Tells about choosing, visualizing, growing, and caring for perennials - the best group of plants for bringing year-round colour, scent, shape, and texture to your garden. Perennials can not only form a key part of a garden's structure but are dynamic and colourful plants whose forms and textures, if combined creatively, can be used to alter moods and influence the way we respond to and use a garden. The first section of the book shows how to create garden schemes with perennials. The second section looks at the best perennials for year-round colour and planting effect. The third section considers how to use perennials in different styles of garden, including shady, hot, formal, minimalist, and water. A list of perennials for special purposes, and an A-Z directory complete the book. Practical tips on all the perennials included in the earlier chapters.

Michael King is a garden designer, photographer, and author, who runs a garden advice bureau from Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Previously he worked at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, as Secretary to the Board of Trustees. As well as designing gardens he has written many articles on plants and planting design for magazines, including Groei & Bloei, Onze Eigen Tuin, Garten Praxis, Landschafts Architektur, Garden Answers, and The Garden. His books include Gardening with Grasses (co-authored with Piet Oudolf), New Plants, New Gardens, Surprising Annuals, and Gardening with Tulips.