About the Author

Karen Chapman is a garden coach, horticulturalist and owner of the garden and container design company, Le Jardinet. She writes occasional articles for Fine Gardening and is listed on the Great Garden Speakers website. Her blog is Garden Adventures - for thumbs of all colors.
Christina Salwitz is a garden coach, horticulturalist and owner of the garden and container design company, The Personal Garden Coach. She writes for several garden industry magazines, including Today's Garden Center.
Both authors are members of the Garden Writer's Association.
Principal photography for the book is by Ashley Delatour.

Reviews

Fine Foliage is one of Amazon's ""Best of the Year"" Garden Books.

It’s not just about flowers anymore. The big idea for containers and gardens today is foliage combinations— creating the perfect marriage of foliage colors, textures and shapes for year-round enjoyment. In Fine Foliage, garden designers Karen Chapman and Christina Salwitz showcase more than 60 inspired plant partnerships. Each combination is given a two-page spread with color photographs of the grouping and the individual plants within it.  Plant details include sun or shade requirements, seasons, zones, soil preference, and plant characteristics and care. Easy-to-use instructions allow gardeners of all skill levels to bring elegant, expert design and style to their gardens and patios.
 
Michigan Gardener, September-October 2013 issue

 

 

"Fine Foliage: Elegant Plant Combinations for Garden and Container does much more than celebrate gorgeous foliage specimens, which by now are enjoying the popularity once reserved for blooming plants. The book groups foliage plants (and the occasional bloomer) that have complementary and contrasting features–and can live together happily in the climate they were meant for. If you are looking for groupings based on color, texture, light needs, zone or any other characteristic, Fine Foliage makes it easy to find what you need. More importantly, these combinations have been proven successful by the authors themselves, who have tried many mixes before narrowing to these ones."
*Book Worm: A Review of Fine Foliage*

Karen Chapman's container designs prove that the eye of a talented designer can inspire a whole new appreciation for the amazing variety of colors and textures to be found in the beautiful but often overlooked world of foliage. -James Augustus Baggett, Editor, Country Gardens

Christina Salwitz shares her considerable design talents with fellow gardeners. Those looking to take their garden creativity beyond the usual blooms and into the realm of foliage composition will be well rewarded. -Eric Liskey, Deputy Editor, Gardens & Outdoor Living, Better Homes and Gardens

I only wish Karen Chapman lived close to me so that she could be my personal gardening coach. Rarely do you find a garden designer who not only can create dazzling plant combinations but also is able to teach the rest of us how to do the same. -Danielle Sherry, Senior Editor, Fine Gardening

Christina Salwitz is a design professional who successfully translates design principles into stunning plantings. Her ability to combine color and form creates beautiful garden tapestries. -Patty Dunning, Horticulture magazine content leader

Garden lovers, you now have the secret for creating the landscape of your dreams - the ones you see in magazines and wonder: 'How do those designers DO THAT? Christina and Karen show you how to look beyond the flowers and introduce you to the real stars of the horticultural world - LEAVES! -Ivette Soler, Garden designer and author of The Edible Front Yard

Christina's container designs are bold and arresting. She is fearless when it comes to combining color, texture and shape in a small area. -Susan Cohan, APLD, Co-founder and Editor of Leaf magazine

Whether you are a landscape designer who creates containers for your clients or a home gardener, reading this book is a must. -Bobbie Schwartz, Bobbie's Green Thumb

In her garden designs and containers, Christina conbines plants in ways that are simple yet asthetically delightful and innovative. Christina's work has made such an impression on me, whenever I see a leaf with great variegation, texture or vining, I think of her. -Debra Lee Baldwin, author of three books on using succulent plants in garden design