Matic Sever, who runs the Carniola perennial garden center in Ljubljana, has been for the past few years providing us with at least one book novelty yearly. While so far most of them have been devoted to growing perennials, the book Blossoming Pots focuses on seasonal ornamental plantings, which many reduce to annuals, or to balcony and window plantings, which have long dominated our field of ornamental plants.

Recognizing that the tastes are very different, the author takes us through the most important principles of good combination of plants from an aesthethic perspective and presents us with some inspiring ideas. As he puts it, the book therefore does not focus on the growing requirements for individual plants and treats all the popular balcony plants in it in a subordinate role. The opinion is that sometimes it is better to limit yourself to a single plant and nurture it well than to choose too much. A collection of miniature hostas in a clay pot placed in a shady corner or alpine plants with a few stones can be a much more effective decoration than excessive use of flowers. The selection of plants for pots – they hold an important place in the book – according to Matic Sever does not include only annuals, as he carefully combines them with selected perennials, even some shrubs, biennials and bulbs. And combination for him is not only a combination in one pot, but a composition of several pots with different plants in a way they act together aesthetically.

In search of blossoming harmony, the book focuses on individual seasons: spring planting is experienced as a refreshment and awakening, summer as a time of abundance and color, in the fall it steps towards more subdued shades and already thinks about spring, and with a smaller selection of suitable plants for winter the auther indicates their qualities that are overlooked during the period of lush blossoming.

Delo in dom [Work and Home magazine]