Perennial Ground Covers

Description:
Ground covers take on new meaning in this enlightening book designed to make gardeners' work easier. Hostas, stonecrops, smaller rhododendrons, prayer plants, pyracanthas, box huckleberry, hellebores, daylilies, grasses, alpine willows, and unsupported climbing vines are just some of MacKenzie's imaginative suggestions. Even Gunnera manicata, a 6-foot-tall, 8-foot-wide plant, is suggested for some situations!

Review:
Makes finding original groundcovers for large areas with contrast in leaf shape and sizes that go along with companion planting for your landscape easier ... excellent for the amateur or the experienced gardener. National Gardener 20020822 MacKenzie covers all the basics. -- Karin E. Guzy Perennial Notes 20030116 It's definitely worth having on your shelf... MacKenzie's book invites gardeners to color outside the lines, get ready to paint the ground with swaths of texture, and maybe even replace some lawn. -- Jean Starr Munster (IN) Times 20021228 Moves from shade to sun, makes lawns seem a dull waste of space, and will expand your mind as to what constitutes ground cover. -- Ann Milovsoroff Pappus 20030523 This is the book to have if you want all kinds of information about such an array of plants. -- Marty Figley Michigan Observer and Eccentric 20030731 Perennial Ground Covers ... makes lawns seem a dull waste of space, and will expand your mind as to what constitutes a 'ground cover.' -- Ann Milovsoroff Pappus 20030123 If I need to plant a large section of groundcover among Japanese maples and I want something more interesting than the old standbys, I can pick up Perennial Ground Covers, by David MacKenzie, page through excellent pictures, and find a plant that I had forgotten or never thought would work. -- Donna Williamson HortResources Newsletter 20040122 This book is a keeper for any gardener already 'into' perennials. It's also a must-read myth-buster for anyone considering the plunge, whether starting from scratch or switching from annuals. -- Lillian Rodberg Garden Solutions 20070901

Author Biography:
David MacKenzie owns and operates Hortech in Spring Lake, Michigan - one of the country's largest and most progressive wholesale ground cover nurseries. By 1993, the business had 34 greenhouses on 15 acres. Hortech specializes in perennial ground covers, grasses, and vines, distributing them throughout Michigan and other states. When he was just out of college, David discovered and registered the new Ottawa weeping white pine in a homeowner's backlot. He has since reproduced the tree using the grafting method. He has been hybridizing, photographing, researching, lecturing on ground covers, and generally creating plant magic since 1983. David has written several articles for American Nurseryman. He also speaks about landscape photography, native plants, and plant research and ecology, as well as his love of ground covers and gardening in Michigan (zone 5). His audiences includes master gardeners, serious amateur gardeners, landscape contractors, designers, architects, and horticulture educators. He also has many athletic hobbies including fishing, hunting, tennis, volleyball, water-skiing, skiing, and basketball.