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| Author: C. Colston Burrell
Publisher: Rodale Books
Category: Book
List Price: $22.95
Buy New: $12.49
You Save: $10.46 (46%)
New (33) Used (9) from $12.49
Rating:  22 reviews
Sales Rank: 26486
Media: Paperback
Edition: Revised
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 384
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.2
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 7.5 x 0.9
ISBN: 1594868530
Dewey Decimal Number: 635.932
EAN: 9781594868535
ASIN: 1594868530
Publication Date: February 19, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
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| Customer Reviews:
 perennial combos February 16, 2007
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a wonderful guide to planning and developing a perennial garden. The author gives examples for numerous planting condition,such as shade, sand, clay. I can't wait for spring!
Excellent range and quality of presentation of ideas. February 9, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
`Perennial Combinations' by professional garden designer and gardening writer, C. Colston Burrell is almost as lushly delightful as the many plant combinations he displays and explains in this excellent Rodale publication. This is far more practical, broad, and engaging than the book I just reviewed, `plant partners' by leading horticultural journalist, Anna Pavord; however, Pavord does have loads of arcane information to titillate the imagination. And, as good as it is, Burrell's book is not `perfect', although I am at a loss to recommend anything better.
Burrell's two strongest assets are his offering up a huge selection of different options, varying by color, season, tastes, special locations (shaded, clay, sandy, wet) and special purposes (wildflowers, herbs, butterflies, cuttings) and his displaying his sample layouts in three different methods. These methods are photograph, colored pencil (3 dimensional) drawing, and schematic (map of plant layouts in 2 dimension). With each photograph, there is even a fourth representation, a diagrammatic outline key to identifying each plant in each photograph. To be sure, not every layout is presented in all four manners, but there is enough here for you to get the idea for all the most interesting layouts.
I am not a gardening expert, so I can't realistically judge the accuracy of Mr. Burrell's recommendations. All I know from experience with cookbooks and various other craft books is that the only way to know for sure whether a suggestion will work is to actually try it out, on a small scale, if necessary. I do find one annoyance with the book. It is not entirely consistent with its layout of material on facing pages. In most cases, the left hand page offers an example for a particular venue and plant combination and the right hand facing page offers tips and `secrets' for setting up plants in such a venue. Sometimes, however, the synching up of material goes astray and the facing pages don't seem to have much to do with one another. This is nothing more than a minor nuisance, easily accommodated once you appreciate all the patterns in the book.
One problem not with the book but with the vagaries of local American plant suppliers is that except for a few of the larger establishments, few greenhouses will have even close to all the plants mentioned in this book. If I were to add anything to the book, it would be at least five different garden arrangements based on commonly available plants, similar to the `Cottage Style Mix for Clay' which uses commonly available daylillies (Hemerocallus), Black Eyed Susans (Rudbeckia), and Coneflowers (Echinacea). To offset this issue, the author offers many mail order sources for perennials, including web sites for the majority of sources. He also has my very favorite feature, a good bibliography for `Recommended Reading'.
This is a great source if you like perennials gardens (and don't mind the pruning) and have the space for a richly variegated garden.
 no title November 10, 2006
3 out of 7 found this review helpful
Good color. Didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. In that sense,it was disappointing. I haad hoped for more from Burrell
 Lots of good ideas November 3, 2006
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book does not give info on the actual plants. It's more a suggestion of plant combinations involving complimentary colors, plants needs, etc. Gives great inspiration for things that would work in your own garden setting.
Wonderful Garden Resource August 14, 2006
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Going to the Garden Shop is an experience and if you are like me, want eveything in bloom at any given time. Perennial Combinations does a beautiful job combining color and bloom times so that you can easily plan your garden. There is sometime for every garden size, soil, and light exposue. Beside being practical the illustrations are breathtaking. I wish I had bought this book prior to planning my last garden!
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