Packed with practical advice from leading cultivation specialists, this concise, easy-to-use book covers virtually every aspect of garden design and maintenance¿from choosing a plot to selecting plants, maximizing space and building raised beds. Plant Combinations for an Abundant Garden shows how to create productive gardens by selecting the perfect plant combinations. A comprehensive plant directory provides handy information on summer-flowering annuals, herbaceous perennials, shrubs, small trees, climbers, water plants, bamboos, culinary herbs, fruits and vegetables. Practical advice and step-by-step instructions are included for building up layers of soil with mushroom compost, covering weeds with mulch, protecting plants with nets and plastic and much more. With more than 300 gorgeous color photographs, illustrations and diagrams, this book is a must for busy gardeners everywhere.

David Squire has worked for many years as a gardening writer and editor. He has contributed to numerous gardening magazines and is the author (or co-author) of more than 80 gardening and plant-related books. His books include four titles in the new Home Gardener's Specialist Guide series (Fox Chapel Publishing) plus The Scented Garden (Orion) which won the "Quill and Trowel Award" of the Garden Writers of America. David trained as a horticulturist at the Hertfordshire College of Agriculture and at the Royal Horticultural Society, where he was awarded the Wisley Diploma in Horticulture. He was awarded an N.K. Gould Memorial Prize for his collection of herbarium specimens of native British plants. In 2005, this collection of plants was accepted by the Booth Museum of Natural History to become library and museum exhibits. He has a passionate interest in the uses of native plants, whether for eating and survival, or for their historical roles in medicine, folklore and customs.