Author Scott Calhoun has travelled widely searching for the freshest, most exciting plant groupings. He visited the gardens of top designers and chose more than 100 combinations to include in his photographic celebration. Riots of complementary colours, masses of grasses, foliage spectacles in extraordinary shades of green and purple, and height variations as arresting as city skylines are all featured in these exciting gardens, each one an intimate self-contained glimpse of a larger garden.Rather than complete garden designs, these combinations are small, understandable pieces that demystify the design process for home gardeners. The innovative ensembles are invitations to try plants together in fresh, inventive ways. The combinations are perfect as embellishments to or reinventions of existing gardens. A favourite pairing can be the beginning of a larger garden design, or a five-plant grouping might be all that is necessary to fill in a small urban garden. The possibilities are as varied as the gardener's imagination.