A New Book for Perennial Lovers

The Right-Size Flower Garden by Kerry Ann Mendez

By using the right plants in the right places, a flowering perennial garden can practically take care of itself. Kerry Ann Mendez shows how in her new book, The Right-Size Flower Garden. She documented the entire process of scaling down her overwhelming mature gardens by re-evaluating existing garden spaces and deciding whether to keep, scale back or eliminate particular plants. She gives expert recommendations for "higher-impact, lower-maintenance" varieties to fill in any resulting gaps. Kerry is funny and wise, and makes it all sound like such fun.

The photo of  Kerry's shade gardens on page four is so attractive, it inspired me to rearrange my own perennials. I have half a dozen different varieties of hosta scattered around my gardens. I will dig them up and arrange them together with my existing astilbe and creeping jenny. My neighbor friend has purple heuchera I can pilfer. I will copy Kerry's plant placement and color scheme. I know I will love the results.

Kerry's "Run for Your Life!" list of plants that are out to take over all available soil is spot on. Sundrops (Oenothera fruiticosa and speciosa) are on that list. Such a pretty name, sundrops, for such a thug. I put in a half dozen a few years ago and they have spread out in larger and larger clans each year. Now they are everywhere. They are hard to cut down after they flower, and they are harder to pull out. I've grown other plants from Kerry's "Run for Your Life!" list, other thugs like the (dis)obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana) and the chameleon plant (Houttuynia), with its beautiful tricolored leaves that emit a nasty smell when pulled up; and mint, with its cute little wrinkly green leaves that emit a lovely scent when pulled up. Pull up every single piece of plant and root. Anything left in the soil will likely sprout. If a plant is on Kerry's "Run for Your Life!" list, I will forever more avoid that plant.

Kerry's perennial garden re-design solutions will indeed work for the time-pressed working gardener, the urban gardener and the older gardener, as she suggests. She promises 50% less time spent on chores, and a more beautiful landscape. I believe her. Win-win.

The Right-Size Flower Garden is available at Kerry Ann Mendez’s lectures and through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and book stores.175 pages. 350 color photos. Cover price $18.95. Purchase a signed book from Perennially Yours (http://pyours.com/kerrys-books/).

Also by Kerry Ann Mendez:

The Smart Plant Shopper’s Top Ten Lists for Exceptional Perennials, Shrubs, Annuals and More for Zones 3 – 7 published in January 2012.

The Ultimate Flower Gardener’s Top Ten Lists published in March 2011

Top Ten Lists for Beautiful Shade Gardens: Seeing Your Way Out of the Dark released in March 2011