Product Description

The Well-Designed Mixed Garden is a design book with a difference. Written for gardeners who are passionate about plants of all kinds (hence the "mixed garden" of the title), it reflects decades of professional experience and artistic innovation. As with her bestselling book The Well-Tended Perennial Garden, master designer and plantswoman Tracy DiSabato-Aust provides not only inspiration but also scrupulously organized information on design and connoisseur plants all from original research dating back to her degree work in horticulture. Her new offering is a master class of design fundamentals, with an emphasis on often-neglected topics, such as site evaluation, color theory, and planning for maintenance. It is also a gallery of detailed design plans that show how ideas are put onto paper and then translated into three dimensions. Lessons learned in its first two parts are strengthened in an "Encyclopedia of Plant Combinations"; each entry notes the design considerations at play and provides tips on how to keep the combination looking its best. And the lifetime care needs and unique design characteristics of featured plants are summarized in the useful charts and lists that conclude the book. The result is a nearly foolproof guide to every aspect of designing superior gardens with superior plants. With more than 250 color photos and illustrations, this book is as much a feast for the eyes as it will be a trusted reference for the library shelf.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #315953 in Books
• Published on: 2003-01-02
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .5 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 460 pages

From Amazon.com
Tracy DiSabato-Aust's Well-Designed Mixed Garden provides sound direction for plant lovers looking to free their garden from the doldrums and fashion a rich tapestry of trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, vines, grasses, and bulbs. Encyclopedic in scope yet unfailingly attentive to essential details, The Well-Designed Mixed Garden effectively summarizes an array of basic garden design considerations and fundamentals. There are particularly useful chapters on color theory and on drawing up a plan, with precise instructions on what size plants to purchase and how to space them. As with her highly regarded Well-Tended Perennial Garden: Planting & Pruning Techniques, DiSabato-Aust delves eagerly into plant maintenance, a topic too many garden writers overlook. Though many examples are from the author's own garden or other American Midwest locations, they're largely applicable to other plant hardiness zones. Of particular appeal are a nicely photographed section on attractive plant combinations and a series of handy appendixes for plant selection. Beginners may be overwhelmed by this book's wealth of information, but its comprehensiveness renders it all the more valuable for seasoned gardeners seeking greater practical know-how and a surer grasp of the art of gardening. --Jennifer Wyatt

From Booklist
In this eagerly awaited sequel to her best-seller, The Well-Tended Perennial Garden (1998), DiSabato-Aust brings her trademark exuberance, expertise, and efficiency to bear on frequently daunting elements of garden design, demystifying them with her direct approach and encouraging gardeners with her infectious enthusiasm. A patient instructor with a keen sense of the essential, DiSabato-Aust explores areas other authors often ignore, going in-depth on topics such as color, for example, to clarify the differences between "hue" and "value" and demonstrate how intensity of light can affect the way in which flowers are perceived. Examples abound: winning plant combinations are photographed, illustrated, and then deconstructed in an encyclopedic compilation of 27 sample designs that explains why the groupings work and how they can be achieved. DiSabato-Aust conscientiously provides the tools required to transform theory into reality as she walks readers through the actual process of putting plans on paper, spacing plants, and estimating supplies. Painstakingly researched and precisely organized comprehensive appendixes concisely chart cultural characteristics and design attributes in this admirably inspirational, abundantly informative, and absolutely indispensable guide to great garden design. Carol Haggas
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Review
Tracy DiSabato-Aust does not skip a stone over the pond of an idea; she immerses herself in it and swims deep and wide ... This book, an outstanding work of gardening scholarship, is at the same time down to earth, inspiring, practical, and altogether useful if you want to develop an extrordinary mixed garden. Gordon Hayward, Horticulture, September 2003 (Horticulture )

Tracy makes it possible for the novice gardener to design an artistic mixed garden. Joanne S. Carpender, National Gardener, July 2003 (National Gardener )

A gorgeous and practical guide to having it all ... The Well-Designed Mixed Garden is one of those enormous and comprehensive works that is equally at home on your coffee table or out in the potting shed. Amy Stewart, American Gardener, July/August 2003 (American Gardener )

"With an encyclopedia of connoisseur plants, suggested plant combinations,and garden composition ideas, this book is sure to be a trusted and treasured reference for your personal garden library." Utah Style and Design, Summer2004 (Utah Style and Design )