Planting: A New Perspective

As a fan of both Noel Kingsbury and Piet Oudolf, pre-ordering this book was a no-brainer. But the "real thing" has been far and away more than I could have anticipated in a gardening reference. First, it was exciting to see several of my own planting combos shown here - to see that ideas that I came about on my own just by experimenting in our gardens were used by such esteemed designers gave my little plot some welcome credibility and gave me some positive feedback for my own gardening aesthetic. What was especially helpful was to see how I could enhance these groupings with the addition of another plant I would not have thought of on my own. The plant performance chapter and the chapter on groupings have post-its marking them as they are invaluable. They provide critical information for being able to plan what to plant together and knowing the plant is going to look like during all 4 seasons, how it may spread, what you can expect in terms of performance, etc. This is not a basic how to nor a book you sit down and read from cover to cover. This is a book that sits on your nightstand and that you use as a gardening planning and reference guide, day after day, and my guess is, season after season. I find myself walking through the garden, book in hand, looking at different beds in our garden and exploring new options for making them better. Or I will lie in bed, reviewing photos of the garden and comparing my amateur efforts with the designs in the book. There is no shortage of ideas, the photos are spectacular, and the information is a gardener's dream. My one regret is that this book wasn't available in 2003 when I was designing my own gardens. It would have been immensely helpful to have had the benefit of much of this information then. However, I am understanding even better why some things worked and others didn't, and how to make things that I have been struggling with even better. This is not a basic guide, bit for someone who is a serious gardener with some room to plant some serious beds, it's a definite "must have" on your reference shelf.

This is a very enjoyable and informative book about 'naturalistic' planting design. It focuses on the forms/architecture of perennial plants and theories of how to combine them for visually richness. It reviews many well-known designers' styles and techniques and breaks them down into a clear, easy to understand language and syntax. It is focused more on open, sunny planting sites, but does briefly mention woodland edge plantings - in any case, the design language is the same, but the syntax is different. There are many rules of thumb to note, but the whole book is a great collection of planting design theories that have been well tested. I recommend this if you are a hobby gardener looking for the techniques used for 'magazine cover' plantings or if you're a designer who wants to understand the history, evolution, and theory of planting design to inform your own creativity. I haven't found another book that discusses theory so thoroughly and in a manner that is so clear and adaptable.

The planting style described in this book could be used in a home garden but the book is actually about designing for larger public spaces. It covers concepts to consider when designing including: a maintenance plan, local ecology, plant structure & silhouette, species longevity and how plants spread. It also has an interesting section on current trends in garden design. With garden book, I often read only part of the book and then look at the pictures. Not this time, I read it cover to cover and enjoyed the text as well as the great pictures.

A good resource

A good overview of the Oudolf and Kingsbury approach to planting large public areas. Great detail for those who might wish to apply these principles to smaller landscapes. Beautiful photography.

Fantastic detail to support the overall planting theory, and help the home gardener think through how to apply the principles at home. That said, it’s not written as an instruction manual, it lays out a set of principles that you need to interpret to apply to your situation.

I really hesitated to buy this book, as I really don't care to use exotic and native cultivars in my midwest prairie plantings. But, I was really happy I did purchase it. There are really good ideas for design, and using an artistic filter to create beautiful, cohesive plantings. The book gave deeper info. about the architecture and longevity of various types of plants, which I found very helpful. Though I will not choose many of the plant species highlighted, I can use the guidelines of plant architecture, longevity, and "look" to come up with native prairie alternatives that are similar. I'd say this is a book for people that want to think deeper about landscape design, and not just use cookie cutter planting layouts/plant lists, like so many beginner books do.

Great for beautiful photos. Great for in-depth, appropriately technical information that even an experienced gardener would learn from. And a good bedtime read!

This is a plants persons delight. From a classroom point of view, if takes you through form and texture and appreciation of plant habits and what plants work with others. All plants fully named so you can pinpoint exact cultivars of plants. Overall a stunning book which has become a tab magnet for key parts to revisit. LOVE IT, thank you Piet for sharing your talent, nothing withheld.

I'm a reluctant gardener, there's no doubt about it, but this book is an inspiration. I bought it unseen based on what I had seen of Piet Oudolf's style on the internet and wanted to copy his style of planting to design an easy care garden. Initially I was disappointed there weren't more photographs but this hasn't been any issue at all. I like the list of plants he uses described by criteria like foliage architecture, structural interest, flower season, how many plants needed per metre square as well as height, spread, etc. and am confident about designing new flower beds with year round interest. There are examples of plans he has used which helps with putting together a good mixture of plants. Thoroughly recommend!

Libro bellissimo con delle bellissime immagini

Très beau livre acheté en cadeau pour ma fille

No entro en el contenido del libro, ya que lo he devuelto por la mala calidad de las imágenes. Un libro de este precio no puede tener esa calidad de fotografía.