Five-Plant Gardens: 52 Ways to Grow a Perennial Garden with Just Five Plants

by Nancy J. Ondra, Rob Cardillo (Photographer)

Overview

With literally hundreds of choices, it can be overwhelming to decide which perennials to plant in your garden. Nancy J. Ondra takes the stressful guesswork out of perennial garden planning by offering 52 vibrant designs, each made up of only five plants. Ondra tailors each simple design to a specific set of growing conditions, with plenty of tips to help your planting mature. Enjoy gardens full of sun-drenched blooming flowers and shade-loving greenery for years to come.  

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781612120041
Publisher:	Storey Publishing, LLC
Publication date:	03/11/2014
Pages:	184
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 10.80(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Nancy J. Ondra, author of Container Theme Gardens, is a garden writer and editor as well as the former owner and operator of a small rare-plant nursery. She is the author or co-author of a dozen gardening books, including Foliage (winner of the 2008 Book Award from the American Horticultural Society), The Perennial Gardener’s Design Primer (winner of a 2006 Silver Award from the Garden Writers Association), Five-Plant Gardens, The Perennial Care Manual, Fallscaping, and Grasses. She currently gardens in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and blogs at www.hayefield.com.

Rob Cardillo has been photographing gardens, plants, and the people who tend them for more than 20 years. Formerly the director of photography at Organic Gardening, he now works for major publishers, horticultural suppliers, and landscape designers throughout the United States. Visit him at robcardillo.com.

Table of Contents

Why Five Plants?

Starting a Perennial Garden from the Ground Up

Five-Plant Gardens for Full Sun to Partial Shade

Bright White Garden - Stunning in Silver - Think Pink - Red All Over - Vision in Blue - Touch of Gold - Bold and Beautiful - Perennials in Pastel - Welcome Spring - Summer Spectacular - Autumn Abundance - Winter Wonderful - A Nonstop Garden - Beat the Heat - Wet and Wild - Amazing Rain Garden - Coping with Slopes - A Great Foundation - On the Edge - A Salt Solution - For the Birds - Hummingbird Heaven - Butterly Banquet - Don't Stop Here, Deer! - Fabulous Fragrance - Cut Flowers for Free - Miniature Meadow - Cottage Charm

Five-Plant Gardens for Partial to Full Shade

Just White for Shade - Silver Celebration - Thinking Pink - A Study in Blue - Say Hello to Yellow - Blooms for Shade - Pretty Pastels - Spring into Action - Summer Sanctuary - Fall Flowers & Foliage - Winter Delights - A Year-Round Garden - Color for Dry Shade - Wet-Site Wonders - A Rain Garden for Shade - Shady Slope Planting - Around the House - Elegant Edging - Salt in the Earth - Hummingbird Magnet - Deter the Deer - Perfumed Perennials - Backyard Flower Shop - Country Cottage Style

USDA Hardiness Zone Map

Index

What People are Saying About This

Linden Hill Gardens Jerry Fritz

“Nancy’s hands on approach to gardening makes it fool-proof for instant results. Her plant knowledge and eye for talent and color is unmatched in our industry. Finally we now have a practical how-to for creating a garden with sure bound success!”

Host & Designer for HGTV's Curb Appeal: the b Kimberly Lacy-Lightford

"Five Plant Gardens is the newest and best version of any plant bible and Nancy is showing us the way. This book is great for beginner gardeners, landscape designers, nurseries, and average folks at home ready to bring some Curb Appeal to their yards."

Editorial Reviews

02/03/2014
Planting an eye-popping perennial garden is the intended result of following the guidelines used by Ondra (The Perennial Gardener’s Design Primer). In her newest, Ondra cuts through the confusion that would otherwise attend the process of creating a border or bed, including tips for creating a garden for a particular season or color scheme. She helps the gardener with a simple key: planting a magic five plants for a variety of beds. Her guidelines, which include a “shopping list” for each bed, reflect her skill as an accomplished horticulturist and include diverse color options (for example, “Stunning in Silver,” “Think Pink”) and seasonal schemes. She draws sound distinctions, differentiating, for example, between full-sun-to-partial-shade and partial-to-full-shade gardens. Other highlights include the color photography of Rob Cardillo and a generous supply of design plans. The reader will benefit from this gardener’s eye and her sharing of knowledge. More to the point, the resulting garden will be so simple yet sophisticated that it will look easy. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Ondra cuts through the confusion that would otherwise attend the process of creating a border or bed, including tips for creating a garden for a particular season or color scheme. She helps the gardener with a simple key: planting a magic five plants for a variety of beds. … Her guidelines … reflect her skill as an accomplished horticulturist … Other highlights include the color photography of Rob Cardillo and a generous supply of design plans. The reader will benefit from this gardener’s eye and her sharing of knowledge. More to the point, the resulting garden will be so simple yet sophisticated that it will look easy.”

From the Publisher