A while back I was listening to Ken Druse Real Dirt, a gardening podcast, and heard about a new book called; Plantiful. In it the author, Kristin Green, writes about how you can grow a big garden with 150 plants that spread, self sow and overwinter.
A professional gardener, daily tending The Blithewold Mansion Gardens and Arboretum in Bristol, RI, Kristen Green, loves gardening. However, like myself and no doubt countless others, is impatient and incredibly busy so she has come up with ways to achieve a lush garden in an inexpensive fashion, without too much of a time commitment. She explains how she does just that, in this well thought out, easy to follow 200 page paperback.
The text is filled with great material for anyone interested in gardening, explaining the basics of plant life cycles, seeding sowing processes and propagation methods. The core of the book discusses 150 plant suggestions broken down into three areas; self sowers, easy spreaders and those that you can overwinter for the next year. Each plant has a description with valuable information including the "fine print" to achieve a fruitful garden.
The photography is beautiful, showing many vignettes and pathways, in addition to the individual portraits for the noted 150. One thing I loved was that she took the time to caption the photos so the reader can be clued-in to an interesting combination or particular flower.
All in all I enjoyed this book very much. There are many of my own beloved plants on her pages such as Japanese Anemone, Begonia grandis, Myosotis sylvatica and Geranium macrorrhizum. One thing she convinced me of was the idea of overwintering some of my frost tender plants. Though I bring some plants in for the winter, I really ought to make a better effort on some of the tubers and other tender plants that could be kept in the basement, garage or porch in dormancy until next season.
Plantiful is available in paperback and in kindle format. To purchase and learn more about Plantiful and Kristin Green visit her website, Trench Manicure, or find it on Amazon; Plantiful: Start Small, Grow Big with 150 Plants That Spread, Self-Sow, and Overwinter.
As a final note; gardening podcasts are a great way to learn about new books and trends in gardening. You can find more of my favorites here.
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