Must-Have Book for Gardeners

I know what you’re thinking…not another book about designing with perennials and ornamental grasses. Can Bloom’s Best Perennials and Grasses be any different from the oodles of other books on the same subject? Well, yes it can.

First of all, the author, Adrian Bloom literally has plants in his blood. If you’re even a casual gardener, you’ve probably heard of the line of perennials called ‘Blooms of Bressingham’. Our author is the current president of Bressingham’s (his father started the famous English nursery back in the 1920′s), as well as a noted gardener and writer. So who better to help you sift through the growing offering of perennials and grasses and find the ones that are reliable from season to season and year to year?

Tried & True Favorites

What I really liked about Bloom’s Best is, that in addition to the usual plant profiles (the book has descriptions of almost 400 plants) and maintenance tips, Bloom offers a chapter on what he calls “twelve tried and true plants” that “provide year-round interest often in the form of spectacular flower and foliage that changes with the seasons”. Isn’t that what we’re all looking for in our gardens?

These 12 plants will work in almost any garden and they really do take the guess work out of figuring which plant, Bloom actually names specific cultivars, is worth your time, effort and money. Included in the list are some of my favorite perennials, including ‘Jack Frost’ Siberian bugloss (Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’), ‘Rozanne’ hardy geranium (Geranium ‘Rozanne’) and golden variegated hakone grass (Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’).

A Visual Feast

The photos in Bloom’s Best, taken by the author and his son, Richard, are simply stunning. There is a photo of each plant profiled, one of the yardsticks I use to measure gardening books – for the life of me I can’t figure out why anyone would publish a book about plants and not include a photo of each and every one that’s profiled. Many of the photos give the reader a landscape view of the garden so you get a better sense of how Bloom combines plants in actual garden settings. The photo of the river of ‘Rozanne’ is a personal favorite and perfectly illustrates Bloom’s genius in combining plants.

So what’s the bottom line? Bloom’s Best Perennials and Grasses deserves a place on every gardener’s book shelf. Even if you have to give away a perennial dust collector to make room for it!

*Timber Press gave me a book for the purpose of reviewing it.

Bio: Debbie Roberts is owner and principal designer of Roberts & Roberts Landscape and Garden Design based in Stamford, CT. She is an accredited organic land care professional and is also a member of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers. Debbie’s blog, A Garden of Possibilities, features plant profiles, insights on garden design and musings on gardening in her corner of Connecticut.