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Over 578 colour photographs
Over 1 illustrations

• Over 570 colour photographs, including stunning plant directories, inspirational plantings, and practical step-by-step techniques



• All the essential gardening know-how to create a fabulous garden with lasting impact, year-round colour and delicious scent



• Add structure and height, and learn to create focal points that attract the eye with trees, shrubs and plants that suit the soil type, aspect and size of the garden



• Make the most of instant annuals to create colourful and well-maintained borders for dramatic seasonal highlights in the garden



• How to use scented bulbs, annuals, shrubs and trees to create a welcoming and relaxing outdoor environment



• Window boxes and hanging baskets: planning ahead, getting started, what to use and grow and how to maintain them at optimum levels for maximum seasonal interest



• Includes a special section on selecting, growing and nurturing houseplants to add colour, scent and fresh greenery to the home

Here is the ultimate inspirational guide to planning, creating and maintaining bountiful borders of beautiful blooms all year round. This is a book for the enthusiatic and practical as well as the aspirational gardener.

It shows how to make best use of a plant's features to create a particular style of garden such as country-style, Mediterranean, zen or formal.

The natural characteristics of a plant, such as height, habit, foliage colour, flowering time, showy blooms and sweet scent can all be nurtured and exploited to create a garden that looks at its best whatever the season.

There is plenty of information that shows how to incorporate colour, architectural plants and aromatic shrubs into the garden, as well as ideas for filling space and creating seasonal highlights with a whole array of colourful annuals.

There are also ideas and recipes for creating harmonious schemes for beds and borders, or simply adding splashes of bold and contrasting coloured plants and foliage for dramatic interest.

For extra seasonal interest there is a section on creating spectacular window boxes and hanging baskets. Colour-coordinated, scented, herb-filled or edible, there are plenty of recipes to make the most of the annuals available.

Step-by-step sequences demonstrate how to put a basket or window box together and how to maintain it once in place.

The final chapter on houseplants contains a directory of the most popular plants, with a description of many of the most popular varieties. It describes their foliage, and gives details such as flowering time, eventual height, light and temperature preferences and when to water and feed for best results.

Packed with essential information, hints, professional tips, step-by-step techniques sequences and over 570 colour photographs, including hundreds of plant identifiers, this is the perfect planters guide, inspirational soucebook and practical handbook - the only book you will ever need for outstanding gardening.

About the Authors

Andrew Mikolajski - Author

Andrew Mikolajski is an established and highly respected gardening expert. He edited the RHS Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers (Dorling Kindersley) and the RHS Encyclopedia of Gardening (Dorling Kindersely) and he has written and contributed articles to virtually every major magazine and specialist journal in the past decade. His published works include: The Practical Encyclopedia of Garden Pests and Diseases (Lorenz Books); Garden Plants and Gardening Techniques (Lorenz Books); The Busy Gardener's Guide (Time Life); Conifers (Southwater); Small Trees (Southwater); Heathers (Southwater) and The Handbook of Gardening (Lorenz Books).

Jackie Matthews - Author

Jackie Matthews has contributed to and edited a wide variety of gardening books, including reference manuals and leisure reading. She lives in the Suffolk countryside where she is able to indulge her passion for wildlife-friendly gardening and to grow herbs and vegetables organically. Jackie Matthews's published works include: Low Maintenance Gardens (Southwater): Looking At Plants (Nelson Thornes); The Handbook of Gardening (Lorenz Books); Window Boxes (Southwater); Houseplant Success (Southwater); and Planting For Colour Throughout The Year (Southwater).

Richard Bird - Author

Richard Bird has been gardening since childhood and currently maintains a large garden where his abiding passion for plants is very evident. He has contributed to numerous publications and has been magazine editor for Focus on Plants, The Hardy Plant, Alpine Gardening and the Alpine Garden Society's magazine Bulletin. He is also a full-time author on gardens and plants and has written nearly 30 books on subjects as diverse as alpines and rock gardens, lilies, perennials, organic gardening and window boxes. He is the author of Sensational Shrubs and Glorious Climbers (Lorenz Books) and A Gardener's Guide to Annuals and Perennials (Lorenz Books)