Groundbreaking!

Niki Jabour's Groundbreaking Food Gardens: 73 Plans That Will Change the Way You Grow Your Garden, is available at EPL! 

The GardenDesign.com featured book is made up of 73 different edible garden plans -- each designed by a different garden writer / blogger / horticulturalist /... The collection covers a wide array of situations, interests, and themes (E.g. Chickens! Balcony only! The entire front yard! A biodynamic farm! Go Elizabethean!").

Each plan is introduced by Jabbour with information about the designer, background on the theme, and great gardening tips to complement.  Charming illustrations (3 different illustrators) give each plan life. 

Though plant lists are included, Jabbour's introduction stresses "grow what you like to eat" and that designers offered the lists only as suggestions (to be replace freely with things that fit your region, climate, and personal tastes).


Overall: A great jumping point to finding your next favourite garden writer / blogger / designer / ... This book is a sampler: packed full of inspiring ideas and information from general to niche, but as a result not everything is applicable.  I will definitely be coming back to this book because even plans not obviously achievable for a urban Edmonton home are still educational (design and ecology) fun reads.

Pros:

• Jabbour has done all the work in tracking down the best people to submit a garden design.  
• Plan design principles and complementary gardening methods are included making the book educational -- more than just a "plant this here" map
• Some powerhouse food producing plans and some more focused on style -- most fall in between
• Adaptable, environmentally-conscious plans to fit many situations

Cons / Limitations:

• The plans are fairly flexible, but does seem to be geared towards mid-range climates.   Edmontonians and other northerners will have to work harder to adapt the plans
• Can be overwhelming as plans are not obviously grouped in anyway 
• No photographs - which would be particularly helpful for some of the more abstract plans

Bee-Friendly: Working with nature is highly stressed in many of the plans and Jabbour uses organic methods.  Plans particularly focused on this include "Backyard Beekeepers' Garden" by Kenny Points, "Pollinator-Friendly Raised Bed" by Paul Zammit, "Wildlife-Friendly Garden" by Tammi Hartung, "Good Bug Garden" by Jessica Walliser

Five-Plant Gardens -- Perennial Garden Design (by the book)

Nancy J. Ondra's 2014 book, "Five-Plant Gardens: 52 Ways to Grow a Perennial Garden with Just Five Plants", promises easy gardening using just five perennial plants.

Pretty plants that come back year after year?  Sign me up!  But, can it really be that easy?

Ondra advises to start small ("Admire large gardens but plant small ones"), shop smart (begin with 5" pots- plants will grow and spread), and get in the zone (USDA Plant Hardiness).  Her enthusiastic writing is energising and everything is kept simple.  The "five plants", however, refers to five types of plants -- sometimes more than one of each kind is required.

Overall thoughts:
This is a well thought out and very pretty book.  It hits the right notes with me, a beginner gardener - providing lots of information, sensible advice, and inspiration for more.  The "first choice" plants include zone 3 (good for Edmonton) and plenty of advice on how to substitute for those that aren't.  The plant photos are particular favourites - especially those in seed in the "For the Birds" and "Winter Wonderful" gardens. Best of all, it's available at EPL!

The book is divided into two main parts: "Five-Plant Gardens for Full Sun to Partial Shade and "Five-Plant Gardens for Partial to Full Shade".  (See * for additional info on the book's structure.)

Pros:

• Simple designs can be tiled and combined to expand your garden over time or to fit around structures (such as a porch or pathways) 
• Gardens are themed: colours, bloom time, attracting / deterring wildlife, usage (e.g. cuttings, scent)
• Includes plant alternates (named and general e.g. "Another 6- to 12-inch-tall perennial with white flowers, such as wall rock cress..."), so you can substitute as needed and still keep the original garden's look 
• Includes a "Season by Season" summary and "Digging Deeper" section for each garden with what to expect, how to care for plants, and how to use the garden

Cons:

• Nothing bad, just some limitations: Plant care in the long run not addressed ("Many perennials can live for 3 to 5 years with hardly any attention..." what afterwards?), is a "plant-by-numbers guide" doesn't teach principles of design.  
• Table of Contents lists garden names without specific page numbers

Bee-Friendly:

The book doesn't have a Bee-Friendly focus, but does indirectly incorporate some bee-friendly features:

• Uses bee-friendly plants (full of pollen and nectar, or native) e.g. Echinacea purpurea (coneflower), Monarda (bee balm), rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susan), sedum,  and gives enough information for you to substitute your choice of bee-friendly plants
• Multiple plants of the same kind are grouped together - xerces.org advises planting the same flower in clumps to attract bees.  This could be because bees harvest from one type of flower at a time and locate flowers using sight -- mass plantings are easier to see find and would allow for maximum food collection on each trip.

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* Each garden includes:
- A planting plan
- A moisture requirement scale (Dry, Average, Moist)
- A pretty illustration of the garden
- Photographs of the plants on a plain background
- A shopping list for plants (with suitable alternatives)
- A "Season by Season" summary on what to expect in the garden and how to care for the plants
- A "Digging Deeper" section ideas and suggestions (such as how to incorporate annuals into the specific plan or where it might be especially suitable)