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The Ever-Blooming Flower Garden: A Blueprint for Continuous Color
The gardener's fantasy of colorful blooms that begin in early spring and continue through the last glow of fall is now an achievable reality. With a little careful planning and the fun-to-use formulas in The Ever-Blooming Flower Garden , season-spanning spectacular color is more attainable than ever before.
Author Lee Schneller developed her blueprint system when she began designing gardens professionally, and she has successfully applied it to more than 150 gardens. Now she brings her proven system to gardeners everywhere who continue to chase that elusive dream of perpetual bloom.
Schneller's system is a wonder of organization and information - packed with checklists and questionnaires, planning equations and plant characteristics. Yet for all its wealth of information, gardeners of every level will find Schneller's techniques simple to use and her blueprints fun to customize. Readers choose from a list of 220 low-maintenance plants organized by bloom month and supported by a Flower Catalog with basic growing information and photos of all 220 plants.
By following five simple steps, readers develop a unique garden design featuring personally chosen plants that deliver height, color, and tons of blooms all season long. For added convenience, the completed planning chart also serves as a plant shopping list.
Once the blueprint has been created, Schneller helps readers put the plan to work, offering advice on shopping, planting, and finally, enjoying and maintaining the garden.
Praise for the "The book lives up to its It is a blueprint for continuous color in the garden (at least from early spring to fall). There is instruction on mapping it all out on a grid -- and also instructions for those who don't want to put pen to paper. Don't be daunted; I'm not a mathematical person, but it makes sense to me. Lee Schneller, who has designed and built more than 150 gardens in Maine since 1995, takes you through the five steps to continuous color, including grabbing graph paper and a pen and checking out the plant palette and flower catalog in the back of the book. I particularly liked the flower catalog, which lists more than 200 trusty perennials selected for, among other things, their hardiness, attractive flowers and foliage, and long bloom time. The flower catalog provides the bloom period of each in a useful, graphical way. My only wish is that Schneller would publish a follow-up flower catalog for those who want more." -Ann Robinson, oregonlive.com 05/06/09
"If you, like me, love color in the garden, both for admiring and cutting, you'll pick up The Ever-Blooming Flower Garden . The book lives up to its it IS a blue print for continuous color in the garden." - New York Newsday
"The book is divided into five parts, which follow a logical path to allow any homeowner with some basic growing skills to create an attractive continuously blooming flower garden."
-- Portland Press Herald , 7/14/09
Author Lee Schneller developed her blueprint system when she began designing gardens professionally, and she has successfully applied it to more than 150 gardens. Now she brings her proven system to gardeners everywhere who continue to chase that elusive dream of perpetual bloom.
Schneller's system is a wonder of organization and information - packed with checklists and questionnaires, planning equations and plant characteristics. Yet for all its wealth of information, gardeners of every level will find Schneller's techniques simple to use and her blueprints fun to customize. Readers choose from a list of 220 low-maintenance plants organized by bloom month and supported by a Flower Catalog with basic growing information and photos of all 220 plants.
By following five simple steps, readers develop a unique garden design featuring personally chosen plants that deliver height, color, and tons of blooms all season long. For added convenience, the completed planning chart also serves as a plant shopping list.
Once the blueprint has been created, Schneller helps readers put the plan to work, offering advice on shopping, planting, and finally, enjoying and maintaining the garden.
Praise for the "The book lives up to its It is a blueprint for continuous color in the garden (at least from early spring to fall). There is instruction on mapping it all out on a grid -- and also instructions for those who don't want to put pen to paper. Don't be daunted; I'm not a mathematical person, but it makes sense to me. Lee Schneller, who has designed and built more than 150 gardens in Maine since 1995, takes you through the five steps to continuous color, including grabbing graph paper and a pen and checking out the plant palette and flower catalog in the back of the book. I particularly liked the flower catalog, which lists more than 200 trusty perennials selected for, among other things, their hardiness, attractive flowers and foliage, and long bloom time. The flower catalog provides the bloom period of each in a useful, graphical way. My only wish is that Schneller would publish a follow-up flower catalog for those who want more." -Ann Robinson, oregonlive.com 05/06/09
"If you, like me, love color in the garden, both for admiring and cutting, you'll pick up The Ever-Blooming Flower Garden . The book lives up to its it IS a blue print for continuous color in the garden." - New York Newsday
"The book is divided into five parts, which follow a logical path to allow any homeowner with some basic growing skills to create an attractive continuously blooming flower garden."
-- Portland Press Herald , 7/14/09
217 pages, Paperback
First published March 11, 2009
26 people are currently reading
64 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 4, 2019
Good info, but felt a bit over my head as a newbie/wannabe gardener.
June 28, 2020
Best ideas for creating year round interesting garden scape. Hope to fill a few dull times in my garden using ideas learned here.
December 29, 2023
I consider myself an experienced gardener and was surprised I had never considered putting together a blueprint system as detailed as that in this book. Loved the flower catalog.
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January 6, 2021this was a book i grabbed off the shelf only because the title caught my eye.
i didnt like the way the book was laid out. i expected a list in order of bloom time, so i could fill in the gaps between what i already have. this wasnt that. the first 120 pages were garden plans, already laid out, for you to follow exactly. i dont need garden plans. i fit my flowers in here and there, wherever i can fit them in. i'm more of a vegetable gardener. but having flowers around attracts pollinators, so i've been adding more flowers these last two years.
the second half of the book was flowers listed in order by their scientific name. i'm neither familiar with scientific flower names, nor do i care to be. common names are what i need. under that, THEN that individual flowers bloom time was listed. so i had to page thru those 64 pages looking at each flower's information and make myself a list of what blooms in early to mid spring, where my main flower-less gaps are. once summer comes, i'm good, plenty of flowers all the way thru fall.
i was also disappointed that this was only for perennials, no annuals were listed. so sunflowers, nasturtiums, marigolds, purple coneflower, petunias, canturbury bells, none of that was listed. nor were the blooms of any fruits or trees.
-my list of possibles (for my information only)
arabis caucasica snowcap wall rock cress, white, late spring week 5-8
bergenia cordifolia winterglut pigsqueak, red, late spring week 5-8
chionodoxa forbesii glory of the snow, blue, early spring week 2-4
crocus flavus yellow mammoth, yellow, early spring week 2-4
iris crimson king, purple, late spring week 8-9
iris little episode dwarf, purple, late spring week 7-8
iris reticulata harmony dwarf, blue, early spring week 1-3
muscari armenacum grape hyacinth, blue purple, late spring week 5-8
narcissus hawera dwarf daffodil, yellow, late spring week 6-8
narcissus ice follies daffodil, white yellow, mid spring week 3-5
narcissus king alfred trumpet daffodil, yellow, midspring week 3-5
pulmonia rubra bowles red lungword, pink, spring week 3-10
pulmonia victorian broach lungwort, magenta coral, late spring week 4-9
scilla siberica squill, blue, early spring week 2-5
tulipa apeldorn darwin hybrid tulip, red, late spring week 5-6
tulipa humilis persian pearl tulip, magenta yellow, mid spring week 4-5
veronica umbrosia georgia blue speedwell, blue, late spring week 5-10
allium christophii star of persia, violet, early summer week 9-10
allium globemaster, violet, early summer week 11-13
aguilegia alpina alpine columbine, blue purple, late spring week 7-13
dicentra zestful bleeding heart, pink, late spring week 7-12
paeonia karl rosenfeld peony, early-mid summer week 12-13
also paeonia miss america, and reine hortense.
-bloom times of flowers i'm familiar with that were listed in this book:
viola-spring summer
sedum - fall
blackeyed susan - mid late summer and fall
phlox - mid late summer
beebalm - mid late summer
asiatic lily - mid late summer
daisy - mid late summer and fall
lavender - mid late summer
iris - early to mid summer
hydrangea - late summer
hosta - late summer
day lily - mid late summer
geranium - early summer
i didnt like the way the book was laid out. i expected a list in order of bloom time, so i could fill in the gaps between what i already have. this wasnt that. the first 120 pages were garden plans, already laid out, for you to follow exactly. i dont need garden plans. i fit my flowers in here and there, wherever i can fit them in. i'm more of a vegetable gardener. but having flowers around attracts pollinators, so i've been adding more flowers these last two years.
the second half of the book was flowers listed in order by their scientific name. i'm neither familiar with scientific flower names, nor do i care to be. common names are what i need. under that, THEN that individual flowers bloom time was listed. so i had to page thru those 64 pages looking at each flower's information and make myself a list of what blooms in early to mid spring, where my main flower-less gaps are. once summer comes, i'm good, plenty of flowers all the way thru fall.
i was also disappointed that this was only for perennials, no annuals were listed. so sunflowers, nasturtiums, marigolds, purple coneflower, petunias, canturbury bells, none of that was listed. nor were the blooms of any fruits or trees.
-my list of possibles (for my information only)
arabis caucasica snowcap wall rock cress, white, late spring week 5-8
bergenia cordifolia winterglut pigsqueak, red, late spring week 5-8
chionodoxa forbesii glory of the snow, blue, early spring week 2-4
crocus flavus yellow mammoth, yellow, early spring week 2-4
iris crimson king, purple, late spring week 8-9
iris little episode dwarf, purple, late spring week 7-8
iris reticulata harmony dwarf, blue, early spring week 1-3
muscari armenacum grape hyacinth, blue purple, late spring week 5-8
narcissus hawera dwarf daffodil, yellow, late spring week 6-8
narcissus ice follies daffodil, white yellow, mid spring week 3-5
narcissus king alfred trumpet daffodil, yellow, midspring week 3-5
pulmonia rubra bowles red lungword, pink, spring week 3-10
pulmonia victorian broach lungwort, magenta coral, late spring week 4-9
scilla siberica squill, blue, early spring week 2-5
tulipa apeldorn darwin hybrid tulip, red, late spring week 5-6
tulipa humilis persian pearl tulip, magenta yellow, mid spring week 4-5
veronica umbrosia georgia blue speedwell, blue, late spring week 5-10
allium christophii star of persia, violet, early summer week 9-10
allium globemaster, violet, early summer week 11-13
aguilegia alpina alpine columbine, blue purple, late spring week 7-13
dicentra zestful bleeding heart, pink, late spring week 7-12
paeonia karl rosenfeld peony, early-mid summer week 12-13
also paeonia miss america, and reine hortense.
-bloom times of flowers i'm familiar with that were listed in this book:
viola-spring summer
sedum - fall
blackeyed susan - mid late summer and fall
phlox - mid late summer
beebalm - mid late summer
asiatic lily - mid late summer
daisy - mid late summer and fall
lavender - mid late summer
iris - early to mid summer
hydrangea - late summer
hosta - late summer
day lily - mid late summer
geranium - early summer
February 19, 2017
I don't plan, I just garden. Having said that I used this book to plan a new bed and it's one of the most successful I have. So if you're in the mood give it a try.
April 15, 2010
I grabbed this off the shelf at the library and have loved it. I am trying to rework my back fence flower bed into an everblooming perennial one and this is the best book I have ever seen for that purpose. It maps out the steps to planning etc. The author is in Maine, which has the same general temperature swings that we do in Utah. I am tired of all the flower books coming out of California! I finally just ordered this from Amazon. Love it!
August 5, 2013
I really didn't read the whole thing but I liked the parts I read. Good info for getting different flowers to get color from spring clear to fall. There is also a section about colors so you don't get completely clashing color schemes (I would probably do that because I buy what I like when I see it).
April 8, 2010
Very practical and easy to implement plan.
February 28, 2012
Great ideas, even for existing beds.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews