Adrian Bloom, well thought of for his lifelong international gardening expertise in North America and Europe, has written Bloom’s Best Perennials and Grasses: Expert Plant Choices and Dramatic Combinations for Year-round Gardens. Bloom condensed his 50 years of experience from Blooms of Bressingham and Foggy Bottom into a garden resource packed with perennial plant information. Bloom is known for his river-of-plants garden designs, which takes full advantage of perennials and grasses with multi-seasonal interest.
For any flower gardener interested in growing perennial plants, Bloom’s Best Perennials and Grasses will provide plant lovers with fact-based inspiration, whether it is needed for large landscapes, small planting beds or container gardens.
Creating Perennial and Grass Gardens with Seasonal Interest
Bloom insists planting perennials and grasses with multi-seasonal interest are the backbone to an enjoyable year-round perennial garden. In Bloom’s Best Perennial and Grasses, among the author’s 12 perennials and grasses choices are Geranium ‘Rozanne’ and a Hakonechloa macra.
The writer from Foggy Bottom also describes what many gardeners feel, with the discovery of more plants and proliferation of cultivars, finding tried and tested perennials can be overwhelming. With information gleaned from the Plant Finder by the Royal Horticultural Society, Bloom states, “between 1992 and 2009 the number of Phlox paniculata cultivars increased from 83 to 244. Although much breeding work has been undertaken with this plant, P. paniculata isn’t an anomaly.”
Bloom includes an overview of plant origins between North American and Europe describing how the development of perennials by plant enthusiasts on the two continents occurred. Each of Bloom’s suggested plants is accompanied with cautions on where each is best to grow and the range of seasonal interest in those locals.
Container Gardens Bloom Calls a Moveable Feast
Bloom does make suggestions for planting perennials in container gardens. He refers to these gardens as “Moveable Feasts.”
Where planting beds are not available, Bloom advocates adding perennials to container gardens for color and structural interest. He recommends compact plants with sturdy stems that grow more slowly.
Perennial Plant Resources for Gardeners
The expert English plantsman includes in Bloom’s Best Perennials and Grasses several perennial plant resources for gardeners in Europe, North America and the United Kingdom. While large photos found in the beginning chapters include seasonal descriptions of expansive landscapes; the 12 core perennial plants each have close-up images depicting year-round interest. A lengthy directory of recommended perennials chosen by Bloom follows.
The last-but-not-least gardener resources at the back includes plant lists for specialty gardens, recommended perennial plant suppliers and a chart of United States Department of Agriculture hardiness zones and equivalent United Kingdom conditions. The index of plants includes botanical, common and many cultivar names. A basic knowledge of gardening is helpful when reading some of the terminology in this perennial plant book.
Adrian Bloom of Bressingham and Foggy Bottom Gardens
Adrian Bloom is the son of Alan Bloom, a highly successful perennial plantsman who started Bloom's nursery in 1926. From there, Blooms of Bressingham and Bressingham Gardens became perennial plant businesses in Norfolk, England offering plants to European and North American gardeners.
Adrian Bloom is recognized for his work in North America, as well as Europe, in public gardens like the Bressingham Garden at Massachusetts Horticultural Society in Wellesley and at Ohio State University’s Chadwick Arboretum.
Bloom's Best Perennials and Grasses Garden Book
Bloom’s Best Perennials and Grasses: Expert Plant Choices and Dramatic Combinations for Year-round Gardens is a garden book authored by Adrian Bloom and published by Timer Press, April 2010. The garden book has 208 pages complemented by almost as many photos, filled with about 400 perennials and ornamental grasses. Garden readers interested in this hardcover plant book can use ISBN 978-0-88192-931-7 to find it.
Perennial plant enthusiasts who grow flower gardens in North America, Europe, particularly the United Kingdom, will find this garden book a reliable resource. Bloom’s Best Perennials and Grasses will help gardeners choose perennial plants and design gardens at home.
Additional books to inspire planting, published by Timber Press, include: Coleus by Ray Rogers and Vines and Climbers by garden author Allan M. Armitage.
Permission received for all photos used in this article.
Chris Eirschele - Chris writes on plants grown and gardens explored; she is a member of the Garden Writers Association.
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