Professional Planting Design: An Architectural and Horticultural Approach for Creating Mixed Bed Plantings

"This is a great reference book for planting design, which is anarena where so many of us are hugely challenged. Information in itis well written, engaging, useful, accessible, and original."
-- Holly H. Shimizu, Executive Director, United States BotanicGarden

"A unique blend of classic planting-design principles andecological plant-selection criteria."
-- Scot Medbury, President, Brooklyn Botanic Garden

"After reading the book, you will be able to experiment withnature and use its myriad of facets to make your own originalstatement. You will be ready to take risks and design exciting andoriginal gardens."
-- From the Foreword by James A. van Sweden, Oehme, van Sweden& Associates

A comprehensive guide to the "high art" of designing mixed bedplantings

When done successfully, mixed beds represent the pinnacle ofplanting design -- a living work of art in which small trees,shrubs, perennials, grasses, bulbs, tropicals, and groundcoverscombine to create a true feeling of place. Professional PlantingDesign initiates you into the principles of planting design andhelps you develop the ability to think about the planting designprocess, so that you can develop your own effective compositionsthat sustain multi-seasonal interest.

Richly illustrated with photographs and drawings,Professional Planting Design covers the basics as well asthe advanced concepts of planting design including: selecting plantcharacteristics, types of mixed bed plantings, structuring andcomposing mixed beds, creating mixed palettes for seasonalvariation, designing in elevation and plan view, and choosingplants. You'll find coverage of design, landscape architecture, andhorticulture interwoven throughout the guide, along with detailedsteps for developing mixed bed planting compositions at a varietyof scales for projects on both residential and commercialsites.

Clear and concise yet thorough, this book will supplement yourtalent with the knowledge you need to create harmonious mixedplantings in the landscape that will provide continual interestthroughout the seasons.