EBOOK
About
"A love letter to plants…that oozes enthusiasm." -The English Garden
Why settle for lackluster gardens filled with dull, ho-hum plants? In this spirited, provocative book, plant guru Kelly Norris calls for a garden revolution: out with the boring plants and in with the exciting newcomers that will make your jaw drop and your pulse quicken! A passionate horticulturist and lifelong gardener, Kelly is the ideal guide to the botanical riches available to today's gardeners. In chapters on environment, structure, seasonal standouts, and plant combinations he shines a spotlight on the A-list plants in every category-plants that will thrive, not merely survive. Along the way, he shows you how to forge a personal style in harmony with your garden's setting and local environment. As Kelly puts it, "A garden is the best way to savor life on earth." Let Plants with Style guide you to the plants that will provide a richer, more fulfilling connection between you and your own patch of soil. A fresh and exuberant guide to the best new ornamental plants handpicked by Kelly Norris, one of horticulture's brightest young stars.
As a speaker, plant breeder, and expert plantsman, Kelly Norris has garnered national acclaim for his high-energy, zealous presentations. He is the award-winning author of four books, the horticulture manager at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, and the director of Horticulture Now. Visit his website at kellynorris.com. A Manifesto for Modern Gardening
"Landscaping is not a complex and difficult art to be practiced only by high priests. It is logical, down-to-earth, and aimed at making your plot of ground produce exactly what you want and need from it." -Thomas Church, Gardens Are for People
This book takes a sassy, punchy, irreverent look at fresh plant choices for modern gardens, with sidelong glances, along the way, at how gardening is more relevant than ever to our quality of life. If gardening is about the experience, it stands to reason we should all be planting things worth experiencing. Such plants make a garden our own, and this book is about plants with style, those plants that matter. Its pages are for people who crave beauty and plant-filled spaces. Of all the gardens I've had the pleasure of visiting, the best prevailed because of what grew: plants, after all, are (or should be) the very essence of a garden's style.
Modern eclecticism is the 21st-century way-with access to almost anything, we have transcended the strictures of period and form. Our sense of style is expressed by the things we love, no matter their vintage or source. Unsurprisingly then, this book is a smattered collection, viewed through a garden's architecture, with chapters considering environment, structure, emblems, vignettes, and essential kitsch as lenses on an endless array of options-too many plants, too little time. Through this globetrotting, zone-straddling look at plants with style, I hope one thing becomes clear-a passion for vibrant, A-list plants is inextricably linked to my hope for a more beautiful, functional planet.
The modern eclectic garden isn't easily defined. It's earnest, enthusiastic, and unbounded. It grows from a kind of purposeful materialism-plants matter because they tell stories, reminding us of the journey and the experience of acquiring and assembling them into a space, a garden, that brings us joy. And this garden doesn't stand still. It evolves almost every day, tumbling forward headlong-just as its leaves, flowers, stems, and fruits do-because of its plants, its ingredients. Making the 21st-century garden requires not only carefully considered ingredients but smart recipes, too. Each of the five chapters-recipes, if you will-clarifies the modern garden's components, focusing on a chic shortlist of essential plants. So begins our journey, borrowing influence and inspiration from wherever it flowers.
Why settle for lackluster gardens filled with dull, ho-hum plants? In this spirited, provocative book, plant guru Kelly Norris calls for a garden revolution: out with the boring plants and in with the exciting newcomers that will make your jaw drop and your pulse quicken! A passionate horticulturist and lifelong gardener, Kelly is the ideal guide to the botanical riches available to today's gardeners. In chapters on environment, structure, seasonal standouts, and plant combinations he shines a spotlight on the A-list plants in every category-plants that will thrive, not merely survive. Along the way, he shows you how to forge a personal style in harmony with your garden's setting and local environment. As Kelly puts it, "A garden is the best way to savor life on earth." Let Plants with Style guide you to the plants that will provide a richer, more fulfilling connection between you and your own patch of soil. A fresh and exuberant guide to the best new ornamental plants handpicked by Kelly Norris, one of horticulture's brightest young stars.
As a speaker, plant breeder, and expert plantsman, Kelly Norris has garnered national acclaim for his high-energy, zealous presentations. He is the award-winning author of four books, the horticulture manager at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, and the director of Horticulture Now. Visit his website at kellynorris.com. A Manifesto for Modern Gardening
"Landscaping is not a complex and difficult art to be practiced only by high priests. It is logical, down-to-earth, and aimed at making your plot of ground produce exactly what you want and need from it." -Thomas Church, Gardens Are for People
This book takes a sassy, punchy, irreverent look at fresh plant choices for modern gardens, with sidelong glances, along the way, at how gardening is more relevant than ever to our quality of life. If gardening is about the experience, it stands to reason we should all be planting things worth experiencing. Such plants make a garden our own, and this book is about plants with style, those plants that matter. Its pages are for people who crave beauty and plant-filled spaces. Of all the gardens I've had the pleasure of visiting, the best prevailed because of what grew: plants, after all, are (or should be) the very essence of a garden's style.
Modern eclecticism is the 21st-century way-with access to almost anything, we have transcended the strictures of period and form. Our sense of style is expressed by the things we love, no matter their vintage or source. Unsurprisingly then, this book is a smattered collection, viewed through a garden's architecture, with chapters considering environment, structure, emblems, vignettes, and essential kitsch as lenses on an endless array of options-too many plants, too little time. Through this globetrotting, zone-straddling look at plants with style, I hope one thing becomes clear-a passion for vibrant, A-list plants is inextricably linked to my hope for a more beautiful, functional planet.
The modern eclectic garden isn't easily defined. It's earnest, enthusiastic, and unbounded. It grows from a kind of purposeful materialism-plants matter because they tell stories, reminding us of the journey and the experience of acquiring and assembling them into a space, a garden, that brings us joy. And this garden doesn't stand still. It evolves almost every day, tumbling forward headlong-just as its leaves, flowers, stems, and fruits do-because of its plants, its ingredients. Making the 21st-century garden requires not only carefully considered ingredients but smart recipes, too. Each of the five chapters-recipes, if you will-clarifies the modern garden's components, focusing on a chic shortlist of essential plants. So begins our journey, borrowing influence and inspiration from wherever it flowers.