Say there were a group of plants that included ones that flower and look good every month of the year, that fade away when they’ve done their thing, only to grow again the following season without too much attention.
Look no further than herbaceous perennials, these along with shrubs, form the backbone of most gardens. But they’re a vast and diverse lot of plants, which is where recently published, Claire Austins’ Book of Perennials comes in very handy.
The book covers how to choose perennials and group them together, how to plant them, look after them and propogate them. There’s a useful section on selecting perennials that attract bees and butterflies, the best ones for containers and ones that are good for cut flowers.
The book is good for beginner gardeners and more accomplished ones too. One of the most useful sections is the huge alphabetical directory of plants complete with detailed descriptions, flowering times and size, and lots of proper photos rather than sketches, in fact the book is jam-packed with 900 photos, all taken by Claire.
Trawl through the delicious directory and open yourself up to ideas about plants that you may not have thought of growing before.
Claire has been growing perennials for many years, she opened her own nursery in 2001 after growing perennials at her fathers’ nursery, the renowned David Austin Roses, for over 20 years. She has poured all her knowledge and experience into this book, why rely on trial and error when everything you need is here.
You can buy the book here.
Happy gardening
Jill
Leave a Reply