Rating: 
Summary: A "must-have" for every gardener's bookshelf!
Review: After attending a lecture by Tracy DiSabato-Aust, I overheard another participant remark, "now I finally understand WHY I like certain gardens!" That statement sums up the information in this book. It provides "the whys and the wherefores" of garden design in clear and simple language with appropriate illustrations so that one can understand exactly which details make a garden work: from considerations of scale, texture, and rhythm-- to color and the influence of natural light-- to specific artistic combinations of woody and herbaceous plants.The excellent photos of plant combinations in this book make me salivate, wanting to recreate every one of them for myself. It is particularly stimulating to see the seasonal changes in specific garden vignettes- An early December description begins, "the foliage of a rose is candied by December's chill..." with an accompanying photo of rose foliage edged in white frost and surrounded by spent flowers and seedheads of scabiosa. Wow! This book points out simple visual pleasures in a garden that might easily be overlooked-- as well as how to make spectacular borders of any size. Applying information from The Well-Designed Mixed Garden can appease anyone's appetite, great and small, for horticultural delights! This book has something for everyone, from the novice gardener to the professional designer. The plant lists and design charts in the appendices are worth the price of the book in themselves for immediate useful information. Bravo!!
Rating:
Summary: A Designers Must!
Review: Designing a garden can become frustrating, but The Well-Designed Mixed Garden leads you through the process. It takes time to design a garden, not to mention having knowledge of each plants characteristics. Tracy DiSabato-Aust has given all tools needed to design your garden. In this book, the color shcemes are shown not only in colored drawings, but also in actual photographs that give a real description and feeling in the planting groups. One cannot compare this book to the authors other book, The Well-Tended Perennial Book(5 stars), because the concept is totally different. This is a great reference book!
Rating:
Summary: A Designers Must!
Review: Designing a garden can become frustrating, but The Well-Designed Mixed Garden leads you through the process. It takes time to design a garden, not to mention having knowledge of each plants characteristics. Tracy DiSabato-Aust has given all tools needed to design your garden. In this book, the color shcemes are shown not only in colored drawings, but also in actual photographs that give a real description and feeling in the planting groups. One cannot compare this book to the authors other book, The Well-Tended Perennial Book(5 stars), because the concept is totally different. This is a great reference book!
Rating: 
Summary: The Well-Designed Mixed Garden: Building Beds and Borders wi
Review: Designing new perennial beds this year, this book was quite helpful. I appreciated her plants recommendations best. The color scheme starting with reds, oranges, yellows to blues and violets was a new concept for me, one that I put into my designs.
Rating:
Summary: Finally! Not the "Same old, thing" yet again
Review: Ever read a garden book and feel like it contains tons of recycled information - like one of those notorious fruitcakes that goes from home to home every Christmas?
This time around, the author dares to express some rather unique, even radical, viewpoints about garden design and color combinations. If you're a traditionalist, you might be a bit intimidated by some of the suggestions but this is an opportunity to let your gardening creativity take root (pun intended). Perhaps you'll discvoer, as I did, that certain plants just "click" togehter,even though their colors seem unharmonious at first glance.
If you follow DiSabato-Aust's guideline, you may well have the most beautiful garden on the block and find yourself falling in love with your yard again. There are lists of plants, suggested placement in relation to other plants and plenty of information about growing requirements. But it is the originality of this one that sets it apart. Beginner or expert gardener, you'll glean tons of valuable info!
Rating: 
Summary: Dull and disappointing
Review: Finally a book for a beginner that makes sense. I've read the first chapter and said, "Aha!!" and "Oh that's what that means! at least twice. I believe that even as I become a more advanced gardener, I will still refer to this book often. The plants are cross-referenced lots of different ways so that if you want a plant that yellow, you can look it up. If you want a plant that easy to care for, you can look that up too. If you know the Latin name, you can look up the common name for most plants. There is alot of information about color theory in a garden. The author explains everything in easy to understand terms with a sense of humor. There is one thing that I'd like to suggest. The author spends alot of time referring to plants by their latin names especially in the photos. I've seen a plant in a photo that just knocked me out and I wanted to get one. It's an extra step to have to stop, mark your place, and look it up in the index to find out what it's called in the real world. It would be better to call them by their common names under the photos. This is very small complaint in a book that is excellent!! I spent part of my plant money for this year on this book and I believe that I have spent my money well. Buy this Book!!!
Rating:
Summary: I am very happy
Review: Finally a book for a beginner that makes sense. I've read the first chapter and said, "Aha!!" and "Oh that's what that means! at least twice. I believe that even as I become a more advanced gardener, I will still refer to this book often. The plants are cross-referenced lots of different ways so that if you want a plant that yellow, you can look it up. If you want a plant that easy to care for, you can look that up too. If you know the Latin name, you can look up the common name for most plants. There is alot of information about color theory in a garden. The author explains everything in easy to understand terms with a sense of humor. There is one thing that I'd like to suggest. The author spends alot of time referring to plants by their latin names especially in the photos. I've seen a plant in a photo that just knocked me out and I wanted to get one. It's an extra step to have to stop, mark your place, and look it up in the index to find out what it's called in the real world. It would be better to call them by their common names under the photos. This is very small complaint in a book that is excellent!! I spent part of my plant money for this year on this book and I believe that I have spent my money well. Buy this Book!!!
Rating:
Summary: A great work.
Review: I am designing a garden for my campus and continue to work on my home landscape. The Well-Designed Mixed Garden by Tracy DiSabato-Aust answers my questions like it knows what I am thinking. I was wondering about garden scale in relation to buildings, among other things, and now have a good idea. I find a treasure trove of information for my consideration and use in this book (as well as in the Well-Tended Perennial Garden). The discussion of color is intense and wonderful. The reference areas and examples are invaluable. The writing style is friendly and unstuffy. The information is inspired and important. I am grateful for this book both for my job and my home landscape. It has been commuting with me every day for the past 2 weeks.
Rating:
Summary: A great work.
Review: I am designing a garden for my campus and continue to work on my home landscape. The Well-Designed Mixed Garden by Tracy DiSabato-Aust answers my questions like it knows what I am thinking. I was wondering about garden scale in relation to buildings, among other things, and now have a good idea. I find a treasure trove of information for my consideration and use in this book (as well as in the Well-Tended Perennial Garden). The discussion of color is intense and wonderful. The reference areas and examples are invaluable. The writing style is friendly and unstuffy. The information is inspired and important. I am grateful for this book both for my job and my home landscape. It has been commuting with me every day for the past 2 weeks.
Rating:
Summary: Dull and disappointing
Review: I tried to like this book. Everyone thinks her garden maintenance book is the be-all, end-all.
This book is just dull. The designs are very uninspired and many of the photographs were amateurish and poorly lit. I learned more about garden design from Dianne Benson's fabulous book "Dirt" and she had maybe 5 black and white photographs. The plant lists in Disabato-Aust's book are okay, but any number of books list plants by foliage color, flower color etc. This woman uses way too much rudbeckia. Isn't that considered an invasive weed? It should be banned.
Ditch this over-priced, over-promoted beast of a book and check out "Shocking Beauty" by Thomas Hobbs. This is one of the most beautiful gardening books out there and you'll learn how to use your own eye and instincts to create exquisite and memorable gardens, some of which are simply about foliage and more beautiful than any conventional perennial border.
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