Good color. Didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. In that sense,it was disappointing. I haad hoped for more from Burrell

This book does not give info on the actual plants. It's more a suggestion of plant combinations involving complimentary colors, plants needs, etc. Gives great inspiration for things that would work in your own garden setting.

Going to the Garden Shop is an experience and if you are like me, want eveything in bloom at any given time. Perennial Combinations does a beautiful job combining color and bloom times so that you can easily plan your garden. There is sometime for every garden size, soil, and light exposue. Beside being practical the illustrations are breathtaking. I wish I had bought this book prior to planning my last garden!

I bought this book because this is the first time I've planted perennials and this book has a 5-star rating from the other readers. I have to say that as a beginner, I am completely stumped by the scientific names of the plants that are listed in this book. The photos are nice and the combinations are pretty, but trying to locate these plants at the local garden center - unfortunately employeed with teenagers who are not very familiar with horticulture - is the biggest challenge. At my local garden centers and nurserys it's difficult to locate these specific plants. Not only that, but there are such specific recommendations in the book that if one is not careful, it would be easy to purchase the wrong plant. For example: Phlox vs Early Phlox.

Overall, I'd have to say the book is overwhelming. If you're a beginner, you may want to try another book. I gave this book 3 stars because I think if one were a more experienced gardener and knew where to find these plants, then this would be a most helpful book.

PERENNIAL COMBINATIONS by Colston Burrell is another practical and increasingly beautiful Rodale publication (remember those older Rodale volumes printed on coarse pulp paper?). Although this book was published several years ago, it is still a mega-star as far as I am concerned--printed on slick glossy paper and filled with beautiful and clear photographs. The combinations I used worked for me then and they work now in my more mature garden.

Burrell includes many suggestions for the gardener charged with developing an otherwise barren plot into a floriferous spot. Every yard is a collection of ecological zones ranging from dry loose (or compacted) soil to wet mucky bogs. Different combinations of plants work in different circumstances. For example, although I once had a professional gardener tell me Siberian Iris would grow anywhere, that has not been my experience, and Burrell confirms their best showing comes in a relatively damp area (Mine do best in the boggy area where our air conditioning unit drips ceaselessly throughout the summer-check out the lake in the middle of Central Park, Siberian Iris grow all along the shoreline). And speaking of "wet" gardens, Burrell shows ferns, Hosta, flags and various other perennials who either like or can tolerate damp feet combined into a `Garden for Three Seasons.'

Burrell covers almost any situation you can encounter in the garden: shade and wet, shade and dry, hot and dry, hot and wet. Have you just removed a dead tree and are puzzled about what to do to disguise the residual stump? Perhaps you want to grow wild flowers and don't know how or where to begin. Or, perhaps you have prairie-like conditions and wonder what to plant. And by the way, you don't have to live on the Great Plains to have prairie-like conditions, a sunny bank will do or, as in my case, where the driveway meets the street.

Burrell offers many tips and "secrets for success" with whatever condition you may encounter. Sedum and Thyme anyone?