Synopses & Reviews
With hectic lifestyles and busy schedules, people are finding it more and more appealing to enjoy their leisure time at home rather than packing their bags in search of peaceful retreats. But how can they confidently create a garden retreat? By following Cohen and Benner's trusted advice and building a nonstop garden, they'll have more creative planting options, a garden that provides year-round interest, and - most importantly - a yard that requires less maintenance than a traditional perennial border.
The Nonstop Garden gives gardeners all the information they need to create a productive, beautiful garden from the ground up. This easy-to-use guide is split into four main parts: the nuts and bolts of designing a mixed garden, the garden's main attractions (trees and shrubs), the garden's supporting cast (bulbs, annuals, edibles, and vines), and finishing touches (ornamentation, containers, and garden structures). The Nonstop Garden also includes ten fail-safe design plans that can be incorporated into any garden. Gardeners can choose from a native garden, a scented garden, a gold-colored garden, a garden for wet sites, a vibrant-colored garden, a cool-colored garden, a winter garden, a shade garden, and a design plan for the daunting area known as the hellstrip. Building a better, smarter garden has never been so much fun.
Review
"Any book of gardening advice written by people more accustomed to working with soil instead of ink is worth a look...Add in a bunch of handy planting plans and some smart maintenance advice, and you've got everything you need to create a four-season garden." Seattle Times
Review
"Clear writing and instructive photos aimed at beginning gardeners and those baffled by seasonal plant choices and arrangement." American Reference Books Annual
Review
"A compact guide to seasonal plant groupings, Cohen and Benners handbook suggests innovative changes to the humdrum yard."
Synopsis
"The Nonstop Garden" gives gardeners all the information they need to create a productive, beautiful garden from the ground up. This easy-to-use guide is split into four main parts and includes 10 fail-safe design plans that can be incorporated into any garden.
About the Author
After graduating with a bachelor's degree in horticulture from The Ohio State University, Jennifer Benner spent a good amount of time getting dirt under her fingernails. She has experience in nursery production as well as garden design, installation, and maintenance. Jennifer eventually landed in Nantucket, Massachusetts, where she worked as a horticulture manager, specializing in perennial and container gardens. In 2001 she joined the staff of
Fine Gardening magazine, where she spent seven years taking articles from conception to print. As an associate editor, Jennifer enjoyed working closely with gardeners from around the United States and photographing their spaces. She now spends much of her time working as a freelance writer, photographer, and horticulture consultant but can still be found playing in the dirt, cultivating her garden in northwest Connecticut with her husband, Brent. Although she lives in New England, Jennifer still considers herself a Buckeye.
Stephanie Cohen has received awards from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and Perennial Plant Association, and in 2000 she was named Garden Commentator of the Year by the American Nursery and Landscape Association. She lives in Collegeville, Pennsylvania.