Fabulous Flowerbeds: Book Review for Bookpleasures.com

This is the full version of the quickie review posted here on Feb. 9, 2010.

Fabulous Flowerbeds Gisela Keil & Jurgen Becker,           F&W Publications

This is a gem of a book. The author Gisela Keil and photographer Jurgen Becker have compiled an easy to follow guide to designing and planting flowerbeds. The illustrations are inspiring and the advice is clear-cut. There is no empty rhetoric, subjective emotion, or abstract passion about flowers or gardening in the text. The chapters are written with an economy of words that will delight the busy gardener. The information is grounded in reality because right on the first page, before one can begin to read, the author makes clear, with a photograph of a patio table surrounded by a flowerbed, that this is going to be a book about gardens, in which people are as important as plants.

The many topics that the author covers include:  the location and purpose of a garden, the contrast between formal and informal flowerbeds, how to design both of these styles, and how to maintain color all year round. The illustrations are lavish and appropriate, even though they are in color schemes that we are unaccustomed to seeing in English style gardens. The photographs will inspire readers, especially those who enjoy the multicolor of wildflower or meadow gardens.

A few details about this book are noteworthy. At first glance, I wondered about the graphic design of the book’s cover, done in purple and pink.  I was also surprised at how many illustrative flowerbeds were composed using hot colored flowers. I was then amused at the precise no-nonsense language used to instruct. Then I realized that the original text had been published in a foreign language and targeted at another culture. That explained everything. Do not be put off by the colors of the graphic design, do not allow yourself be influenced by the preponderance of hot colored gardens, and try to ignore the stilted translation from the original German text. Focus, instead, on the advice and on the instructions. This is a valuable manual.

Two features of this book stand out for this reviewer. One is the collection of blueprints for planting perennials in drifts that appears at the end of the book. This technical information is essential for those who plant gardens in the English style. Few authors include such a guide in their work, even though they might mention its importance. The second aspect that is noteworthy is the chapter on color theory. Many of us already understand how opaque and overwhelming this topic can present itself. In the hands of Ms. Keil, everything we need to know about color in the garden is summarized efficiently and is easy to understand. There is no need to navigate through the effusive verbosity that we sometimes find in the garden writings of some authors.

This book is available through Amazon Marketplace. This is where suppliers offer both new and used copies of books at hard-to-believe prices. I purchased my new copy for fifty cents at Amazon.com. Had I opted for a used copy, I would have paid only one cent. Of course, shipping was $3.99, a pittance for the acquisition of such an important book.

A Surprise Bargain From Amazon.com

Last autumn, I stumbled upon a book about flowerbed design that Sheila Averbuch mentioned in her blog The Stopwatch Gardener. It is tiled Fabulous Flowerbeds and was written by Gisela Keil and Jurgen Becker. When I searched for it at Amazon, I noticed that it was not stocked by them but sold through a Marketplace supplier. What was surprising was the fact that I was able to buy a used copy for one cent and a new copy for fifty cents. Yes, you read that correctly: one cent or fifty cents. The shipping, however, was $3.99. With change on a 5-dollar bill, I am now the owner of a gem of a book. Especially endearing about this publication is the collection of blueprints for planting perennials in waves, that appears at the end of the book. This technical information is essential for those who plant gardens in the English style. Few authors include such a guide in their work, even though they might mention it. I have added Fabulous Flowerbeds to my list of 12 important books on flower gardening that appears as a new feature in the right-hand column of this blog. The reader can order this, or any of the other books, directly from Amazon by clicking on the desired book title.

Web Photos That I Like

It is rare that I feature the work of landscape architects even though I have great admiration for their profession. As a perennial gardener, I find that most of their work lacks the color that I seek. The primary focus of their projects is the configuration of hardscape elements. Plants and ornamental shrubs appear only as design accessories and color is used sparingly.

While visiting internet sites that focus on nature, I came across riveting panoramic views of gardens that caused me to stop and admire. They turned out to be photographs of the works of the landscape architecture firm of Oehme, van Sweden and Associates. What separates this firm from most of their peers is a philosophy of the New American Garden that allows the visitor to see nature first and then to notice the hardscapes. The inspiration for their gardens comes from the American meadow and reflects the year-round beauty of the natural landscape. When color is used, it is dramatic.

Here is a view of the Gardens of the Great Basin at the Chicago Botanic Gardens in Glencoe, Illinois. It consists of fourteen acres of plantings, pathways, terraces, knolls, overlooks and bridges. According to the publicity supplies by the firm, each garden within the Great Basin captures the unique attributes of the Midwestern landscape.

In the photo above, ornamental grasses are effectively used to highlight the colorful plants in the foreground. Notice how yellow, pink and blue perennials, when planted in waves, create a powerful composition.