The Harmonious Garden: Color, Form, and Texture

Rating:
Summary: Basic principles of color and form
Review: Generally, an excellent reference. The author methodically and analytically (if you appreciate that sort of thing) takes the reader through combinations of color and form and explains why the combinations work. The author's taste in color is subtle, however, and you will not be shown high contrast or exciting color combinations. The same restraint applies in the author's use of form. There are appendices that discuss various plants and combinations, although not in depth.

Rating:
Summary: Even more information that the title suggests
Review: In addition to more than 140 attractive combinations, with color photos and drawings to illustrate exactly what makes up the plantings in each photo, this book contains a load of practical and insightful observations. It's a treasure for UK, European, and US gardeners with its careful and accurate attention to zones; it's an inspiration to gardeners everywhere because of the education it offers about what underlies this author's ideas about combining plants.

Each planting combination has a photo and annotated drawing, as well as three to six or so paragraphs which are loaded with tremendously valuable data points. How much space might the combination be expected to occupy? What foliar changes occur as the plant occurs? What is unique about the combination's color, form, texture? Do any of the plants re-seed? What compatible plantings would extend the season of interest? When in the season was the photo taken?

There is a separate section with details about specific plants included in the combinations. Three appendices (bloom options by exposure, season, and color [which increases the value of this book far beyond the combinations it suggests]); foliar options; an extensive cross-reference between common and botanic names) add much more value. Finally and typically for publications of Timber Press, a fine index makes the book easy to use over and over.

There are less expensive books about planting combinations, but no book that I know of that offers broader and deeper information to help gardeners find their own beautiful planting harmonies. One good thing about this book's price point is that you can be virtually assured that few novice gardeners own it; thus, it would be an excellent and much appreciated gift.