
Member Reviews

Plant Combinations for an Abundant Garden is a great reference book. It has practical advice and easy to follow garden designs. Highly recommend it. Loved this book.

An excellent book for both the novice and expert gardener. As I have recently retired I have more time to spend in the garden and this book has helped me plan what to plant and where to plant for maximum effect. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to get the best out of their garden.

Not quite what I was expecting but a well put together book. THe section on vegetable gardening is useful for beginners but the rest focuses mostly on garden design for intermediate gardeners.

This book is far more comprehensive than the title led me to believe, Not only are there step-by-step instructions for combining plants in gardens, but numerous other aspects of garden design are considered too, from shed placement to building walkways, edging lawns and much more. The directions are clear and detailed. With a plethora of photos and illustrations this is a complete garden design book, and I will certainly use it as a reference.

We really enjoyed the depth that this book goes to showing the how-to's of gardening. The photographs are fresh and the plot tutorials were helpful, especially the mushroom composting.

Thank you Fox chapel Publishing and Netgalley for this ARC.
This was a really helpful book for me and taught me a lot about companion gardening and what to plant, where in the garden. It gave me confidence and enthusiasm to plan my own garden using these tips. .

Plant Combinations for an Abundant Garden by Alan Bridgewater and David Squire provided so much information about building a garden. I have dabbled in gardening for years. So, Plant Combinations was basic enough to help me start a new garden and had enough variety that I still learned many things I hadn't considered previously. The pictures are beautiful and help reinforce the material. The book is organized well and easy to find just what you need. It is interesting enough to read front to back as well.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4
Much like some other reviewers I found the title to be a little misleading, but this book includes so much more than I anticipated. This covers everything from lawn design, building pathways, decks, pergolas, lighting, companion planting vegetables, keeping chickens, constructing compost bins and much more.
I really liked that the author included seasons rather than months of the year and has also included the metric scale. I was disappointed that the quick reference tables did not align with the kindle edition, this meant the content was without any guide or separation which made the information unusable. The colourful images are also a bit lost on the Kindle version but that is to be expected, they create a good visual representation of what is being discussed. If you're after an in-depth gardening book covering a range of topics then I would suggest this. Roughly only 50% of the content discusses plants, had I known this prior I probably wouldn't have requested it.
Thank you Netgalley and Fox Chapel Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Plant Combinations for an Abundant Garden is full of garden ideas for all size of gardens. It includes a wide ranging plant guide in addition to the individual garden guides. This is a great book for those new to gardening with no idea where to start. I found some new information even as a long time gardener. It is tailored more to those in urban or suburban areas. It could also work for those with large yards who want to create a small garden area.

I feel like this book is not titled correctly. This book provides all the basics for getting started with gardening - whether that is vegetables, flowers, or general yard. It devotes lots of pages to the design process - paths, lighting, patios, fences, and much more. It reviews types of gardens - container, Japanese, herb, rock, and several others. It features a section on the practice of no-dig gardening. And then it has plants! It rounds out its contents with pests, diseases, troubleshooting and such.
The book does provide step-by-step instructions and various references guides. There are beautiful photographs as well as detailed illustrations.
Please note: This book is a collection of new and previously published material.
I love gardening and always find a nugget in each book that helps me garden just a little bit better. You can find my garden blog at www.Patch405.com.
I was offered an advance digital copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.

I found this book very helpful and informative. It covered a wide range of garden sizes and types. It was clearly written with a good a variety of drawing and photos. A good companion for both experiences and beginner gardeners. I received this book as an Arc and freely give my review.

I found this book very helpful and inspirational for planting my garden and foundational choices. It gave instructions on preparation, all the way through the planting, to the after care.

A thoughtful, inspiring and practical guide to setting up and growing with your garden.
The authors have taken care to include all types of garden, whatever the size, even if it's just a balcony. I liked the table early on which made suggestions for tricky types of garden- what to do if you have a steep slope, or back on to lots of neighbours. Of course those with bigger gardens and budgets will get to play with more tools and ideas than the rest of us, but there are ideas here for us all. I also liked the encouragement to take a no-dig approach, to flowers as well as vegetables.
I received a review copy of this just as I moved into a house with a garden for the first time, and used it to think about and plan what to do with my new space. Also, if I get it wrong, there are planty- ahem, plenty - of ideas to try out next time, instead.

If you are a gardener, or thinking of becoming one, this book is a must-have. Absolutely every aspect of gardening is addressed in this book.
Planning a landscape begins with plotting on paper. Adding in gazebos or other structures is an option addressed along with a selection of different structures and pictures of them. Solutions are given to problems with the terrain and suggestions of plantings along with both soil requirements and long term care and placement. Annuals and perennials are listed with definitions and descriptions. Shrubbery and the definition of deciduous and non-deciduous are disgussed. Gardening for food-growing is also explored from fruit trees to vegetables, and
the care and requirements of each group.. This comprehensive book belongs on every gardener’s shelf. This is the go-to book for ideas and answers.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily,providing my review.

Overall, this is an excellent book to page through as a beginning or experienced gardener.
Some terms that I found interesting were “catch crops” and “intercropping” and the book explains them easily and quickly.
Thanks to #NetGalley, I had an advanced PDF to read and review.
*All opinions are my own and I was not required to post a positive review. *

This book is jam packed with information - from schematics for different garden designs to decks and verandas to different bedding plants. The only thing that I found lacking in the book is photos! Photographs of beautiful gardens, garden projects and plants are what pull me in and give me the most joy in reading books about gardening and I found photographs to be sorely lacking in this book.

This book was ok, but didn’t have enough images to be helpful to a novice. I really do t need to read all the botanical names nor imagine how they look together. Overall, not very helpful for a very dry garden for an amateur.
Thanks for letting me read and review. Appreciate it.

I think I was expecting something a little different considering the title, Perhaps I didn't pay enough attention. There is a great deal of information and guidance on starting a garden from scratch, how to assess your garden, themes etc. Having already established the direction I was going in with my garden, I was rather looking for ideas on how to develop the theme further and perhaps how I complement the plants I have chosen to date, I didn't find any unusual pairings etc. It is a book that is easy to read and easy to follow.
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Wonderful Gardening Book!
This book certainly has it all! I have been a Master Gardener for the past 30 years and an avid gardener since I was a child. There are several things that I want in a gardening book and this has it all! First off, I want great photos that I can dream about in the cold dark winter and this book is full of prettiness. It begins with planning your gardens for what you have considering shade and sun, amount of rain, uses of the site and soil quality. Then it describes the planning and 'how-to' of the hardscape and features such as sidewalks, drives, existing plantings, the neighbor's plantings, sidewalks, and drives. It allows for and discusses play areas, gazebos, arbors, vegetable gardens, pools, and fountains. It has sections on raised beds and no-dig plantings. It also has a nice section of plants to consider using. They use a very nice scale to show the time between sowing and harvesting your veggies as well as what they generally need. There is also an excellent section about pests and how to deal with them and a troubleshooting section. This is a nice reference book and something I will read again next winter! I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

My garden understanding has been an area I’ve been developing since moving to Hilton and being in such a stunning one. Mum and I have chosen sections to overhaul, and, now looking to complement the plants we have with others, this book seemed the ideal one to guide us on the journey. However, it is more of an overview than I anticipated. I was particularly looking for the combinations of plants and whilst this book covers it lightly, it doesn’t share a huge range of plants or any unusual pairings.
It does work through the basics of gardening, layout and care with lots of photos and illustrations, hints and tips and step-by-step explanations. A bit of a mismatch for my objective but an interesting read and if you are just setting out, a goodie! It’s a four out of five on the en-JOY-ment scale for me!