Synopses & Reviews
Ground covers take on new meaning in this enlightening book designed to make gardeners' work easier. Hostas, stonecrops, smaller rhododendrons, prayer plants, pyracanthas, box huckleberry, hellebores, daylilies, grasses, alpine willows, and unsupported climbing vines are just some of MacKenzie's imaginative suggestions. Even Gunnera manicata, a 6-foot-tall, 8-foot-wide plant, is suggested for some situations!
Review
"Makes finding original groundcovers for large areas with contrast in leaf shape and sizes that go along with companion planting for your landscape easier ... excellent for the amateur or the experienced gardener."
—National Gardener, August 2002 National Gardener
Review
"If I need to plant a large section of groundcover among Japanese maples and I want something more interesting than the old standbys, I can pick up
Perennial Ground Covers, by David MacKenzie, page through excellent pictures, and find a plant that I had forgotten or never thought would work."
—Donna Williamson, HortResources newsletter, January 2004
Synopsis
Stretch your imagination about the potential of ground covers. Includes hostas, stonecrops, smaller rhododendrons, prayer plants, pyracanthas, box huckleberry, hellebores, daylilies, grasses, alpine willows, and unsupported climbing vines, just to name a few.
About the Author
David MacKenzie owns and operates Hortech in Spring Lake, Michigan — one of the country's largest and most progressive wholesale ground cover nurseries.
When he was just out of college, David discovered in a homeowner's backlot and registered the new Ottawa weeping white pine. He has since reproduced the tree using the grafting method. He has been hybridizing, photographing, researching, lecturing on ground covers, and generally creating plant magic since 1983.
David has written several articles for American Nurseryman. He also speaks about landscape photography, native plants, plant research and ecology, as well as his love of ground covers and gardening in Michigan (zone 5). His audience includes master gardeners, serious amateur gardeners, landscape contractors, designers, architects, and horticulture educators.