The Well-Designed Mixed Garden: Building Beds and Borders with Trees, Shrubs, Perennials, Annuals, and Bulbs | 
| Authors: Tracy Disabato-aust, Martin Knapp, Stacey Renee Peters, C. Colston Burrell
Publisher: Timber Press, Incorporated
Category: Book
List Price: $39.95
Buy New: $17.50
You Save: $22.45 (56%)
New (27) Used (28) from $14.98
Avg. Customer Rating:  18 reviews
Sales Rank: 14001
Format: Illustrated
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 460
Shipping Weight (lbs): 4.4
Dimensions (in): 11.1 x 10.2 x 1.3
ISBN: 0881925594
Dewey Decimal Number: 712
UPC: 008819255949
EAN: 9780881925593
ASIN: 0881925594
Publication Date: January 1, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Never Read-has a small ding and tear on the back binded edge near the middle nad lower right corner is slightly bumped-Otherwise Good Copy-publishers mark- I ship FAST!
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Tracy DiSabato-Aust's Well-Designed Mixed Garden provides sound direction for plant lovers looking to free their garden from the doldrums and fashion a rich tapestry of trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, vines, grasses, and bulbs. Encyclopedic in scope yet unfailingly attentive to essential details, The Well-Designed Mixed Garden effectively summarizes an array of basic garden design considerations and fundamentals. There are particularly useful chapters on color theory and on drawing up a plan, with precise instructions on what size plants to purchase and how to space them. As with her highly regarded Well-Tended Perennial Garden: Planting & Pruning Techniques, DiSabato-Aust delves eagerly into plant maintenance, a topic too many garden writers overlook. Though many examples are from the author's own garden or other American Midwest locations, they're largely applicable to other plant hardiness zones. Of particular appeal are a nicely photographed section on attractive plant combinations and a series of handy appendixes for plant selection. Beginners may be overwhelmed by this book's wealth of information, but its comprehensiveness renders it all the more valuable for seasoned gardeners seeking greater practical know-how and a surer grasp of the art of gardening. --Jennifer Wyatt
Product Description
The Well-Designed Mixed Garden is a design book with a difference. Written for gardeners who are passionate about plants of all kinds (hence the "mixed garden" of the title), it reflects decades of professional experience and artistic innovation. As with her bestselling book The Well-Tended Perennial Garden, master designer and plantswoman Tracy DiSabato-Aust provides not only inspiration but also scrupulously organized information on design and connoisseur plants --- all from original research dating back to her degree work in horticulture. Her new offering is a master class of design fundamentals, with an emphasis on often-neglected topics, such as site evaluation, color theory, and planning for maintenance. It is also a gallery of detailed design plans that show how ideas are put onto paper and then translated into three dimensions. Lessons learned in its first two parts are strengthened in an "Encyclopedia of Plant Combinations"; each entry notes the design considerations at play and provides tips on how to keep the combination looking its best. And the lifetime care needs and unique design characteristics of featured plants are summarized in the useful charts and lists that conclude the book. The result is a nearly foolproof guide to every aspect of designing superior gardens with superior plants. With more than 250 color photos and illustrations, this book is as much a feast for the eyes as it will be a trusted reference for the library shelf.
Book Description
The Well-Designed Mixed Garden is a design book with a difference. Written for gardeners who are passionate about plants of all kinds, it reflects decades of professional experience and artistic innovation. It is a master class of design fundamentals, with an emphasis on often-neglected topics, such as site evaluation, color theory, and planning for maintenance. It is also a gallery of detailed design plans that show how ideas are put onto paper and then translated into three dimensions.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 13 more reviews...
 A Flower Gardener's Companion September 3, 2007
Comprehensive and very user friendly. A book every home flower gardner would want to have.
 OK, but not as good as I thought it would be May 16, 2007
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
I've heard other gardeners talk about Tracy's books and what an inspiration they are, so I bought "The Well-Designed Mixed Garden" expecting to learn some GREAT ideas for my gardens. It has some good information on principles of design and how to work with color, texture, and so on. But I was disappointed at how weak and uninspiring the section is on plant combinations. She calls it an "encyclopedia of plant combinations," and the section is full of photos of flowers and plants she thinks are winning combinations. The combinations mostly have no real visual appeal, the photos (in that section) are plain, and it's a wasted section of the book. I think there was only one of these combinations that actually looked beautiful. Most of these photos were from her own garden, and perhaps she let her personal affection for her own gardens cloud her judgment on what to include.
I like the rest of the book, however, and her examples of garden designs in other parts of the book have good photos and design layout drawings that are quite useful.
Useful no matter what your garden needs May 13, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book is so helpful in figuring out how to mix flowers and plants in border-type gardens. It details color combinations and tells what flowers go well together. It provides pictures of various gardens in different season to provide an idea of how the landscape will look in Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.
Very good information and easy to understand February 5, 2007
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
This is the first book I would recomend to anyone! Ms. Disabato-Aust compiles a vast amount of quality information in one book, and she explains abstract concepts in a way that regular people who aren't master gardeners can understand. She also includes insights from her vast experience; it's not a dry recitation seen in other sources. She explains when and why to break the generally-accepted guidelines.
I've been a hard-core gardener for about three years, and I've already gleaned some of the information from other sources. But I had to read a lot of different books and articles to get it, and it was often contradictory. The book not only ties it all together in a cohesive manner, but gives very detailed examples.
I particularly enjoyed the section on combinations, where Ms. Disabato-Aust explains why certain things work together in a converational tone. Far from being a preening dilletante, the author's manner is friendly and warm.
I only had two complaints, and they are possibly unique to me. As you might expect, the "example" gardens shown used Ms. Disabato-Aust's style of gardening. It's wonderful, but I have a different style, and would have appreciated seeing the gardening principles illustrated using different styles. Second, I garden in North Florida. A fair number of the plants that look so beautiful in her Ohio garden wouldn't make it in North Florida.
Destined to be a classic garden reference. March 24, 2006
12 out of 14 found this review helpful
I'm a master gardener from Illinois,and have heard Tracy Disabato-Aust on a number of occasions. Her book The Well-Tended Perennial Garden has long been our bible for perennials. In this new book, she makes accessible for all gardeners the depth of her experience and research in incorporating many kinds of plants in a mixed border. The book is worth buying for the appendices alone: plants by design and maintenance characteristics as well as common/scientific name cross-references. A must-have garden reference book!
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