) to light conditions (full sun does not mean area receives sun only in the late afternoon) to trees that will compete with plants for light and moisture to building structures, wind conditions, selecting plants, life span, cold hardiness, heat, humidity and moisture tolerance, is frequent division required, is daily deadheading required, is staking required, insect and disease resistance or tolerance, which plants are invasive or require heavy fertilizing, spacing, disease and pest problems.
Being an amateur gardener The well-tended perennial garden was a perfect read for me.
Being an amateur gardener The well-tended perennial garden was a perfect read for me.
September 14, 2017
If I could give this book more than 5 stars I would. As someone relatively new to gardening (of the non-vegetable variety), this book has provided me with a well-detailed guide on perennial garden design, installation, and maintenance, as well as plant selection. I am utterly thrilled at having found this book and cannot recommend it highly enough.
My husband and I purchased our first house a little over a year ago and with it came an over planted tropical mess of a front yard and a blank canvas of a backyard. For the past year, I have been scouring websites, gardening blogs and other books trying to find a good source of both starter information and more detailed expert advice to help walk me through changing these into fairly low-maintenance gardens that better fits my husband and my own preferences. I really haven't been able to find a source that has everything in one place. Some sources are far too advanced, while others are too basic and most don't go into enough detail on exactly why and how you need to do certain things. I've been relying on reading new bits of information from one source and then having to look up the techniques or plants that they mention from new/additional sources in order to have a full understanding of the topic. It has been exhausting and overwhelming trying to keep everything straight, especially as I am essentially teaching myself how to do this and I do not personally know any local seasoned gardeners which I can ask for advice or help from. Tracy Disabato-Aust's book The Well-Tended Perennial Garden is exactly the book I have been looking for.
To start, this book is exceptionally thorough. The first 130 pages cover designing, planting and maintaining your garden. For each of these, she does a really nice job breaking down each topic and she does it in a way that I think would be understandable and enjoyable to both new and seasoned gardeners. She covers the basics of a topic and then if more detail is needed, it is usually explained further in the book either in a chapter specifically covering that topic in more detail or in the Encyclopedia documenting that topic in relation to specific plants.
I was pleased to find that Pruning --something that has always confused and intimidated me-- is covered extensively in this book with nearly 50 pages devoted to the topic. That's not including the individual pruning recommendations which are listed for each plant in her Perennial Encyclopedia. I found the illustrations in this section really helpful and I liked how she covered not only deadheading but also pinching, disbudding, thinning, and dead-leafing. She doesn't just go over these topics in general but also goes into detail in relation to different plant types and the different times of year you should do this for each plant type and what kind of seeding will happen if you decide not to do this. I found her suggestions of staggering the pruning of different sections of the same plant type in order to create a layered effect really interesting.
The wonderfully detailed Encyclopedia of Perennials section is 250+ pages long; covering the look, size, light requirements, blooming period, growing zone, and specific pruning and care recommendations for a large number of plants. Almost every single plant listed is accompanied by a gorgeous photograph at the plants' peak growing/blooming period. The only thing I would change out of this whole book would be to add some more images to the section on grasses. For some reason, this is the only part of the book where the majority of species listed do not have an image - perhaps because many look so similar? I have found in general that the amount of care information that she had listed for each plant far exceeds that which you would find on nursery websites for specific plants. This has made it really convenient to start making a list of usable plants. I've already covered this section in post-it notes for potential plants which we can use in our garden. Also she includes a lot of care information which is clearly based off of her own experiences growing that exact plant. You can really tell that she has been doing this for quite some time now and has she has included many of the things she has learned from trial and error.
Ending the book, DiSabato has compiled helpful lists which reference plants which share similar levels of maintenance. For example, she has lists for Perennials that don't need deadheading, Perennials that tolerate dry soil, Perennials that don't respond well to pinching, Perennials that require maintenance in the Summer, etc. The most helpful section to me is where she has listed common maintenance requirements based upon the month of the year. This is something I have tried to find on various websites that could help me keep an eye out for gardening tasks which I might overlook since I am still new to gardening. Most require you to pay some sort of fee but honestly, I'm happy enough to reference this book.
And lastly, one of my favorite things about this book is that it is filled with beautiful photographs and illustrations. I think every single spread has at least one photograph or illustration. In addition to helping demonstrate the things that she is talking about it also helps break up the book from having too much copy. At no point did I feel like I was reading something super text heavy which I find with nonfiction books can really make a book drag. I read the entire book cover to cover with the exception of the Encyclopedia plants outside of my growing zone (9b) over the span of two afternoons.
Someone on a random forum mentioned this book in passing and I am so glad that I looked it up. I read the third edition of this book which was published in 2017. I haven't read any of the other previous versions so I can't compare the differences for someone who might already own it and is considering buying the updated version. I'm also fairly new to gardening from a landscaping perspective so I can't tell you if this book is all it's cracked up to be for someone who might already know the basics and is looking for something more extensive. I am hoping to revise this review after I've actually had time to try designing and planting my own garden based off of the information in this book.
My husband and I purchased our first house a little over a year ago and with it came an over planted tropical mess of a front yard and a blank canvas of a backyard. For the past year, I have been scouring websites, gardening blogs and other books trying to find a good source of both starter information and more detailed expert advice to help walk me through changing these into fairly low-maintenance gardens that better fits my husband and my own preferences. I really haven't been able to find a source that has everything in one place. Some sources are far too advanced, while others are too basic and most don't go into enough detail on exactly why and how you need to do certain things. I've been relying on reading new bits of information from one source and then having to look up the techniques or plants that they mention from new/additional sources in order to have a full understanding of the topic. It has been exhausting and overwhelming trying to keep everything straight, especially as I am essentially teaching myself how to do this and I do not personally know any local seasoned gardeners which I can ask for advice or help from. Tracy Disabato-Aust's book The Well-Tended Perennial Garden is exactly the book I have been looking for.
To start, this book is exceptionally thorough. The first 130 pages cover designing, planting and maintaining your garden. For each of these, she does a really nice job breaking down each topic and she does it in a way that I think would be understandable and enjoyable to both new and seasoned gardeners. She covers the basics of a topic and then if more detail is needed, it is usually explained further in the book either in a chapter specifically covering that topic in more detail or in the Encyclopedia documenting that topic in relation to specific plants.
I was pleased to find that Pruning --something that has always confused and intimidated me-- is covered extensively in this book with nearly 50 pages devoted to the topic. That's not including the individual pruning recommendations which are listed for each plant in her Perennial Encyclopedia. I found the illustrations in this section really helpful and I liked how she covered not only deadheading but also pinching, disbudding, thinning, and dead-leafing. She doesn't just go over these topics in general but also goes into detail in relation to different plant types and the different times of year you should do this for each plant type and what kind of seeding will happen if you decide not to do this. I found her suggestions of staggering the pruning of different sections of the same plant type in order to create a layered effect really interesting.
The wonderfully detailed Encyclopedia of Perennials section is 250+ pages long; covering the look, size, light requirements, blooming period, growing zone, and specific pruning and care recommendations for a large number of plants. Almost every single plant listed is accompanied by a gorgeous photograph at the plants' peak growing/blooming period. The only thing I would change out of this whole book would be to add some more images to the section on grasses. For some reason, this is the only part of the book where the majority of species listed do not have an image - perhaps because many look so similar? I have found in general that the amount of care information that she had listed for each plant far exceeds that which you would find on nursery websites for specific plants. This has made it really convenient to start making a list of usable plants. I've already covered this section in post-it notes for potential plants which we can use in our garden. Also she includes a lot of care information which is clearly based off of her own experiences growing that exact plant. You can really tell that she has been doing this for quite some time now and has she has included many of the things she has learned from trial and error.
Ending the book, DiSabato has compiled helpful lists which reference plants which share similar levels of maintenance. For example, she has lists for Perennials that don't need deadheading, Perennials that tolerate dry soil, Perennials that don't respond well to pinching, Perennials that require maintenance in the Summer, etc. The most helpful section to me is where she has listed common maintenance requirements based upon the month of the year. This is something I have tried to find on various websites that could help me keep an eye out for gardening tasks which I might overlook since I am still new to gardening. Most require you to pay some sort of fee but honestly, I'm happy enough to reference this book.
And lastly, one of my favorite things about this book is that it is filled with beautiful photographs and illustrations. I think every single spread has at least one photograph or illustration. In addition to helping demonstrate the things that she is talking about it also helps break up the book from having too much copy. At no point did I feel like I was reading something super text heavy which I find with nonfiction books can really make a book drag. I read the entire book cover to cover with the exception of the Encyclopedia plants outside of my growing zone (9b) over the span of two afternoons.
Someone on a random forum mentioned this book in passing and I am so glad that I looked it up. I read the third edition of this book which was published in 2017. I haven't read any of the other previous versions so I can't compare the differences for someone who might already own it and is considering buying the updated version. I'm also fairly new to gardening from a landscaping perspective so I can't tell you if this book is all it's cracked up to be for someone who might already know the basics and is looking for something more extensive. I am hoping to revise this review after I've actually had time to try designing and planting my own garden based off of the information in this book.
July 23, 2011
This is a great book giving advice on how to tend perennials to extend bloom (pinching, cutting back early in the season) or to deadhead for rebloom, etc.
It is more interesting than I am making it sound. I read it once, and now use it as a reference.
It is more interesting than I am making it sound. I read it once, and now use it as a reference.
August 28, 2011
As we go into late summer and soon to be fall, the garden starts to look a little raggedy. Despite what many people think, perennials look a lot better in the late summer or fall if you do some tending. You have to clean them up a bit as they wind down their flowering -- remove old flower stalks, trim yellowing leaves, and in some cases cut back the plant to a few inches whereupon it will send up a new flush of fresh green growth or sometimes rebloom.
If you're interested in maintaining your garden to look good at this time of year, this book is the best for telling you what to do to which plants.
Tracy DiSabato-Aust, who is from Columbus, Ohio, wrote this classic book about maintaining perennials. I heard her speak a few years ago and bought a copy (which she autographed). Since then it has become my bible. It helps that she's from Ohio. Although farther south than me, the climate is close enough that everything she suggests fits my garden well. If you're from anywhere in the Northeast, Great lakes, Mid-Atlantic or Midwest you'll find this book quite useful.
I highly recommend this book for any gardener who loves perennials, and even for the casual weekend garden who just wants a few daylilies and other common perennials to thrive and look good.
If you're interested in maintaining your garden to look good at this time of year, this book is the best for telling you what to do to which plants.
Tracy DiSabato-Aust, who is from Columbus, Ohio, wrote this classic book about maintaining perennials. I heard her speak a few years ago and bought a copy (which she autographed). Since then it has become my bible. It helps that she's from Ohio. Although farther south than me, the climate is close enough that everything she suggests fits my garden well. If you're from anywhere in the Northeast, Great lakes, Mid-Atlantic or Midwest you'll find this book quite useful.
I highly recommend this book for any gardener who loves perennials, and even for the casual weekend garden who just wants a few daylilies and other common perennials to thrive and look good.
May 13, 2018
I wanted this book to solve all of my gardening confusion because it covers so much, but unfortunately there was something about the writing that I couldn’t get into. And isn’t that kind of strange? Why would I even notice a voice or tone in a beginner’s guide to gardening? This is not a novel or a biography. The author gets to the point on things quickly, which is perfect but there’s also a lot of “color” to the information, of which I felt at times like I was left out of a joke or missing part of a story because I’d walked in mid-conversation. An admittedly vague example...at one point while discussing the challenges of pruning one type of plant, she said she could take one strategy even though it was tacky. Tacky? To me, it’s such an odd thing to say in a how-to manual. Like an author of a home restoration guide saying your options for redoing a room with wallpaper are to either remove the wallpaper or paint over it BUT THAT WOULD BE TACKY. Insert eye-roll. I just need you to tell me how to do it!
Sorry... I did find the book to be very useful and have rated it positively. I would certainly recommend it for beginners. The voice may speak to others more than me! I will be reading it again to see if it was just my mood at the time. ;)
Sorry... I did find the book to be very useful and have rated it positively. I would certainly recommend it for beginners. The voice may speak to others more than me! I will be reading it again to see if it was just my mood at the time. ;)
January 25, 2016
The Well-Tended Perennial Garden: Planting and Pruning Techniques (Expanded Edition) by Traci DiSabato-Aust (Timber Press 2006) (635.932) is one of if not the very best books I've ever read about the design and daily care of perennial gardens. As an experienced amateur gardener, I believe that perennial gardening is equal parts art-form, back-breaking labor, and sorcery. The practical tips and advice on the regular care required of the gardener should be committed to memory and are worth the price of the book. This is an excellent excellent work and would be a favored gift for any serious gardener. My rating: 8/10, finished 1/25/14.
August 29, 2007
This is the only perennial gardening book a cold climate gardener needs. The author has a wealth of information that would ordinarily take a lifetime of experience to learn.
(I'm a master gardener). Most other perennial books are primarily plant encyclopedias. This writer has actually gotten her hands dirty.
(I'm a master gardener). Most other perennial books are primarily plant encyclopedias. This writer has actually gotten her hands dirty.
June 10, 2011
Excellent book on maintenance techniques for perennials. Very little in the way of design advice but I will look for that in another book. I took the time though to read through the encyclopedia of plants at the back and take notes on the ones I have in the backyard. Supplanted my normal reading for two weeks. To me that is high praise for a gardening tome.
July 23, 2007
If I had to choose one gardening book, this would be the one.
September 4, 2009
More of a gardening autobiography or an "I Love Me" book than helpful. The text and photos constantly refer to her own or clients' gardens.
October 8, 2012
Essential reference for practicing horticulturists. Geared to Midwestern US, but easily adjusted to your region by comparing seasonal events. Excellent maintenance info.
May 25, 2019
I've been reading a lot of gardening books now that we own a house and small yard to do things with. I love reading about perennials and low-maintenance gardening since I don't have much time to work in the garden. This book was excellent and gave me a lot of ideas and information about some of the plants I already have. However, the author is pretty opinionated and seems very bothered by natural states of decay, such as dead leaves or shriveled flowers. She specifically used the word "ugly" quite often to refer to plants which I think is just a personal preference and should be left out. But that small annoyance didn't detract from the wealth of experience and information here.
June 23, 2008
Excellent reference for the perennial garden (how to prune plants you'd never think of shaping or pruning) - borrowed from the library but one I'll buy.
February 26, 2017
Informative nice color photos.
August 19, 2018
Clear and concise plant descriptions, great lists, and calendars make this an excellent tool for perennial gardeners.
April 1, 2019
this behemoth tome is almost too comprehensive and i love it! the author is a true expert who speaks with the wisdom of experience but is not condescending.
skimmed
April 12, 2024When I mentioned to a fellow gardener at a garden society meeting that I wasn’t sure if, when, and by how much to cut back my monarda fistulosa (native bee balm) which tends to get over 5 feet tall, she suggested this book. The author spoke at one of our meetings years ago.
It’s primarily a reference book, so I skimmed rather than read cover to cover. But it does give good information on maintaining plants (including bee balm). A little over half the book is an encyclopedia of plants and their maintenance organized alphabetically by Latin name (common names in the index) and includes color photos throughout. The first third is general information on maintenance techniques like pruning and controlling pests. The appendix includes lists by season of plants that need maintenance at that time.
It’s not overly thorough. For example, it lists columbine hybrids and advice on maintenance. I have native columbine started from seed, but I’d assume the same info applies. I didn’t know columbine plants only live for 3-4 years. I struggled a long time to get it to come back a second year before I tried growing from seed 2 years ago with great success, so knowing this is a significant help.
I borrowed it from library, but it seems a useful enough reference that I might buy a copy.
It’s primarily a reference book, so I skimmed rather than read cover to cover. But it does give good information on maintaining plants (including bee balm). A little over half the book is an encyclopedia of plants and their maintenance organized alphabetically by Latin name (common names in the index) and includes color photos throughout. The first third is general information on maintenance techniques like pruning and controlling pests. The appendix includes lists by season of plants that need maintenance at that time.
It’s not overly thorough. For example, it lists columbine hybrids and advice on maintenance. I have native columbine started from seed, but I’d assume the same info applies. I didn’t know columbine plants only live for 3-4 years. I struggled a long time to get it to come back a second year before I tried growing from seed 2 years ago with great success, so knowing this is a significant help.
I borrowed it from library, but it seems a useful enough reference that I might buy a copy.
August 1, 2022
This book is definitely a heavy-hitter. The first third covers the process of designing a perennial garden in depth and the many factors to consider when either planning a new design or refreshing a preexisting garden. It then goes on to instruct on maintaining the garden, including topics such as dividing/propagating, deadheading, preventing disease, etc. The rest of the book is an encyclopedia of popular (and some not as well-known) perennials, with lovely color photos and pertinent details about each one. It would’ve been more useful if the common names of plants were included, but lots of good info here.
September 18, 2017
It's hard to find a gardening book that offers something new, but this one does--encouraging the gardener to tend the perennial plant throughout its life (or its attractive life, anyway). Completely no-nonsense and a great find at this time of year when pruning, dividing, and hacking things off is appropriate. This will, I am certain, join the half-dozen other gardening books that I turn to, again and again.
March 29, 2022
really good guide focused mainly on pruning and maintaining perennials and site prep -extensive hows and whys and whens- plus helpful lists on low to high maintenance plants. Conversational, accessible, easy and fun to read. She relies on Round-up for weed control, but also has bitching hair in her author's photo so I will accept the good and bad of a 1998 publication date.
November 20, 2023
When my wife and I decided to redo the garden in font of our home I knew I needed some help and advice before meeting with the local nursery. The Well-Tended Garden is a comprehensive reference for all types of perennial plants, shrubs and flowers. I leaned a lot so let's see if I'm truly prepared to care for the new members of the family as the winter sets in and spring blooms anew.
June 7, 2022
This is a helpful book in many ways, and I learned a lot about pruning techniques for perennials in my garden. However, she includes plants known to be invasive across large portions of the US (e.g., dame’s rocket) with limited education about that fact.
June 19, 2022
This is the best garden reference I have found yet! Whatever I look up, it always has helpful information. The pictures are attractive and the prose is very readable. I would like this for my permanent collection.
June 16, 2024
Some useful information but it felt repetitive. Too much emphasis on specific hybrid cultivars and ornamentals rather than native species to be useful for me and really no permaculture at all. There was some good maintenance info for some specific plants in my garden at least.
June 11, 2019
Wow.
A book written by an egomaniac, in a condescending style that made me want to spit!
AVOID!
A book written by an egomaniac, in a condescending style that made me want to spit!
AVOID!
July 19, 2020
Did not know how to collect seeds from some plants til this book!
September 21, 2020
A good reference that I'll be reluctant to return to the library.
January 31, 2021
A well illustrated and practical handbook. I love the chatty advice with lots of personal experience of plants
January 11, 2022
Great resource! Informative.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews