“Beginning and novice gardeners will find this book invaluable . . . a colorful palette of well known, dependable plants listed in bloom order.” —Carolyn Harstad, author of Got Sun? Designed for accessibility, this book offers tried-and-true advice on how to keep a yard in bloom. Presented in the sequence in which they bloom, with a chapter devoted to each of the three major growing seasons, 25 varieties of flowers are profiled with accompanying color illustrations. Additionally, Moya L. Andrews provides information about such basic topics as bed preparation, planting locations, weed control, and landscape principles. Andrews also offers practical tips on propagating, transplanting, and dividing perennials, as well as aesthetic considerations such as the use of color outdoors and flower arranging with cut blossoms. Suggestions for flower arrangement and producing indoor blooms in the winter months are also included. “The text descriptions for each of the flowers mentioned, and illustrations of most of the flowers by bloom sequence through the seasons, fills a vacancy in the gardening book market.” —Ezra Haggard, author of Trees, Shrubs, and Roses for Midwest Gardens “Writing in an informative, yet casual style, Moya Andrews gives advice on growing flowering perennials in this guide for both novice and experienced gardeners, passing along her broad knowledge of the subject.” —Chicago Botanic Garden Journal

With more than 180,000 copies sold since its original publication, The Well-Tended Perennial Garden has proven itself to be one of the most useful tools a gardener can have. Now, in this expanded edition, there's even more to learn from and enjoy. This is the first, and still the most thorough, book to detail essential practices of perennial care such as deadheading, pinching, cutting back, thinning, disbudding, and deadleafing, all of which are thoroughly explained and illustrated. More than 200 new color photographs have been added to this revised edition, showing perennials in various border situations and providing images for each of the entries in the A-to-Z encyclopedia of important perennial species. In addition, there is a new 32-page journal section, in which you can enter details, notes, and observations about the requirements and performance of perennials in your own garden. Thousands of readers have commented that The Well-Tended Perennial Garden is one of the most useful and frequently consulted books in their gardening libraries. This new, expanded edition promises to be an even more effective ally in your quest to create a beautiful, healthy, well-maintained perennial garden.

With literally hundreds of choices, it can be overwhelming to decide which perennials to plant in your garden. Nancy J. Ondra takes the stressful guesswork out of perennial garden planning by offering 52 vibrant designs, each made up of only five plants. Ondra tailors each simple design to a specific set of growing conditions, with plenty of tips to help your planting mature. Enjoy gardens full of sun-drenched blooming flowers and shade-loving greenery for years to come.

In today’s South, where fine gardening is a tradition, many homeowners and professional gardeners are discovering a vast “new” palette of plant materials—native plants. They are realizing that these native wildflowers, trees, shrubs, groundcovers, vines, and grasses are far better suited, and therefore easier to grow and maintain, than most of the imported plants that populate traditional landscapes. In this book, the authors offer an exciting vision of the many possibilities and advantages of “going native.” Lavishly illustrated with more than 250 gorgeous color photographs, this book is both an introduction to more than 200 of the most familiar and easiest-to-find native plants of the South and a basic primer on how to use them effectively.

Breathe new life into your garden! Maybe your garden isn't what it once was. Or maybe it's stunning during the full bloom of summer, but falls apart the rest of the year. Maybe it's crowded, sparse, boring, disjointed...or it just doesn't resonate with you, and you have no idea why or what to do about it. Don't retreat indoors! In this friendly guide, acclaimed landscape designer and best-selling author Rebecca Sweet offers simple strategies for transforming established plots and empty spaces into the garden of your dreams--a place that soothes your soul and revives your spirits year-round. Start by identifying problems with your current plantings (such as clashing colors, lack of flow and "one-of-each-itis"), then learn how to inject new life using artful combinations of color, texture and form. At the back of the book, you'll find a thoughtfully curated selection of 78 plants perfect for creating key elements of harmony in your garden. You don't need to be a professional landscaper to put these concepts into play. With this book as your guide, turning blah spaces into breathtaking places becomes fun, easy and perennially rewarding! Overflowing with creative examples of how to... Wake up boring beds. Make a cramped garden feel bigger, or bring a sense of intimacy to an expansive area. Downplay eyesores. Create moods ranging from serene to stimulating. Add four-seasons interest. Decide which plants to keep, and which to pull. Thoughtfully integrate hardscaping, structures and accessories. Transform an ordinary garden into one that's memorable and meaningful!

Create a foliage-driven garden that dazzles! Although seductive, flowers, by their fleeting nature, are a fickle base to provide long-lasting gardens with year-round interest. Tackle this problem with the advice in Gardening with Foliage First. Learn how to first build a framework of foliage and then layer in flowers and other artistic elements as the finishing touches. This simple, recipe-style approach to garden design features 127 combinations for both sunny and shady gardens that work for a variety of climates and garden challenges.