Kerry Ann Mendez - Author

Kerry Ann's Gardening Books

Kerry Ann Mendez has written four popular gardening books and an ebook:

To purchase Kerry Ann's books at a special price, visit the online store.

Interviews With Kerry Ann

To watch a televised interview by Dr. Leonard Perry, a nationally esteemed horticulturist and plant researcher, talking with Kerry Ann about her book, The Right-Size Flower Garden, click here.

Click Here for Dr. Perry's interview with Kerry Ann on her book, The Ultimate Flower Gardener's Top Ten Lists.

Click Here for Dr. Perry's interview with Kerry Ann on her book, Top Ten Lists for Beautiful Shade Gardens - Seeing Your Way Out of the Dark.

"Kerry's passion for gardening is infectious and she communicates her hands-in-the-soil knowledge in a way that makes it easy for others to join in the fun. This book, from one of the great horticultural educators in North America today, has been long awaited." - Paul Tukey, author of the best selling The Organic Lawn Care Manual and the 2006 American Horticultural Society Gardening Communicator of the Year.

The Budget-Wise Gardener

The Budget Wise Gardener book coverThis book proves that you don’t need mega bucks to have a beautiful garden. The secret is having savvy garden pro Kerry Ann Mendez by your side.

In The Budget-Wise Gardener, Mendez gives the inside scoop on nailing the best deals and having it all:

  • selecting plants that give you the most bang for your buck,
  • timing your purchases to take advantage of deep discounts and giveaways,
  • finding treasures at plant, bulb and seed swaps –
  • and much more.

Her chapters take you from “How to Score Great Plants for Less…or for Free!” and “Design Secrets that Save Money” to “Regal Containers on a Dollar-Store Budget.” With luscious color photos on nearly every page, this is an essential guide to creating the garden of your dreams without breaking the bank.

Cover price $19.95. Purchase price is $20 and includes a signed message from Kerry Ann and FREE shipping. INCLUDES SHIPPING WIHTIN THE USA.


The Right-Size Flower Garden: Simplify Your Outdoor Space with Smart Design Solutions and Plant Choices

Kerry Ann's newest book was released in February 2015.  It's all about sanity ruling in your 21st century garden!  The Right-Size Flower Garden offers time-saving design tips and exceptional plants for achieving balance between your love of gardening and time and ability to do so.  Drought tolerant plants; perennials and annuals that don’t need deadheading; no prune shrubs; long-lived, naturalizing bulbs; the illusion that you have more plants than you actually do, due to their astonishing display; are some of the treasured nuggets covered in this book.  The easy-to-follow, targeted solutions shared in The Right-Size Flower Garden provide joyful liberation for all aging and time-pressed gardeners – you and me!  Implementing these recommendations are not only good for you, they’re good for the planet.  When you know better, you do better. Cover price $18.95.

SPECIAL SIGNED RIGHT-SIZE FLOWER BOOK - $20 INCLUDES SHIPPING WIHTIN THE USA.

 

In the Right-Size Flower Garden, Kerry Ann Mendez’s voice is warm and welcoming…and oh so REAL! With her friendly guidance, a low maintenance garden is not only possible, it’s downright life changing! Don’t let your garden hold you hostage – let Kerry show you how to pare-it-down while jazzing-it-up!  Jessica Walliser,radio personality, garden columnist, acclaimed author, speaker and passionate bug lover.

 

“As a gardener whose garden is never quite big enough, I expect that Kerry Ann will instruct me how to squeeze in everything I could possibly want to grow, and not into heaving acres but into a garden that is just the right size – and in the case “right” means “manageable”.”  Ethne Clarke, Garden Senior Editor, Organic Gardening; Garden Editor, Traditional Home; Contributing Editor, House and Garden


The Ultimate Flower Gardener's Top Ten Lists: Garden-Transforming Lists, Money Saving Shortcuts, Design Tips & Smart Plant Picks for Zones 3 through 7

250MyUltimatenewcoverThis book features 70 lists and strategies for growing gorgeous, low-maintenance gardens. The book features hundreds of powerhouse perennials, flowering shrubs and annuals; proven design tips for  a range of conditions; a monthly garden calendar; organic practices; an insider's tips on saving  money; and garden care shortcuts. A wealth of practical information is delivered in a fun, inspiring manner by a garden designer and teacher of thousands, me.  For a the top ten theme lists and chapters, click here.

260 pages, 51 color photographs, soft cover. Cover price $23.95.

You may also purchase a signed book from Perennially Yours for a special price of only $21, including shipping!

Garden writer Kerry Ann Mendez provides valuable information in this work, based on her experiences growing perennials and serving as a garden consultant in the northeastern United States. In the introduction, she reminds the reader of the importance of evaluating the specific environment for plantings before their selection. She then reviews her favorite plants for various purposes, sites, flower, and foliage. The reader will appreciate her special tips on garden design and care, as well as strategies for dealing with garden pests. On the practical side, there is a listing of useful money-saving gardening suggestions, which include buying from mail-order companies.— Marilyn K. Alaimo, garden writer and volunteer, Chicago Botanic Garden.

Kerry Ann Mendez is a creative horticultural educator who has taken a fresh approach to writing a gardening book. The how-to has been broken down into 70 essential topics, each with its own dedicated list of top ten ideas to guide the gardener to success. Many of the topics are particular to specific gardening challenges, so that readers may hone in only on those issues that are relevant to their own gardening environment... Novices are sometimes overwhelmed by the wealth of horticultural information that they think they need in order to get started. Not anymore! This book encapsulates all of that knowledge, summarizes the essentials and removes the stress of the unknown. Owning this book is the next best thing to hiring a garden coach. Allan Becker Garden Guru, Montreal.  For more on Allan's review, click here.

SPECIAL SIGNED ULTIMATE BOOK - $20 INCLUDES SHIPPING WITHIN THE USA


Top Ten Lists for Beautiful Shade Gardens: Seeing Your Way Out of the Dark

200frontFINALmendez_shade_cov copy52 Garden-Transforming Lists for Smart Plant Picks, Design Tips, and Garden Care Shortcuts. Cool, soothing, lush shade gardens. They're magical. Unfortunately achieving these can be frustrating and elusive for many. Not any more. With the same straight-forward, cut-to-the-chase manner that I wrote my first book, I penned this illuminating reference containing 52 top ten lists ranging from perennials, annuals, flowering shrubs, evergreens, ornamental grasses, bulbs and more that dance in the shade. 190 pages, 55 color photographs, soft cover. Cover price $21.95.  You may also purchase a signed book from Perennially Yours for a special $21, including shipping!

Both books provide 'I wish I had known' tried and true gardening solutions for gorgeous, low-maintenance perennial gardens including how to jump-start gardens in spring and extend fall color. My bottom-line lists include what plants thrive in specific locations; time-saving tools and maintenance shortcuts; the best defensive strategies for offensive lines of rabbits, deer, voles, chipmunks and slugs; rewarding design tips and plant combinations; and money-saving angles. Plant lists also include design tips and cultural advice. Chapter Six in both books features colorful photographs of outstanding plants as well as garden vignettes.

My special thanks to the following great plant companies for providing images for this book: Bluestone Perennials, Gardener?s Supply Company, Perennial Resource, Plant Delights Nursery, Pride Corner Farms, Proven Winners, Sunny Border Nurseries

SPECIAL SIGNED SHADE BOOK - $20 INCLUDES SHIPPING WITHIN THE USA.


The Smart Plant Shopper’s Top Ten Lists for Exceptional Perennials, Shrubs, Annuals and More for Zones 3 – 7

This e-book is designed to be a one-of-a-kind shopping tool for picking no-fuss winners at garden centers.  It provides 120 different color plant images along with in-depth information about each plant.  Both sun and shade plants are covered.  Twenty-six lists feature perennials, flowering shrubs, bulbs, climbing vines, groundcovers, annuals and more.  Many lists are updated from those in my first book, The Ultimate Flower Gardener’s Top Ten Lists.
The ebook sells for $5.99 and can be purchased from Amazon.com, Google and Barnes & Noble.

"I am literally "sleeping" with your books which are currently adorned with post-its!!!  So much super information .... presented with tremendous insight and lots of chuckles!!!"  Janice

"Whether you've been growing perennials for years or are just getting started, Kerry Ann has helpful tips and techniques you can use." -  Jim Childs, Associate Editor, Garden Gate Magazine

"It tops my list for perennial recommendations in an affordable and easy to use book..... People still buy Tracy di Sabato Aust's large book but many won't pay that price and yours is in first place in the category.  - Sally, Lockwood's Garden Center

"Kerry Ann is a garden designer and perennial specialist with whom I have often worked and who I admire and respect deeply for her superior garden abilities. I highly recommend this book." - Keith Davitt, international garden designer, lecturer and author

"LOVE the book! Need another copy for a friend's birthday. Thank you SO much for answering so many of my newbie gardener questions ... there is hope for my garden after all!" - Marge

"I sent my niece and nephew and great-niece the copies of your books I picked up on Saturday.  I wrote each one of them a note about how useful I have found this book to be and how great you are and how fortunate I am to live so close to you that I can use what you have to offer for perennial gardening.  As I wrote them notes I decided I should write my own book about how great you are and how much your information has meant to me.  I could start with "Ten things I have learned from Kerry Ann Mendez" and then go on to "Ten ways Kerry has helped me with my gardening".  Followed by "Ten Reasons why I wish I had this book ten years ago".  And on and on ending with "Ten reasons I really like Kerry Ann".  I never thought about writing a book but I think this has all kind of possibilities!" - Linda

"I started your book - "awesome" - its the best plant book ever! Very easy to understand...I can't put it down...thanks" - Michael

"I recently attended your talk at Crandall Library, and purchased your book The Ultimate Flower Gardener's Top Ten Lists.  I have been reading it on and off ever since (just finished it yesterday).  Just wanted to tell you what an incredible resource book this is...you cover everything anyone needs to know.  In the spring/summer I am planning to landscape a perennial garden for my sister-in-law.  Although I already had some good ideas, your book, with all its lists and helpful hints, will hopefully make the project that much better (actually, much, much better!).  So, thank you for writing such an easy-to-follow guide, full of so much good information and complete with answers to so many basic questions one needs to know.  Just wanted you to know."  - Janelle

"What Julia Childs did for French cooking, Kerry Ann Mendez does for gardening!  Making it easy and possible for all to have wonderful gardens despite our individual time constrains and skill levels. Your book shows the how's, what's, and when's of it all. Fabulous!" - Margaret, home garden hobbyist

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