Choosing Plant Combinations

by Cathy Wilkinson Barash

This book does the homework for anyone who wants to create a beautiful garden but lacks the time to plan and design. It helps readers achieve maximum effect with minimum effort, with examples of combinations in the book for a bold or subdued look.Gorgeous, full-color photographs of different plant combinations based on color and form.

Plant combinations shown give optimum effect using the aesthetics of color and formaincluding single color, bold color, subtle color, similar form, subtle form, and bold form.

Suggests alternative plants that give the same look and add to the regional diversity of the plant material included.

Combinations are adaptable to all regions of America.

Includes complete cultural information and mail-order sources for every plant shown.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction

264 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gorgeous photographs of gardens do not necessarily educate a gardener. This book is all fluff and no content. Sure many of the combinations look great together but what were those plants, where will they grow, how long do they bloom, what will the combination look like in the spring, in the falls etc. None of those questions are answered. A complete waste!

[Joseph · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book didn't have the valuable type of information I was looking for.

[Roger Burk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many very pretty close-up pictures of plants in various combinations, but no practical advice on how to design a garden.

[Slee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a book to read for content, it is a picture book to look at if you want to see some pairings that might inspire you for your garden. The content can mostly be boiled down to "Decide how you want to pair up your plants, if it makes you happy, do it, but here are some design terms to use so you can justify your choices."
Lovely photography, but not a great resource for "planting x near y will help the plants flower better," or similar companion gardening wisdom.

[Sorsha ‘B · Rating 2 out of 5]

pretty pictures but no content. this is just to get ideas of what you like but doesn't give flower names