Five-Plant Gardens: 52 Ways to Grow a Perennial Garden with Just Five Plants Paperback – March 11, 2014

This really impressive, easy to read and understand book is beautiful to the eye but the author has also done a lot of work for the reader/gardener.And it just gets better! Nancy J. Ondra gives tons alternative plants to the five-plant garden promise made on the cover. This book is invaluable. My yard is starting to look like I know what I'm doing, instead of the "jelly-bean" look I've always tended toward.

Heard the author on our local gardening show and was interested in this book because of the interview. It is a very informative book with many, many options on how to create a number of garden types with just five plants. I think this will be very useful for many years to come.

The cover of the book says, 52 Ways to Grow a Perennial Garden with Just Five Plants. She uses basically the same 5 plants or variations of the same 5 plants for different garden types. Which I found disappointing. I was hoping for more selections of 5 plants. Her garden designs are very clear and easy to follow though. The author has Five Plant Gardens for Full Sun to Partial Shade, like Think Pink, Red All Over, Vision in Blue, Wet and Wild, just to name a few. The opposite Five Plant Gardens for Partial Shade to Full Sun, like Just White for Shade, Pretty Pastels, Spring into Action, Though I was disappointed in not having more plant variety, I would probably purchase this again, just for the garden design plans.

For many years I've been a "wannabe" gardener, but lost patience with my poor results. This year I decided to at least look at catalogues and books, hoping for one that made the planning, purchasing of plants, beautiful photos---in other words, did everything but put the plants in the ground. I ordered this book the same day it was recommended to me and it is everything I hoped for and more. How to choose the size, location and plants for your proposed garden, how many of each plant, care once their planted, and with words, pictures and diagrams makes the planting of a garden simple (if you follow Ms. Ondra's directions). We have a lot of space that is partly shade most of the day or all of the day. When I found the section on gardens for shady places, I was hooked.If you're new to planning a garden or just looking for ideas, you'll love this book!

The book concept is excellent. The drawings for the beds are a really good idea. But I found the plants sort of boring, wispy, and uninspired. Perhaps they are not when they are planted, but with no photos of the beds, it was really difficult to imagine the specimens on the page in real life. Not a dramatic perennial book, but probably good for a gentler, watercolor gardener.

The book arrived within the estimated delivery time frame. The seller's description was honest. I am pleased with my purchase. Thanks.

I borrowed this from the library, then had to order my own copy. This is perfect for novices like me. I loved to work in the garden, but didn't grow up with parents who did, so it is a struggle for me to get it right. This makes it easy!

I like the simplicity of the concept, but for professionals, it's a tad underwhelming . Perhaps the best audience would be people who would love to dabble in gardening but don't have much time or plant knowledge - and possibly a limited budget. For more in-depth information, I suggest Roy Diblik's books on "know-maintenance" gardening.

There are lots of different shapes and styles of garden designs in this book, all with just 5 plants. Something for everyone.

What a great idea! As a beginning gardener I found the five-plant concept easy to understand. Here it is the middle of winter in my corner of Creation and I've already been driving the local garden centres nuts with questions. I can't wait for spring to put the author's concept to "work" in my garden.

Ich bin grosser Fan von Nancy Ondra und ihren Gartenbüchern, aber dieses hier scheint schnell und mit wenig Aufwand gestrickt worden zu sein. So grossartig und filligran die Fotos ihres Hausfotografen Rob Cardillo und die Auswahl pflegeleichter und attraktiver (Anfänger-) Pflanzen auch sein mögen, der Text zu den 52 Pflanzvorschlägen ist eine einzige Enttäuschung. Im ewig gleichen Wortlaut wird zu allen Vorschlägen das mehr oder weniger gleiche Vorgehen empfohlen: im Frühling die Reste des Winters zu beseitigen, übergrosse Stauden teilen und mulchen. Sodann wird beschrieben welcher Austrieb oder Blüte welcher Spezies im Sommer zu erwarten ist, und dass Verblühtes entfernt werden sollte. Für den Herbst/Winter wird beschrieben, wie lange die jeweiligen Pflantensorten blühen, ob geteilt oder zurück geschnitten werden sollte. Ärgerliche 52 Mal muss man leider einen derartigen, komplett überflüssigen Text überfliegen.Die Bilder sind dagegen eine Augenweide und rechtfertigen allein den Kauf.

A very down to earth gardening book - straight forward advice to those new to gardening and a good idea book for the more experienced.

This book gave me great ideas for the garden.