The Well-Tended Perennial Garden: The Essential Guide to Planting and Pruning Techniques, Third Edition Hardcover – Illustrated, February 22, 2017

Well-written book on gardening. The author explains soil, light, and other items to consider when planting a garden. How much time can you devote to caring for a garden? Which plants require the most care - or the least care. This book will help make it easier on all of us. No more guess work if you plan ahead for success. The colored pictures are beautiful and the plants are shown and described.

Gardeners who prefer to research plants and consider expert advice on garden design before turning the first shovel of dirt will love Tracy DiSabato-Aust’s revised and expanded book, The Well-Tended Perennial Garden. This well-designed volume, peppered with stunning photos from the author’s gardens, contains a career’s worth of experience from one who gardens personally and professionally.The book begins with a practical discussion of garden design and explains how the bed geometry and choice of plants will determine the maintenance required to keep the garden in top condition. As a sometimes trial-and-error gardener I must confess I often choose the plant based on the bloom and have introduced several demanding species into my garden space. From soil preparation to dividing and pruning, The Well-Tended Perennial Garden takes the reader through the steps of successful perennial gardening.The “Encyclopedia of Perennials” section of the book offers detailed descriptions and care tips for more perennials than I will ever fit into my garden. The author provides thirty-six lists of plants by maintenance type such as perennials that tolerate wet soil, clay busters, deer-resistant perennials and so on. The reader can choose a plant then turn back a few pages to the alphabetical section to learn more about it and to see how the mature plant might present itself. Coupled with those valuable lists is a month-to-month planting and maintenance schedule.I highly recommend The Well-Tended Perennial Garden for new and experienced gardeners. This excellent book continues to provide hours of learning and enjoyment as I thumb through and highlight selections I need to remember. My wife has inserted numerous bookmarks for plants she would like to add to our garden.

I was very hesitant to purchase this book as I have many, many other books on perennials but a friend encouraged me to do so and I am very glad I did. Similar to other books it has guidance on basic perennial gardening as well as an encyclopedia of plants. What makes this different? First, it is the BEST description of the differences and proc/cons between pruning and cutting back as well as among pinching, disbudding, thinning and deadheading. These practices really are different and I feel much more empowered. Second, it provides pruning and maintenance tips specific for each type of perennial. This allows you to know in advance what you might want or need to do to be successful. Am very happy with purchase.

Your never to old to learn new things! Read a Book!

I loved the last edition of this book so much that I bought the Kindle version too. Then I bought the new edition as soon as I heard about it. I take this book everywhere with me. I started a few years ago as a novice gardener with the previous edition (which is not very different... this one has added material). I made the book my bible and it is covered in dirt, has dog-eared pages, bookmarks and post-its throughout. When I go to the nursery for new plants I take the book with me and people see it and stop me to say, "That is an amazing book!" I am proud to say that I am now at least an intermediate level gardener (possibly advanced but I don't know other gardeners so I don't have a yardstick... I just know my garden is intense and beautiful and I feel confident). Nearly everything I know about gardening, I learned from this book. And now that I know so much, I still use it all the time. I don't plant any perennials without consulting it. BEST GARDENING BOOK EVER.

This is the fifth copy of this book I have purchased over the years. I have replaced my original copy I wore out and purchased it for friends and family members. I loved every word of it when I read it a few decades ago. And a few houses and some pretty awesome gardens ago. I had the great pleasure of meeting the author at a gardening symposium years ago and she is every bit as cool as you would imagine. Thank you for such a great reference!

This book is extremely informative and a valuable tool to have in my gardening library.

Very informative. This is the best gardening book I have ever read. All her work is excellent. Reading her books has taught more useful info than my landscape design and horticulture certificates ever did.