The Garden Border Book

by Mary Keen

Book Overview

A great read for any enthusiast. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0913643025
• ISBN13: 9780913643020
• Release Date: January 1987
• Publisher: Capability's Books
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Lovely book, useful ideas...

I bought THE GARDEN BORDER BOOK by Mary Keen a few years ago, and although she is a British writer and many of the photographs taken by Gemma Nesbitt were snapped in England, the book contains many useful ideas if you're about to embark on the design of a border garden or ready to tear out the old border and start again. This is a book of designs--plant maps as well as photos--but you don't have to have five acres to create a border. Keen's book contains designs for short borders, long ornate borders, and corner pockets--which could fit in a townhouse sized garden. In fact, all the long border designs could be divided into small beds. When I first started building garden beds at my current residence (I have a small lot), I spent hours reading garden books, looking at photos and trying to imagine how various plants would behave in my growing zone (7). I suffered many disappointments along the way but many successes too. There is no teacher like experience, but Mary Keen's book provides some practical ideas--along with beautiful photos of other people's successes. With a few exceptions, Keen's garden designs translate well in Zone 7. For example, in one bed Keen has placed Sedum 'Autumn Joy', Berberii's Thunbergii, Achilla 'Moonshine', Penstamon 'Garnet' Potentilla arbuscuia, Scabiosa remelica and Lavandula Dutch, in the first row. Behind them she has placed Asters, roses, and Nepeta, and behind this she has placed climbing vines (Clematis) and small trees and bushes. This plan will work in growing Zone 7 in a raised bed, I've tried it. I had to substitute some of the plants (roses) and some varieties because I could not find them--but the differences between varieties of a species are minor. All of these plants are heat and drought resistant, and mostly not prone to powderly mildew, the curse of Zone 7.I recommend Keen's book to anyone looking for good design ideas, but especially for those working in growing zone 7. I think the designs could be reworked slightly to make nice gardens in zones 6 (you might lose some plants to frost) and 8 (you might lose some plants like the heat). Nothing ventured, nothing gained.