The Right-Size Flower Garden: Simplify Your Outdoor Space with Smart Design Solutions and Plant Choices

311 Pages·2015·18.36 MB·English

by  Kerry Ann Mendez

Praise for
The Right-Size Flower Garden
“Kerry Mendez has amassed a tremendous knowledge and expertise in
horticulture, yet she is able to pass along this knowledge in a completely
approachable way that feels more like a friendly conversation over the garden
fence than a lecture. Her enthusiasm for flowers and gardening is truly infectious
and her passion for sharing is boundless. In this complicated and overscheduled
age, Kerry brings a simple, no nonsense approach that will show you how to
have beautiful gardens without spending a fortune of time or money.”
~ William Cullina, award-winning author and Executive Director of
Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens
“In The Right-Size Flower Garden, Kerry Ann Mendez’s voice is warm and
welcoming…and oh so REAL! With her friendly guidance, a low-maintenance
garden is not only possible, it’s downright life-changing! Don’t let your garden
hold you hostage – let Kerry show you how to pare-it-down while jazzing-it-
up!”
~ Jessica Walliser, author of Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden: A
Natural Approach to Pest Control and Good Bug Bad Bug: Who’s Who,
What They Do, and How to Manage Them Organically
“The Right-size Flower Garden offers wise guidance for garden enthusiasts of
all levels. Through Kerry’s work as a gardener, teacher, author and lecturer, she
has helped many discover the world of gardening and horticulture. Kerry
Mendez is a 2014 Gold Medal Awardee, an honor Massachusetts Horticultural
Society bestows on distinguished individuals who promote horticulture for the
public good.”
~ Katherine K. Macdonald, President, Massachusetts Horticultural Society
“In these busy times, everyone can appreciate a manageable garden. Kerry Ann
“In these busy times, everyone can appreciate a manageable garden. Kerry Ann
Mendez is the best person to show us all how – with humor. Kerry Ann has
repeatedly inspired standing-room-only crowds at the annual PHS Philadelphia
Flower Show with her time-saving tips and user-friendly garden designs.”
~ Patricia Schrieber, Director of Education,
~ Barley Van Clief, Tree Tenders Project Manager,
The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
“As a gardener whose garden is never quite big enough, I expect that Kerry Ann
will instruct me how to squeeze in everything I could possibly want to grow –
and not into heaving acres but into a garden that is just the right size; in this case
‘right’ means ‘manageable.’”
~ Ethne Clarke, author, photojournalist, and former Editor in Chief,
Organic Gardening;
Garden Editor, Traditional Home; Contributing Editor, House & Garden
“Kerry Mendez is a garden author and lecturer who incorporates humor,
abundant excitement, knowledge, and above all a passion for low-maintenance
garden and landscape design. Kerry is the perfect author to approach the topic of
right-sizing a garden to fit changing lifestyles. In her new book The Right-Size
Flower Garden, Kerry presents a step-by-step method to create a garden in
balance with your lifestyle.”
~ Dr. Steven Still, Executive Director, the Perennial Plant Association and
former professor of landscape horticulture at The Ohio State University
right-size flower garden
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right-size flower garden
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KERRY ANN MENDEZ
The Right-Size Flower Garden Simplify Your Outdoor Space with Smart Design Solutions and Plant
Choices Copyright © 2015 Kerry Ann Mendez All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced,
stored, or transmitted in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer
who may quote brief passages for review purposes.
ISBN-13: 978-0-9892688-7-5
Library of Congress Control Number: 2014944845
CIP information available upon request First Edition, 2015
St. Lynn’s Press . POB 18680 . Pittsburgh, PA 15236
412.466.0790 . www.stlynnspress.com
Book design – Holly Rosborough Editor – Catherine Dees
Printed in Canada
On certified FSC recycled paper using soy-based inks
This title and all of St. Lynn’s Press books may be purchased for educational, business, or sales promotional
use. For information please write: Special Markets Department . St. Lynn’s Press . POB 18680 . Pittsburgh,
PA 15236
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To my dearly loved sisters, Kim and Jane,
with whom I’ve shared sweet laughter and tears.
PHOTO CREDITS
Bailey Nurseries – pages 14, 54, 74, 108, 110, 117, 118, 119, 120, 122, 124, 128, 131, 133, 134, 135, 137,
138, 169
Jack Barnwell – page viii
Blooms of Bressingham – page 104
Bluestone Perennials – pages 2, 46, 47, 62, 82, 107
Brent and Becky’s Bulbs – pages 111, 113
Naomi Brooks – pages 80, 83
Burpee Seeds – pages 159, 160, 161, 162
Cali Bamboo – page 15
Chicago Botanic Garden – page 52
David Chinery – page 8
Laura Deeter – pages 60, 142
Faddegon’s Nursery – pages 28, 49
Fall Creek Farm – page 42
Gardener’s Supply Company – pages 38, 147
Chris Hansen – page 45
Hort Couture – page 158
Janet Loughery – page 40
Julie Moir Messervy – page 10
Monrovia – pages 13, 14, 25, 117, 121, 135, 137, 138, 139, 168, 169
Mt. Cuba Center – page 52
North Creek Nurseries – pages 104, 107
Ellen Ogden – pages 10, 161
Plant Delights – pages 32, 66, 107, 110
Proven Winners – pages 12, 22, 23, 24, 27, 46, 48, 52, 54, 65, 72, 79, 109, 114, 117, 118, 121, 122, 123,
124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 137, 143, 144, 145, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 166, 167, 168
Spring Meadow Nursery – pages 13, 22, 25, 26, 116, 136, 140
Steve Silk – page 11
Sunny Border Nurseries – page 99
Terra Nova Nurseries – pages 20, 55, 76, 98, 100, 151
Terrapin Landscaping – page 50
Deborah Trickett – pages 163, 164
Upshoot – page 133
Ann Van Wie – page 69
Walters Gardens, Inc. – pages 16, 17, 18, 19, 24, 45, 47, 53, 56, 58, 61, 62, 63, 64, 77, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96,
97, 99, 100, 102, 103, 104, 105, 110
All other photos by the author.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
1 Help! My Garden Has Taken Me Hostage!
2 The “Custom-sized” Garden – Perfectly Fitted to Your Changing Needs
3 The Elimination Round: You Be the Judge
4 The Big Swap – Plant This, Not That!
5 Design Solutions for (Almost) Auto-Pilot Gardens
6 Remarkable Perennials, Groundcovers and Bulbs
7 The New Glamour Plants: Flowering Shrubs, Ornamental Trees and Evergreens
8 Contain Yourself, Please! Outstanding Annuals, Vegetables and Shrubs for Containers
I Can See Clearly Now, the “Pain” is Gone!
Resources
Index of Plant Names
Acknowledgments
About the Author