Summer Garden Glory : How to Get the Best from Your Garden from Spring Through Autumn

This sequel to "Winter Garden Glory" gives planting ideas for the garden from spring to late summer. It looks at the changing role of plants throughout these seasons, ranging from bulbs through to trees, in addition to the more obvious shrubs and perennials, including ornamental grasses. The author discusses the challenges of summer gardens, such as the need for shade, holding on to moisture and providing late summer colour. He looks in particular at drought-resistant plants, the Mediterranean garden and the alpine garden and gives ideas for patios, using hardy plants. Throughout the book he describes his own favourite plants, plant associations and schemes for the summer garden. Colour artworks are used to illustrate planting plans and line artworks show general hints and tips. There is a chapter devoted to plant associations and, at the end of the book, a plant directory giving information on suitable varieties, their hardiness and their cultivation requirements.

While summer is generally acknowledged to be the season of maximum colour and interest in any garden, the crucial challenge is to provide a succession of pleasing plant compositions from spring to autumn. The heart of Adrian Blooms's philosophy lies in planning and planting for continual change, to achieve year-round interest.

In this book, a natural sequel to his highly a successful 'Winter Garden Glory', Adrian Bloom looks at the changing role of plants through the 'busy' seasons of the year, ranging from bulbs to trees, in addition to the more obvious shrubs and perennials. He discusses the particular challenges of summer gardens, such as the need for shade, holding moisture and providing late summer colour.

In the first chapter, the author describes seasonal changes from late spring to late summer in his own 6-acre garden at Foggy Bottom, highlighting favourite plant associations for each season. In the second chapter he shows how his principles and planting ideas can be applied to more modest gardens. Detailed planting plans and illustrations are given for plant associations in beds, borders and corners that would work in any size of garden. These include ideas for containers on a patio, an alpine bed and walls, as well as plants for scent.

The detailed plant directories contain Adrian Bloom's personal selection of the best plants to create spring and summer interest. He selects his favourite trees, shrubs, perennials, conifers, grasses, ferns, alpines and bulbs, describing each plant's particular merits and giving essential information on their hardiness and cultivation requirements.

'Summer Garden Glory ' contains over 200 full-colour photographs, together with specially commissioned planting plans and colour illustrations. These combine with practical text and helpful tips to make the book an invaluable guide for anyone wishing to make the most of their garden in spring and summer.

'Adrian Bloom' is a nurseryman, gardener and writer, and now Chairman of the famous Blooms of Bressingham nursery in Norfolk, England. Adrian specialized early in his career in conifers and heathers, but is also now renowned for his knowledge of ornamental shrubs and perennials. For almost 30 years he has developed a superb 6-acre garden at Foggy Bottom, adjacent to Bressingham Gardens, which exemplifies the art of successful plant associations and which he planned on the basis of it providing year-round colour. He travels all over the world researching and finding suitable new garden plants, appears on television frequently, and has written several gardening books, including 'Blooms of Bressingham Garden Plants '(which he co-wrote with his father, Alan Bloom) and 'Winter Garden Glory', both published by HarperCollins. In 1985 he was one of the youngest ever horticulturists to be awarded the prestigious Royal Horticultural Society's Victoria Medal of Honour.

Adrian Bloom shares his gardening experience and extensive plant knowledge to show how to create a garden full of summer colour and interest.

CONTENTS INCLUDE:
• The changing role of plants from late spring to late summer, from bulbs to trees as well as shrubs, perennials and ornamental grasses
• The best planting ideas and effective associations for spring and summer glory
• Over 200 full-colour photographs as well as detailed planting plans, adaptable to any size of garden
• How to create summer displays for patios, for beds and for alpine gardens
• How to create summer displays for patios, for beds and for alpine gardens
• Invaluable plant directory to help you select the best species for maximum effect
• Essential information on cultivation and hardiness, plus helpful hints and tips