Creating Beds and Borders: Creative Ideas from America's Best Gardeners (Fine Gardening Design Guides)

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 176 pages
• Published by: Taunton January 15, 2001
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1561584738
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1561584734
• Book Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Weighs: 1.4 pounds

From Booklist
In Beds and Borders , Elisabeth Sheldon and Sydney Eddison are among the authoritative voices who share wise counsel on how to create gorgeous plantings. Shady spots, damp situations, and lack of privacy are some of the challenges addressed here. You'll also find ideas for providing structure, shaping space, and combining specimens for eye-catching sweeps composed of textural foliage, architectural shrubs, flowering perennials, fragrant herbs and roses, and glowing annuals. Alice Joyce
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Description
Gardening enthusiasts will be inspired by this series of garden design books from more than 50 of America's best gardeners, landscape architects, horticulturists, and nursery owners. They'll discover a wealth of information on everything from planting perennial borders and garden rooms to landscape layout and gardening in harmony with nature.

Creating Beds and Borders features design concepts for mixed borders, and techniques for selecting plants, pruning perennials, and starting plants from seed.

Reader Reviews
"Creating Beds and Borders" is a volume in the series of 'Fine Gardening' Design Guides issued by the Taunton Press. The book consists of separate articles by various contributors to 'Fine Gardening' magazine. Continuity is supplied by the subject matter, garden beds and borders. This book's articles are grouped into four sections: (1) Design Strategies; (2) Great Border Plants; (3) Special Techniques; (4) Garden Gallery. It begins with four articles on the design of island beds and borders. Plant selection and placement are the topics covered by the majority of the essays, along with techniques for starting and renovating perennial beds. Gardening in the shade, in bogs, and in Southeastern heat and humidity all receive special attention in section four. The one topic I felt could have used more coverage was flower bed edging techniques. One of the authors advocated a six inch by six inch trench to separate the bed from its surroundings. Another author, Sydney Eddison wrote an interesting article on "Good Looks Begin at the Edge," but she concentrates on edging plants, rather than on the physical separation of bed and lawn. Perhaps a future volume in the 'Fine Gardening' series will address the challenge of excluding the lawn from the flower bed (information I could certainly use). Because it discusses a technique we're currently experimenting with, my favorite article in "Creating Beds and Borders" is "Roses Enliven a Border" by Judith C. McKeon. Up until a few years ago, we segregated all of our roses into one bed, away from the other perennials (I don't remember why). However, McKeon advocates growing roses as specimens in a mixed border: "When shrub roses are grown as graceful specimens in the mixed border, they become part of its architecture, giving structure and a substantial backdrop for perennial companions. Like other ornamental deciduous shrubs, roses enhance the garden with the seasonal interest of their flowers, foliage texture and fruit displays." I would only disagree with McKeon's recommendation to use the old Alba rose, 'Konigin von Danemark' as part of a mixed border. Our specimen of 'the Queen' is a hefty seven-footer and she is absolutely covered with thorns. Even the thorns have thorns. If you plant one of these royal ladies in your border, you'll never work in there again unless you cover yourself in leather. 'Konigin von Danemark' is a beautiful, raspberry-scented rose that could possibly be used as a deer hedge. For a mixed border, try other McKeon favorites such as 'The Fairy' or 'Gertrude Jekyll'. Color photographs grace almost every page of "Creating Beds and Borders". It is not organized as a reference book per se, but is a collection of beautifully illustrated and well-written essays for (most particularly) the American gardener. Comments (2) | | (Report this)