Perennial Garden Color

Gardeners in Texas and the South face their own special problems with climate and growing seasons, and they need a guide written specifically for the region in order to have the greatest chance of success. William C. Welch's Perennial Garden Color directly fills this need, and for years gardeners have relied on this book to aid their efforts to beautify their outdoor spaces. Now in a new Texas A&M University Press edition, this time-tested classic, dubbed a "masterpiece" by Neil Sperry, is available again.

Lavishly illustrated with more than five hundred breathtaking color photographs, Perennial Garden Color provides detailed information on planting and growing 125 different perennials and their companion plants. Also included are more than a hundred varieties of old garden roses, together with comments on their history and uses.

Welch, a veteran horticulturist and writer, goes beyond detailing individual flowers, however, to emphasize their use in landscape design. He illustrates how to harmonize the color, texture, and shape of perennials, old roses, and companion plants to create an overall effect of grace and elegance. The dozens of photographs of landscape designs offer a wealth of ideas and inspiration.

Focusing special attention on cottage gardens, Welch offers a history of this traditional design and provides the information needed for gardeners to make this style their own.

Written with contagious enthusiasm, Perennial Garden Color is a complete, comprehensive, and authoritative guide to planning and growing a beautiful and colorful garden of perennials in the South.

WILLIAM C. WELCH is professor and AgriLife Extension landscape horticulturist in the Texas A&M System. He has many years of experience with garden clubs and nursery organizations and is a regular contributor to Southern Living magazine. On the board of directors of the Southern Garden History Society, he is also an honorary member of the Garden Club of America, which awarded him its distinguished service medal in 2008. He is also the coauthor (with Greg Grant) of Heirloom Gardening in the South: Yesterday’s Plants for Today’s Gardens, published in 2011 by Texas A&M University Press.