Product Description

A comprehensive and practical guide -- essential.

Even the experienced gardener can be stumped when considering which plants to put where. Confidence in working with plant combinations can mean the difference between a mediocre garden and one that sings. The Encyclopedia of Planting Combinations is the perfect tool to help gardeners create a stunning garden. Rich with inspiration and practical advice, the expanded and updated edition includes:

• An 18-page analysis on combining plants according to location, soil, climate and seasons
• An 18-page analysis of planting styles, with instructions on how to re-create many of the combinations shown in the book -- perennials, meadow planting, matrix planting, grasses and more
• 12 pages on the leading innovators in combination planting, including Piet Oudolf, Penelope Hobhouse and Beth Chatto
• An additional 300 color photographs
• Garden designers' signature combinations -- and why they work
• An updated easy-to-use layout that features more prominent at-a-glance symbols and spotlights plant characteristics and cultivation requirements.

This comprehensive directory and cultivation guide provides 4,000 combinations for beautiful and successful plantings, with entries fully cross-referenced. With authoritative and imaginative text, superb photographs and thousands of planting combinations, the Encyclopedia of Planting Combinations is ideal for gardeners at all experience levels.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #380539 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 464 pages

Review
A great resource for gardeners seeking to raise the quality of their gardens by concentrating on more creative planting ideas. (Steve Whysall The Gazette (Montreal) 20081113)

A great resource for gardeners seeking to raise the quality of their gardens by concentrating on more creative planting ideas. (Steve Whysall The Vancouver Sun 20081104)

Aesthetic and practical advice... in this comprehensive guide for both novice and experienced gardeners. [with] a bounty of gorgeous photographs. (National Garden Clubs www.gardenclub.org 20081001)

Definitely a dream book, its stunning photographs from gardens in the U.S. and Europe are intended to inspire. (Gloria Hildebrandt Escarpment Views 20080719)

Fully revised and expanded .... Show it off at your next "garden club" meeting. (John Bagnasco Garden Compass 20090423)

Gardeners need to know which plants look good together, which is where [Encyclopedia of] Planting Combinations comes in. (Cindy Decker Columbus Dispatch )

More than 1,000 plants in more than 4,000 combinations. A reader would be hard-pressed to stump this catalogue of plants.... (Peggy Mackenzie The Toronto Star (Metro) 20090825)

Spectacular color photos and thousands of planting combinations. (Lois Cooper Muskoka Today (Gravenhurst ON) )

The writing is rich and descriptive.. informative and lively, [and] the photos are indispensable... Gardening enthusiasts will adore it. (Carolyn Ireland The Globe and Mail (Metro Ed) 200808)

To call an encyclopedia an "encyclopedia" is to suggest that it is a stodgy reference book. Not so! (The Hartford Courant 20090107)

Tony Lord's Encyclopedia of Planting Combinations is stunning. (Steve Whysall Vancouver Sun )

Top 10 New Garden Books. This is the reference book your library can't do without. (Megan Padilla Garden Design )

You can create your own Secret Garden with help from this amazing new book.... An indispensable information source. (New Living ( Stony Brook, NY) 20080726)

[Review of previous edition] A book of rare quality, this tome ought to be in every serious gardener's library. (Globe and Mail 20021123)

[Review of previous edition] A brilliant gardening resource. Make no mistake. This is no ordinary encyclopedia. (Susanna Reid Neil Sperry's Gardens Magazine 20021215)

[Review of previous edition] A stunning book... an essential reference on combining plants ... Clear advice and vivid photographs. (Nancy Meyers Library Journal 200301)

[Review of previous edition] A visual delight... informative to read, and offers first-rate suggestions. (Paul Mogren American Reference Books Annual, Volume 35 20021116)

[Review of previous edition] A wealth of creative ideas... innovative combinations. (Mark Miller The American Gardener 200309)

[Review of previous edition] Concise text and abundant, gorgeous photos ... essential for libraries and aspiring gardeners everywhere. (S.C. Awe Choice 20080822)

[Review of previous edition] Form, whether in flower or foliage, is paramount to creating perfect plant pairings. (Christina Selby Canadian Gardening 200211)

[Review of previous edition] Stunning book ... shows how a simple garden can be turned into a work of art. (David Hobson Kitchener-Waterloo Record 200809)

[Review of previous edition] Unique among gardening books available today with its practical recognition of what makes garden-scapes beautifully tranquil. (William Johnson E-Streams Vol. 6, No. 4 20030822)

[Review of previous edition] Unusual... both inspirational and practical, for the photos are beautiful and the writing clear and detailed. (Valerie Easton Seattle Times 20021020)

[Review of previous edition] Very good reference book whether or not you are trying to find successful combinations... exceptional value. (Paul Williams Gardens Illustrated 2004)

[Review of previous edition] What a wonderful resource... truly encyclopedic. (Kerry Moore Vancouver Province 200306)

[Review of previous edition] [Andrew Lawson's] exceptional images alone make this plant encyclopedia a pleasure to own. (Steve Whysall Vancouver Sun 20021129)

[Review of previous edition] [Few guides rival this]for the practicality of its structure or for the quality of its information. (Carol Haggas Booklist 20021101)

About the Author

Tony Lord is an author, photographer and horticultural consultant whose books include Designing with Roses and Best Borders, which won the Garden Writers' Guild award for best general book. He edits the Royal Horticultural Society's Plant Finder, lectures widely, and is an adviser on gardens to Britain's National Trust.

Andrew Lawson is a leading garden photographer who contributes to magazines such as House and Garden and Gardens Illustrated. He won the Garden Writers' Guild award for The Gardener's Book of Colour, and was named Garden Photographer of the Year in 1999.

Customer Reviews

A valuable addition to your garden library
As an award-winning author, photographer, horticultural consultant, and an adviser on gardens to Britain's National Trust, Tony Lord combines his talents with the exceptional photos taken by Andrew Lawson, an award-winning photographer in "Encyclopedia of Planting Combinations: Over 4000 Color and Planting Schemes."

"Every gardener wants to create the perfect garden. We all have a favorite plant - but it is not always easy to know what to plant beside it, or how to display it to its best advantage..." "Encyclopedia of Planting Combinations: Over 4000 Color and Planting Schemes" can help you solve the problem: it features over 1,000 individual plants and more than 4,000 combinations. It includes 8 chapters: The Art of Combining Plants, Great Planting Styles, Shrubs and Small Trees, Climbers, Roses, Perennials, Bulbs, and Annuals. It covers practical and useful information such as assessing the sites, choosing plants, scale and size, plant habit, form and texture, color in the garden, timing the season, planting beds and borders, woodland planting, meadow planting, naturalistic gardens, country style, cottage gardens, grasses, Mediterranean style, Minimalist styles, and great planting designer case studies.

"Encyclopedia of Planting Combinations: Over 4000 Color and Planting Schemes" has 464 pages and many beautiful interior color photos. It is a valuable addition to your garden library.

Gang Chen, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Author of "Planting Design Illustrated," "LEED GA Exam Guide," "Architectural Practice Simplified," and other books on various LEED exams, architecture, and landscape architecture

Unsuccesful work
There was an attempt to combine into one book all possible planting combinations - and it was a collapse. First 10-20 pages are quite useful for beginners , because the authors described some rules of planting and for making a border. For advanced gardener even these 20 pages don't give any new information.
I have a lot of books on gardening from all over the world , but I haven't met the book with such tasteless and primitive plant combinations. I have a feeling that all these combinations are accidental and were not created by the professionals.
If you are looking for the book with exquisite planting combinations, I would recommend RHS Perennials. This is the best book I ever had on perennials and it was supplemented with a lot of photos with combinations for your garden, really astonishing and inspiring.

happy with my purchase
I would definitely shop here again I am very happy with my purchases. They were in good shape and arrived fairly quickly.