25 best planting plans

Everyone else's garden always looks so well organized and presented. How do people know what plants go with what plants, what flowers go with what flowers? They consult a book like this one, which "aims to guide you through the jungle of plant combinations--the art of finding plants and styles that you like, that will look good in your garden, and that will grow successfully." To that end, a veteran garden writer offers a series of plans for various seasons and reasons. A town garden is going to be different from a prairie garden, of course, but given the right circumstances, each type can be achieved by following this book's carefully wrought diagrams and sensitively colored illustrations. --Brad Hooper