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Roy Diblik's Small Perennial Gardens (A Review)The Know Maintenance Approach- A How To Garden Book
Roy Diblik's Small Perennial Gardens: The Know Maintenance Approach is a how-to for growing perennial plants in a Midwest climate. This garden book review explains why.
It is no secret that gardeners confuse the garden term low maintenance with no maintenance. As author Roy Diblik likes to call it, “Hope to God gardening, toss a plant in the ground and hope to God it grows.” In Roy Diblik’s Small Perennial Gardens: The Know Maintenance Approach, he offers another means of gardening. This book is suggested for any gardener wanting to learn how to combine basic perennial plants and ornamental grasses in manageable garden spaces. Unlike garden books with photographs, it is watercolors that bring plant descriptions alive in this book. Artist Elizabeth McCown Dunham adds vibrant color and detailed structure to each flower, leaf, stem and plant illustrated. Perennial Plant GardensDiblik encourages gardeners to know perennial plants he calls buddy plants and create planting combinations that work well together. Here, he calls them plant communities and designs garden segments able to be patterned in a home garden. Several examples of garden segments are laid out in grid systems, easy for the most basic gardener to replicate. Later in the book, Dilblik introduces the gardener to more plants used to connect these plant communities in larger planting beds. The section on bulbs offers additional plant suggestions for spring and summer color. Basic perennial plants and ornamental grasses are used in Roy Diblik’s Small Perennial Gardens: The Know Maintenance Approach. New gardeners will find using additional horticultural resources helpful for seeking detailed plant information. Planting conditions common for the plants listed in this book are what gardeners typically find in the Midwest region of the United States. They include clay type soils, hot humid summers and cold winters with unreliable snow cover. Gardeners with other climates or soil conditions should adjust plant choices. About Roy DiblikPlantsman Roy Diblik is well known in the garden world. He co-founded Northwind Perennial Farm in 1991; they specialize in growing perennial plants, natives and ornamental grasses. The Burlington, Wisconsin, nursery is situated on what was a 19th century dairy farm. Today, the red barns are filled with garden art for sale, outside is a retail nursery. The gardens are dotted with examples of plant communities while visitors are accompanied by croaking frogs in the pond and roaming chickens. Among Diblik’s accomplishments is his involvement in the creation of Millennium Park’s Lurie Garden in Chicago, Illinois, and his propagation of many plants. Diblik’s introduction, Panicum virgatum ‘Northwind’ is a native ornamental switch grass that holds itself upright well and blooms in late summer. Illustrator Elizabeth McCown DunhamElizabeth McCown Dunham is an artist who works primarily in watercolor but also in acrylic, gouache and oil. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin- Madison after studying Art and Graphic Design. In addition, she is a technician at the family business, a wholesale grower of woody ornamental plants. Knight’s Hollow Nursery is located in Middleton, Wisconsin. Small Perennial Gardens BookAmerican Nurseryman Publishing Company has published Roy Diblik’s Small Perennial Gardens: The Know Maintenance Approach, watercolors by Elizabeth McCown Dunham. Here is more information to help readers locate this highly recommended book:
Another Midwest Garden AuthorMelinda Myers is another Midwest garden author whose books should be on the bookshelf of all gardeners. Small Space Gardening is an excellent resource for urban and container gardeners.
The copyright of the article Roy Diblik's Small Perennial Gardens (A Review) in Flower Gardens is owned by Christine Eirschele. Permission to republish Roy Diblik's Small Perennial Gardens (A Review) in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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