50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants [Paperback]

Tracy DiSabato-Aust (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 7, 2009

Tracy DiSabato-Aust has taught thousands of readers how to design and maintain their gardens. Her first book -- The Well-Tended Perennial Garden -- is Timber's best-selling title and widely considered the bible of perennial maintenance. 50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants is packed with useful tips, practical hints, and Tracy's own gardening experience. It is sure to find a place on the shelf and in the heart of every gardener. Tracy has identified 50 show-stopping plants that anyone can grow. Each selection is a dynamic choice for nearly every garden. Even better? All 50 plants have passed Tracy's test for toughness, beauty, and durability. These are Tracy's personal favorites, chosen after years of studying how to make beautiful outdoor spaces with a minimum of maintenance.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Gardeners who want the wow without the work will find plenty of ideas in Tracy DiSabato-Aust’s new book, 50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants.”

(Akron Beacon Journal )

“This colorful guide gets right to the point, promoting the stars of the garden with a full-page close-up, a few smaller images, plus a fact and bio sheet highlighting why each deserves center stage in your garden.”

(Seattle Post-Intelligencer )

"DiSabato-Aust’s experience with and passion for plants infuses every aspect of the book, from its engaging style to her discipline in keeping it short but thorough."

(Oregonlive.com )

"It is sure to find a place on the shelf and in the heart of every gardener." (Marion Star )

"This is a must-have because it will tell you when and how to prune your perennials for better vigor—and how to get them to bloom more than once a season where possible." (Caledonian Record )

"For those gardeners who love plants but lack the time to spend hours in the garden, this is an excellent book." (American Gardener )

"DiSabato-Aust is an approachable garden writer. She knows we all love to garden but that we have lots of demands on our time and need astute guidance, which she provides in this fantastic book." (Idaho Farm Bureau Quarterly )

"This is a great book for novice gardeners or homeowners who wish to beautify their home with care-free plants."

(Elaine Diaz Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas )

About the Author

Tracy DiSabato-Aust, an award-winning designer and a nationally recognized horticultural author, professional speaker, and consultant, has been in the landscape industry since 1978, working, studying, and teaching at gardens in Belgium, England, Canada, and the U.S. She is the owner of Horticultural Classics and Consultations—a garden design company. DiSabato-Aust has contributed articles and photographs to many national magazines, including Fine Gardening, Country Gardens, Garden Gate, Midwest Living, American Nurseryman, Real Simple, and Garden Design. Her own and her clients' gardens are regularly featured in books and magazines and on Channel 4 News in Columbus, Ohio. Extremely popular as a lecturer, Tracy has appeared on television and has been a guest on many national radio gardening programs. She resides near Columbus, Ohio.

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Timber Press (January 7, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881929506
• ISBN-13: 978-0881929508
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 1.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #160,600 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

TRACY DISABATO-AUST



Has earned international acclaim as one of America's most entertaining and knowledgeable garden writers and professional speakers. She has extensive experience in the United States, and abroad working for over 30 years in the industry, speaking for over 25 years and designing for over 20 years.



Her experience includes stints at Longwood Gardens in the U.S., The Montreal Botanical Garden in Canada, the Kalmthout Arboretum in Belgium, and Knightshayes Court in England. She earned a B.S. and M.S. in Horticulture from The Ohio State University.



Her first book The Well-Tended Perennial Garden, which has been referred to by many as 'the bible for perennial maintenance', has sold over 150,000 copies and has become Timber Press' best selling book in their 25 year history of publishing. Now available in a beautiful expanded edition.



Her second book The Well-Designed Mixed Garden, which has sold over 30,000 copies, brings her trademark exuberance, expertise, and efficiency to bear on frequently daunting elements of garden design demystifying them with her direct approach. Tracy is a gifted and award winning designer who combines artistic vision with practical horticultural strategies.



Tracy's followers now welcome her long awaited newest book (2009)'50 High Impact, Low Care Garden Plants: Tough but Beautiful Plants Anyone Can Grow which features easy care dynamic selections for our busy lives.



DiSabato-Aust is a frequent guest on national garden television and radio gardening shows. She is a vibrant speaker, and in great demand nationally and internationally, on the lecture circuit. Venues include New Zealand & Australia Landscape Design Conferences, England's Royal Botanic Garden-Kew, England's Royal Horticulture Society Garden- Wisley, The English Gardening School, The Oxford Botanic Garden The Smithsonian Institute, The Perennial Plant Association, numerous botanical gardens and professional association meetings.



Tracy has contributed articles or been featured in numerous national and international magazines, books, and newpapers. Magazines include: Fine Gardening, Horticulture, Garden Design, & Gardens Illustrated (London, England. The New York Times, The Daily Telegraph in London, England, and The National Post, Toronto Canada have all published articles on Tracy. She has appeared on several gardening television shows including, Way to Grow & Smart Gardening. She is a frequent guest on Martha Stewart Radio.When Tracy is not busy with horticulture adventures she is training and racing as an 'All American' at the national and world's level in triathlons and duathlons.
Please vist my website tracylive.com for fun and informative articles, blogs, books, photos on gardening and triathlons.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended for urban gardeners, novice gardeners, and no-fuss gardeners!, June 4, 2009

By 

M. Lapus "@ Starting Fresh blog" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants (Paperback)

Review: 50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants:
Tough-but-Beautiful Plants Anyone Can Grow by Tracy Disabato-Aust

As a novice gardener, I am drawn to gardening books with a judicious mix of beautiful pictures and helpful advice. This book caught me with its opening:

I wrote this book because you might be like me. You love to garden, but there is never enough time...I've been a gardener for over thirty years both as an avocation and vocation. I love gardening but I also have countless other passions including spending time with my husband, our teenage son, and our dogs and chickens, as well as being a competitive multisport athlete at the national and international level. So I'm constantly rethinking areas of my garden and seeking beautiful yet tough plants to replace demanding ones. I refer to them affectionately as indomitable - not easily defeated, resolute, unconquerable, determined, and strong. Does this sound like the type of plant for you? These plants should be easy to care for but they should bring passion and excitement into our lives with their colors, textures, shapes, and scents. It's great if the plant is easy to grow, but if it's of minimal ornamental value, who really cares?
-50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants
by Tracy Disabato-Aust

Disabato-Aust selected 50 highly ornamental plants that require minimal care and are either US natives or award winners from around the world. Each plant is able to make a statement in multiple seasons because of its long lasting bloom, color, texture, form or fragrance. I'm particularly glad of this selection process since as an urban gardener, I am limited to container gardening. Even in Brooklyn, space is scarce and valuable - I afford to allocate space to non-performing plants.

Disabato-Aust points out that color doesn't just come from the blossoms, but to encourages us to look at the plant's bark and foliage and fruit as well. The book is full of helpful advice both for selecting plants and for caring for individual specimens.

Disabato-Aust developed a very useful checklist for evaluating plants and divides them into High-Impact Traits and Low-Maintenance Traits.

The High-Impact Traits are:
(1) multi-season interest;
(2) colorful foliage;
(3) long-lasting bloom;
(4) outstanding texture;
(5) and architectural form.

The Low-Maintenance Traits are:
(1) long-lived;
(2) tolerant of heat and humidity;
(3) cold-hardy;
(4) deer resistant (not so critical for us urban gardeners);
(5) resistant to insects and disease;
(6) requires minimal or no deadheading;
(7) prospers without heavy fertilizing;
(8) doesn't require staking, infrequent or no division required for 4 or more years;
(9) infrequent or no pruning required to maintain decent habit, appearance or best flowering;
(10) non-invasive; and
(11) drought tolerant.

The beauty of this gardening book is that you can flip through its pages for a plant that catches your eye and then determine whether it would be a fit for your and your garden. I was surprised to find many of the beautiful specimens that I'd admired to be low maintenance and the book has given me ideas for both for my garden, my mother's small garden unit in Boston's South End, and my uncle's large place in Gloucester.

I highly recommend this book for urban gardeners, novice gardeners, and gardeners who would like to spend less time tending plants and more time enjoying them. It's a great gift book as well.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants, February 4, 2009

By 

Matthew W. Schultz (Columbus, Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants (Paperback)

I had the opportunity to hear the author talk about "50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants" at the 2009 Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association and The Ohio State University Short Course. I especially appreciated that she included woodies as well as perennials in the talk as well as in this book. The book is the perfect addition to any designer's library of reference material. The selection of plants is a virtual "Who's Who" of tough, dependable horticultural fare and opened my palette to some new or underused plants as well. I have already recommended the book as well as the plants to several co-workers.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 50 High Impact, Low Care Garden Plants, January 29, 2009

By 

Beth Daye "Coneflower" (Cuyahoga Falls, OH, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants (Paperback)

This book is incredible. Easy to read. Enjoyable. Beautifully illustrated. I recently moved to a new city and plan to use "50 High Impact, Low Care Garden Plants" to select the plants I'll use in my new gardens. I thank Tracy DiSabato-Aust for again sharing her amazing knowledge. I own all three of her books and I treasure them.