Gardening with Foliage First: 127 Dazzling Combinations That Pair the Beauty of Leaves with Flowers, Bark, Berries, and More
$7.22
Create a foliage-driven garden that dazzles!
Although seductive, flowers, by their fleeting nature, are a fickle base to provide long-lasting gardens with year-round interest. Tackle this problem with the advice in Gardening with Foliage First. Learn how to first build a framework of foliage and then layer in flowers and other artistic elements as the finishing touches. This simple, recipe-style approach to garden design features 127 combinations for both sunny and shady gardens that work for a variety of climates and garden challenges.
Although seductive, flowers, by their fleeting nature, are a fickle base to provide long-lasting gardens with year-round interest. Tackle this problem with the advice in Gardening with Foliage First. Learn how to first build a framework of foliage and then layer in flowers and other artistic elements as the finishing touches. This simple, recipe-style approach to garden design features 127 combinations for both sunny and shady gardens that work for a variety of climates and garden challenges.
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115 reviews for Gardening with Foliage First: 127 Dazzling Combinations That Pair the Beauty of Leaves with Flowers, Bark, Berries, and More
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Gardening with Foliage First: 127 Dazzling Combinations That Pair the Beauty of Leaves with Flowers, Bark, Berries, and More
$7.22
Katie –
This book is a must-have for your collection, regardless of your experience level. For an enthusiastic beginner myself like myself, I love how this book talks me through how to spot those design cues that take my collection of favorite plants from a jumbled mess to a masterful combination and gives me the confidence to branch out on my own.
The book is divided into sections for Spring & Summer and Fall & Winter, and then each of THOSE sections are divided into Sun and Shade – which I found incredibly helpful. I love my garden in the summer time, but have struggled with finding ways to keep the interest alive during those cold winter months. This book has oodles of combinations, and each can be easily adapted for your situation! Whether you have a large garden, a small garden, or just a patio – this book is for you!
Beyond all that, how can you resist the urge to discover what goes into ‘Dinosaur Soup,’ or the gardeners ‘Pumpkin Spice Latte’???
Love to Read –
Just got my copy of “Gardening with Foliage First” by Christina Salwitz and Karen Chapman. It’s seriously fabulous! Kudos ladies! This has to be the best garden inspiration/ideas book I’ve ever seen. I HIGHLY recommend any person who loves gardening to add this one to your garden book collection. There are so many beautiful combinations there is something here that will work for any garden. I’ve recently been changing out my high maintenance borders to less time consuming shrub focused mixed borders and I’ll be spending a lot of time with this book before spring rolls around this year.
M. Dement –
I’ve discovered many gorgeous plants I didn’t even know existed in this book. The plant combinations are beautiful. Almost every time I turn a page I’m thinking “oh that’s so pretty”. There are so many of the combinations I want to try, I’m afraid I’ll have to greatly expand my garden. 🎉 This is definitely a book every serious gardener should own. I am very, very pleased that I added it to my library. Hopefully the authors plan on 127 More Dazzling Combinations soon.
Jayincharlotte –
This book is beautiful in every way, from the layout, the photographs, the text and even the quality of the paper upon which it is printed. While thought-provoking, it is easy to read and will become an excellent reference guide. It is a motivational treat for those of us who are growing a bit tired of winter and are itching to start digging in the dirt of springtime. This book proves what I have always thought: that a beautiful, vibrant garden could be created without a single flower, that thoughtfully combined foliage can carry the weight of great design.
Anyone who wants to take a garden from mundane to extraordinary should read this book and refer back to it every so often in the future.
M. Dement –
From someone with leaves on her engagement ring, you can be assured that this reviewer loves her foliage! The book was great and will be very helpful planning my landscape. As you’d expect, not all the plants featured grow in my area, but at least I get the idea of what color, shape and textures work well together to make substituting easier. Karen also offers a class on craftsy that I’m taking now, though I’m still looking for help with choosing the right evergreens for the front of my home. Meanwhile, this is a good read.
daisymom –
I was expecting a “how to” book. This is more like a coffee table book. It has beautiful photos, usually of three plants, but the photos are so artsy I usually can’t tell how the plants fit into the landscape, the size of the mature plants, etc. I did find the book useful for learning the names of plants. I would not buy this book again.
Kevin Cramer –
This is a great book. Who knew gardening could be so inspiring and fun! There is so much to see and learn and it is all so gorgeously pictured. I only wish I could plant all the plants that thrive in my zone.
Deanne L. Fortnam –
I can’t believe how many stunning plant combinations and pairings are in this book. I highly recommend it for anyone looking to spruce up their outdoor design. The best part is that you don’t have to rely on blooming flowers for your garden beauty.
kjani –
It’s been awhile since I’ve read a gardening book cover to cover! It’s a real page turner….I can’t wait to see what the next plant combo “vignette”will be! All combinations – are named. I’m going to use these combinations as I build my landscape! My favorite right now is the western sword fern with the black mondo grass and a gorgeous vivid blue gazing ball OMG ! Amazing artwork! I’ve been dying to find a way to use black mondo grass effectively and have found it – with this book! If you’re trying to develop plant combinations and color combinations in your yard…this book is it! It will give you ideas for things you’ve never ever considered before and you’ll fall in love.
Lynn –
Covers every season with plant combinations I can experiment with in my warm zone area.