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Summary: An essential care guide for perennial gardeners
Review: After an excellent introduction to caring for perennials and planting and pruning techniques, DiSabata-Aust discusses individual plants and is not afraid to speak her mind. A pioneering work on the care of perennials and an essential reference tool.
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Summary: Best general gardening book I've read all year!
Review: As an avid reader and passionate gardener, I have to tell you this is a great book....simply a must for your bookshelf. The book begins with a thorough explanation of soil preparation and some basic ideas on designing with perennials and then gets right to the the heart of it's real message...teaching innovative perennial pruning and maintenance techniques...not only the hows but the whys as well. If that isn't enough there is a very good perennial plant encyclopedia with each plant's maintenance regimen described fully according to the procedures we have just learned. This is cutting edge (please excuse the pun) gardening, but is based on common sense and patient observation. We are encouraged to get out in our gardens and watch how our own plants grow and then how they respond to our care... or lack of it. New gardeners will learn their skills the right way and us old dogs will just have to learn a few new tricks!
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Summary: Well-Tended Perennial Garden
Review: Excellent reference book. I own a copy of the book and recomend it to all my garden friends. I saw Tracy speak at the Denver Botanical Gardens. She is an excellent speaker as well.
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Summary: A Great Book for the Serious (or Want-to-Be) Gardener
Review: Finally, a book that doesn't just identify the plant but tells you what to do with it once it is in your garden!Tracy DiSabato-Aust writes in detail about the particular characteristics of each plant, growth patterns and how to maintain the good health and look of each plant. Easy to follow language and excellent descriptions of how to prune, prepare soil and where it thrives best make anyone feel like a professional. I also appreciate the author's personal comments about what she finds most appealing about each plant or how she has used it in her various landscaping projects. The accompaning photos and diagrams show clearly how to prune, before and after pruning, pruning techniques described, landscaping from raw patch to full grown beauty and more. This book was recommended to me by the hortalculturalist at our favorite perennial farm who had a well worn copy on his desk. I have given this book to three other perennial gardeners and continue to receive raves about its helpfulness. If you already have an encyclopedia of perennials, this is the next one for your library and garden!
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Summary: Best How-To Garden Book Ever!!!
Review: I am a garden designer and consultant for folks who do their own work. I recommend this book because it explains everything you need to know - getting started, renovating, grooming, dividing, wintering - it has it all.
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Summary: loved this book
Review: I found this book very informative and well written. I consider myself a beginning to moderate experienced perennial gardener and I have learned tons of things that I found interesting in this book. The one thing I found disappointing was that all plants were indexed by their botanical name with the common name following. A cross reference to the common name would make it easier to find a plant as I know few of my plants by their "official" name.
Overall this is one of my favorite books and have read it numerous times
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Summary: Good info for beginning garden micromanagers
Review: I was already an experienced home gardener when I fell into a job managing a large estate landscape. But when confronted with hundreds of plants with which I had little previous experience, I realized that instinct would only get me so far, and so I bought this book. It doesn't have every plant that I have ever looked up, but I think the information it does have is great. She is very specific about how each plant grows and flowers and behaves, and her voice is very reassuring and knowlegable. I do find her lauded pinching and pruning techniques to be a little on the anal side, and have had mixed success with them. Some plants really do flower later and more profusely if you pinch them, but others didn't work out for me even though she recommended it. And some of the suggestions seem downright odd. Why would you want Eupatorium to grow shorter than its usual 7'? Its height is what makes it so special. Better to plant it where it can be appreciated. I also don't find it necessary to pick the seedpods off of Siberian Iris... they bloom fine for us every year, and why rob the winter garden of the seedpods when they're so attractive. Plus, who has time to do that?! But her experience is extensive, and she shares plenty of vital information along with all the tips for overprotective gardening. This was a great resource that gave me the information I needed to learn how to take care of my client's gardens. But so many of her specific techniques seem to be affected by climate, soil, and other factors, that I now prefer to rely on my observations rather than follow her handy catch-all month-by-month gardening schedules and obsessive pruning instructions. I am grateful for the jump-start this book gave me, and it will always have a place on my reference shelf.
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Summary: good reference should be in every plantsmans library
Review: I'm a volunteer in my county's Master Gardener program. People tell me they want something that comes back year after year and is 'no trouble.' Perennials are more work than annuals.You have to work them to get a pleasing garden. That extra time is worth it though. Its fun to stick a piece of root into the ground and watch it grow into a 6-foot plant. Its fabulous to plunge a shovel into a clump of chrysanthemums and divide the whole mess up into 700 baby chrysanthemums, then see them with 2' blooms next fall. If you want to putter in your garden but you aren't sure what plants need what sort of tending, you want this book. Ms DiSabato gives us solid information about most of the perennials you can grow in America. She explains how to calculate how much organic matter is needed for a specific space to start your border. Everybody tells you to "amend your soil." This is the first book that tells you how much compost you'll need to do it effectively. This is t! he first book that explains exactly how and when to cut back different plants to prolong bloom. Her clear instructions alone are worth the price of the book. My monarda has never looked better.
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Summary: Hard-to-find Information on Perennials
Review: I've gardened for 40 years and have finally found crucial information on pruning perennials. Since we usually have only one go at a plant a year, we don't want to prune a plant for flowers just to find we have lost our years's bounty. On the other hand, I'd like to have a tidier garden, less need for staking, better formed and healthier plants. This book is a treasure--complete, knowledgeable, and easy read. Thank you, thank you, Trace DiSabato-Aust.
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Summary: Innovative perennial pruning techniques
Review: If you've ever been afraid or uncertain of when to prune or cut back your perennials, you won't be after reading this book. I've been an avid perennial gardener for many years and had no idea I could prune my perennials to delay bloom time or alter their appearance. Pruning and maintenance suggestions are in an easy to read A-Z Encyclopedia format. Beyond pruning, a great section on bed preparation and planting will guarantee your success.
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