Book Review of "50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants"

I have read the new book from Timber Press by Tracy DiSabato-Aust and I am glad that it was not an expensive book to buy. The theme of the book ties in to the current desire of many home gardeners to have it all; high-impact plants that don't require much work. The work that most want to avoid includes spraying for pests, controling invasivness, frequent division to maintain vigor, and providing additional water. I repeatedly hear people ask for something they can just put in the ground, that looks great all summer, and that they never have to do anything with. So I think that gardeners will buy this book thinking that it has all the answers. Well, it doesn't and further, the included plants are not all what I would even consider for a book of this topic. I have most of the plants included and have experience with growing them. Some are plants that I recommend regularly; others I would never consider for anyone but a serious gardener.

Here are some specific problems I find with this book. Several of the plants listed are not readily available at a wide range of nurseries or garden centers. They are plants that a gardener would need to special order through a full service nursery.  All of that means "expensive".   For example Paeonia obovata - $45 plus shipping from Plant's Delight. Most gardeners are not willing to spend that much for a perennial. Syneilesis acanitifolia is nearly impossible to find. Perhaps it will be more readily available in the new future.

There is a list of nurseries in the back of the book. Some are wholesale only which means the public can't buy from them. Others are ones that I am familiar with. My suspicion is that these are nurseries that sell Timber Press books, but I don't know that for certain.

I will not go through and pick it apart plant by plant. Here are some of my specific thoughts. I concur on the most of the suggestions of trees, grasses and shrubs. Just be forewarned that some are hard to find an are expensive. I have to take exception with 'Endless Summer' which garden writer Jean Starr accurately called 'Endless Bummer' in her remarks at the Porter County Garden Show. Hydrangea macrophylla  as a whole are not worth the effort to gardeners in zone 5 or further north due to winter kill of the flower buds. H. arborescens, H. paniculata, H. quercifolia and H.serrata all have wonderful selections with big impact.

Itea virginica 'Henry's Garnet' is a great shrub that I use regularly, but it does send up suckers and can become invasive. It requires the use of a shovel and a bit of hard work to remove suckers and can be a problem if it has suckered into an area with bulbs or is coming up between the boards of the deck. But plant it where it can roam and it is great.

Another roamer that is included is the bamboo Indocalamus tessellatus. Even if it doesn't run as much as other running bamboos, it will still require special equipment to dig out if the homeowner decides they don't want it anymore. That has to be a consideration in garden design/landscape design. How difficult will it be to get rid of a plant when I get tired of it or it gets out of hand? For that reason I also question the recommendation of Yucca filamentosa 'Color Guard'.

As for the perennials, I was surprised to see the inclusion of Dicentra spectabilis 'Gold Heart' and Papaver orientale since both are gone for long period of the year. They do put on a big show for a short period of time, but I think its better to go for plants that will be there for awhile. Rather than recommend Iris sibirica 'Caesar's Brother' I would go with Iris ensata 'Variegata' for wet sites or Iris pallida 'Variegata' for drier sites. The foliage looks great all summer even after the blooms are gone.

Where were the viburnums? I can't imagine a garden without Viburnum carlesii or V. judii. I also always recommend Fothergilla gardenii as a great shrub in the mixed border. And in this time of choosing plants that are drought tolerant, I expected to see an Epimedium. They have year round interest and need no attention once established. Ligularia dentata 'Britt-Marie Crawford' is a great plant, but not for the average gardener. Most people will be put off by her afternoon wilt and not understand that it's just in her nature.

My final comment to those of you who actually buy garden reference books is to check this one out of the library and spend your money on the latest edition of "The Well-Tended Perennial Garden" by the same author. That book is much more serious and functional.

Master Gardener Shows

Several of us are looking forward to the Porter County Master Gardener Show this weekend in Valparaiso, Indiana. The show features garden product vendors, a seed and bulb exchange, photo competition, and fantastic speakers. All for just $7, what a deal. We are also looking forward to the Putnam County and Madison County Advanced Master Gardener Training programs coming up in February. If you want info about these and other Master Gardener activities around Indiana go to the Purdue Master Gardener Program site and click on Upcoming Events. Putnam County's program is not listed there and I haven't found a reference to it on any other websites. If you want info about it send me an email and I'll forward the flyer. Next week, I'll post a report from the Porter County show. And hopefully I'll have my copy of Tracy DiSabato's new book which I will review.

The Start of a New Season

Hope is one of the hallmarks of a true gardener. We put things in the earth and hope for their success despite the natural forces working against them and sometimes our lack of commitment to their care. But an even stronger hallmark of a gardener is faith. Faith that each new spring gives us the chance to try again, to see progress and perhaps a better crop of blooms or produce. The catalogs have started to arrive which means that chance to try again is upon us.

Those of us who actually experience winter take this time of year to enjoy the extremes of our gardens. Today, we have snow and temperatures falling. It's a good time to go outside and take stock of landscape plants that we may ignore during the glory of summer. The lack of green and bright, colored blooms puts the landscape to the test. From several windows in the house I get a shot of these beautiful Chamaecyparis pisifera. They are either 'King's Gold' or 'Mops'. Their bright yellow foliage is such a pick me up on sunless winter days, and their cuttings are always the first to run out during wreath making classes. Everyone who can should find a place for this plant in their landscape, preferably where it can be seen from a window.


Those of you who do not get cold enough temperatures during the winter miss out on the other personality of Sedum rupestre 'Angelina'. So long as the deer don't nibble it back, you get a lovely show of coppery colors and a subdued chartreuse. It has a lovely texture that holds light snows well and brightens up the winter garden. Many of us think of Sedum acre when someone suggests using a sedum in the garden. That's the one that was in every grandmother's garden and turns up at garden club plant sales. But there are so many lovely sedums available now, and you should make a point to include them when possible.

I went to visit one of my gardening friends, Barb, the other day. I hadn't been to her garden yet, and it was an absolute delight even in the dead of winter. She is one of those people who gets the job done no matter what the task is. She and her husband have a woodland treasure in a neighborhood of more trendy landscaped homes. There is hardly any lawn at all which I am gradually working towards. Side note: We maintained a lawn area suitable for football, Frisbee, and short golf drives while the kids were at home, but now it's mine! Anyway, study this view from Barb's breakfast nook.


She and her husband kept noticing things going on either in the pond or around the feeders the whole time I was there. This is what gardening is about. Shaping the environment around you in a way that engages you with it. Watching a living, growing landscape is like watching children grow up. You look back at old pictures and see how much it changes from season to season and over the years, and you hope that it will stir something good in yourself and others who see it, and you have faith that the new spring will give you another chance to try new things.