Fearless Gardening: Be Bold, Break the Rules, and Grow What You Love

by Loree Bohl

Overview

“Fearless Gardening encourages you—exhorts you—to boldly go forth and claim your garden as a space of joy and creativity.” —Jennifer Jewell, creator and host of public radio’s Cultivating Place

Embrace your inner rebel and create the garden you want—even if it breaks the rules. Loree Bohl, the voice behind the popular blog The Danger Garden, shows how it’s done in Fearless Gardening, with zone-busting ideas and success stories. Bohl’s own gorgeous home garden inspires, with agaves that shrug off ice storms, palms that thrive in the rain, and planting risks that are beautifully rewarded.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781604699623
Publisher:	Timber Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	01/05/2021
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	1,070,233
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Loree Bohl maintains the popular website, The Danger Garden. In addition to freelance garden writing, scouting assignments, and speaking engagements, Loree has served on the board of directors for the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon, the Pacific Horticulture Society, and the Garden Bloggers Fling Advisory Committee.

Editorial Reviews

11/16/2020

The home garden should be improvisational, advises garden blogger Bohl in her norm-busting debut. She highlights the inspiration she’s drawn from two eclectic gardeners, Ruth Bancroft and Ganna Walska, who used an “ ‘I’ll do it my way, thank you’ attitude” in creating “one-of-a-kind private gardens that are now open to the public.” Bohl then sets about debunking the “Gardening Commandments.” The first—“Thou shalt plan the entire garden before you begin planting”—is countered by Bancrofts’s approach of planting in small increments; the second—“Thou shalt not purchase plants on impulse”—is rebuked: “I’m here to tell you it’s okay to buy a plant just because you love it, even if it’s not a long-term match for your garden.” The author shares plenty of tips for creating a garden that is individual and artistic, such as “turning an obstacle into an advantage,” citing as an example how a friend of hers painted a dead tree blue instead of removing it. Would-be gardeners intimidated by the thought of taking the plunge will find plenty of encouragement to go forth with confidence and creativity. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"At last—a book that empowers and inspires gardeners to follow their own path in the garden." —Georgina Reid, editor and creative director, The Planthunter

“Fearless Gardening encourages you—exhorts you—to boldly go forth and claim your garden as a space of joy and creativity.” —Jennifer Jewell, creator and host of public radio’s Cultivating Place

“Bohl packs the pages with advice for unapologetically following your bliss in your garden, even if that means flouting a few horticultural commandments.” —The American Gardener
 
“By heeding Loree’s excellent advice, you can plant what you’ve always wanted and it will thrive, no matter where you live.” —Debra Lee Baldwin, author of Designing with Succulents and Succulents Simplified
 
“Blasts the tired, oft-repeated ‘rules’ of gardening into smithereens and cheers on experimentation, planting what thrills you, and zone pushing.” —Pam Penick, owner, Penick Landscape Design, and author of The Water-Saving Garden
 
“Loree has a sharp eye for the bold and the unusual, both in plant choices and in plant combinations, and it is a delight to have a whole book full of her observations.” —Brian Kemble, curator, the Ruth Bancroft Garden
 
“They are our gardens. We make the rules. Loree gives us the courage to create the garden we see in our minds and feel in our hearts.” —Steve Aitken, editor, Fine Gardening
 
“Reveals the ways that cutting-edge gardens are shattering stereotypes.” —Panayoti Kelaidis, senior curator and director of outreach, Denver Botanic Gardens

“Gardeners aspiring and experienced may feel emboldened and inspired to break the rules.” —Booklist

“Would-be gardeners intimidated by the thought of taking the plunge will find plenty of encouragement to go forth with confidence and creativity.” —Publishers Weekly

“All gardeners can learn a lot by reading Fearless Gardening and thinking through how to work around the limitations of their environment.” —Late to the Garden Party

“If you think gardening should be an adventure, this book is for you!” —Garden Design Magazine

“Page after page of inspiration featuring bold plants, found objects, and, of course, more plants! With droll humor and infectious enthusiasm, Bohl provides all the encouragement needed to stop worrying what the neighbors think or what is the right way to garden and just start planting.” —Digging

“An invaluable primer, and not just for growing desert and tropical plants in less-than-ideal climates.”—A Growing Obsession

“A book replete with horticultural wisdom and inspiration. In addition to vibrant text and glorious photos that are highly instructional, it offers the friendly message that gardeners can do no wrong.” —The Pasadena Star-News

“Encouraged gardeners to live life a little dangerously.” —Old-House Journal

“Motivates and encourages gardeners to break some rules.” —425 Magazine

“Discover a sense of boldness in the garden.” —Cultivating Place

“A refreshing read for anyone intimidated by garden rules.” —California Garden

“Bohl’s messages of ‘yes, you can’ and ‘yes, you should’ are the perfect antidote to a world filled with worry and a sense of helplessness toward the unknown.” —The Oregonian​

From the Publisher