Plant Combinations for an Abundant Garden: Design and Grow a Fabulous Flower and Vegetable Garden

by David Squire, Alan & Gill Bridgewater

Overview

Packed with practical advice from leading cultivation specialists, this concise, easy-to-use book covers virtually every aspect of garden design and maintenance—from choosing a plot to selecting plants, maximizing space and building raised beds. Plant Combinations for an Abundant Garden shows how to create productive gardens by selecting the perfect plant combinations. A comprehensive plant directory provides handy information on summer-flowering annuals, herbaceous perennials, shrubs, small trees, climbers, water plants, bamboos, culinary herbs, fruits and vegetables. Practical advice and step-by-step instructions are included for building up layers of soil with mushroom compost, covering weeds with mulch, protecting plants with nets and plastic and much more. With more than 300 gorgeous color photographs, illustrations and diagrams, this book is a must for busy gardeners everywhere.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781580118279
Publisher:	Fox Chapel Publishing
Publication date:	05/14/2019
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

David Squire has worked for many years as a gardening writer and editor. He has contributed to numerous gardening magazines and is the author (or co-author) of more than 80 gardening and plant-related books. His books include four titles in the new Home Gardener's Specialist Guide series (Fox Chapel Publishing) plus The Scented Garden (Orion) which won the “Quill and Trowel Award” of the Garden Writers of America. David trained as a horticulturist at the Hertfordshire College of Agriculture and at the Royal Horticultural Society, where he was awarded the Wisley Diploma in Horticulture. He was awarded an N.K. Gould Memorial Prize for his collection of herbarium specimens of native British plants. In 2005, this collection of plants was accepted by the Booth Museum of Natural History to become library and museum exhibits. He has a passionate interest in the uses of native plants, whether for eating and survival, or for their historical roles in medicine, folklore and customs.

Alan and Gill Bridgewater have gained an international reputation as promoters of the self-sufficient lifestyle. They produce gardening, woodworking, and DIY books on a range of subjects, including furniture-making, hand tool techniques, stone and brickwork, decks and decking, wood-carving and woodturning. They have written more than 50 highly successful books to date, including The Self-Sufficiency Specialist and The Wildlife Garden Specialist. Alan and Gill frequently contribute articles and designs to national magazines.

Table of Contents

Getting Started

Why Garden? 8

Enjoying Your Garden 9

Assessing Your Garden 10

Gathering Inspiration 14

Design Techniques 16

Choice of infrastructure 18

Getting It Down on Paper 21

Planning the Work 25

Problems and Opportunities 28

Tools and Materials 31

Marking out the Site 34

Garden Construction

Walls, Fences, Hedges and Gates 40

Patios 43

Decking 47

Terraces and Verandas 50

Porches and Entrances 52

Paths and Steps 54

Lighting 61

Lawns and Edging 64

Borders 66

Pergolas, Arches and Trellises 67

Garden Buildings 70

Choosing the Style 72

Flower Gardens 76

Garden Designs

Traditional Cottage Kitchen Garden 80

Water Garden 82

Modern Mediterranean Garden 84

Formal English Garden 86

Secluded City Garden 88

Japanese Garden 90

Container Garden 92

Wild Gardens 94

Small Patio Garden 97

Balcony and Roof Gardens 99

Driveway Garden 100

Low-Maintenance Garden 101

Rock and Water Garden 102

Herb Garden 103

Food-Producing Garden 104

No-Dig Gardening

Benefits of the No-Dig Method 108

Raised-Bed Options 109

Buildings and Equipment 111

The Perfect Plot 114

Small No-Dig Garden 116

Raised-Bed Construction 118

Growing Medium 123

Manure 124

Bed and Plant Rotation 125

Catch Crops and intercropping 127

Organic Protection 129

Sowing Seeds 131

Potting On and Planting Out 133

Extending the Growing Season 135

Sowing Table 137

Deciding What to Plant

Choosing Plants 140

Designing with Plants 143

Shrubs and Small Trees 145

Small Conifers 149

Hedges and Wall Shrubs 150

Climbing Plants 152

Herbaceous Perennials 154

Bedding Plants 156

Annuals and Biennials 158

Rock-Garden Plants 160

Rock, Alpine and Desert Plants 161

Water Plants 163

Bamboos and Grasses 166

Container Plants 170

Herbs 174

Fruit 177

Vegetables 179

Tips for Growing Vegetables and Fruit

Vegetables 184

Fruit 219

Care and Troubleshooting

Looking after Plants 228

Pests and Diseases 231

Year-Round Calendar 235

Troubleshooting 237

Index 240

Editorial Reviews

Plant Combinations for an Abundant Garden is well put together and has it all, packed with useful gardening tips and tools for both newbies and seasoned gardeners alike. A definite must read for anyone interested in gardening. 

Gardening Know How

More than just a collection of flower and veggie combinations, this book is a valuable resource for any homeowner excited to create a private oasis in their own yard.

American Horticulture Society

A comprehensive guide to planning, building and growing a garden that works with your landscape and expresses your personality and lifestyle.

Gardener Magazine

Covers virtually every aspect of garden design and maintenance from choosing a plot, to selecting plants, to maximizing space, and even building raised beds.

Midwest Book Review

Be taken by the hand through each step and turn your yard into a showplace. Not simply a 'what-goes-where' treatise on plant combos, this colorful book is a comprehensive guide from planning to hardscape, to no-dig beds and troubleshooting. Whether gardening is in your blood, you're a beginner, or your landscaping plans just didn’t work out, the authors have anticipated your most confounding questions.”

author of Pocket Gardening for Your Outdoor Living Stephanie Hainsfurther