Fabulous Flowerbeds

The subtitle of "Fabulous Flowerbeds" is "Inspiration - Planting - Care." After reading this book, I'd give it five stars for `inspiration' but if you're looking for a get-down-and-dirty how-to manual on planting and maintaining your flowerbed, there are more instructive books on the market, such as Janet Macunovich's "Caring for Perennials," Peter McHoy's "Practical Gardening," or Tracy DiSabato-Aust's "The Well-Tended Perennial Garden." "Fabulous Flowerbeds" is very much inspired by Gertrude Jekyll and the natural-looking, freely flowing borders of what we think of as `English' or cottage gardens. There are many beautiful photographs of European (particularly Dutch) gardens (this book's original title is "Die Kunst der Beete") that illustrate different flowerbed styles. The way that flowers of a particular color seem to flow through these beds is particularly inspiring. I also like the creative framing of the more formal beds, using hedges formed into circles, rectangles, or even rippling into waves. There is one particular bed designed by Dutch landscape artist, Piet Oudolf (page 43) for late-summer display that I'd like to try for myself. It features easy-to-grow Helenium (sneezeweed), Echinacea (coneflower), and Eryngium in shades of red, lavender, and pink. The facing page has an equally splendid bed featuring red hollyhocks, pink roses (`Bonica'), and rose campion. Suggestions are given for designing kitchen beds, scent gardens, repetitive use of shapes or textures, and of course, designing with particular colours. There is much to inspire in "Fabulous Flowerbeds," using plants that are readily available to American gardeners.