Garden design and planning Books

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Book SynopsisThe new Kew gardener's guide to growing shrubs features 12 easy and inspiring projects as well as detailed information on 50 of the most important specimens to grow, all accompanied by Kew's beautiful botanical illustrations.

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Book SynopsisAcclaimed landscape designer Daniel Nolan showcases the best of desert gardenscapes that have become synonymous with luxury minimalism, and presents techniques that will inspire readers to transform available space into their own modern dry garden.Hot days, cool nights, dry air, a blazing sun—California’s Mediterranean climate is not what you think of when you hear “lush garden,” but leading garden designers Nolan and his peers have revolutionized this genre with their artful designs.Nolan, the authority on dry gardens, has carefully selected 25 unique public and private garden masterpieces, diverse examples of interior and exterior gardening techniques. Readers will be treated to a complete look at crafting elevated and rustic gardens through a variety of environments, from pools and pocket gardens, front lawns, balconies, and living walls to retail spaces, museums, and vineyards. Each detailed project offers a different approach to incorTrade Review"This book on xeriscaping — gardening that requires no water from irrigation — documents the best of a new and inevitably necessary adaptation in landscaping. Landscape designer David Nolan compiles some of the most striking examples of minimal, cactus-and-agave-filled gardens that require little to no watering." -New York Magazine "The gardens are gorgeous and aspirational. Nolan seeks not to educate or proselytize about low-water gardening. With minimal text that sets the scene, he lets the photos do the talking. If you want to learn how the gardens save water through plant choice, grading, or other practicalities, this is not the book for you. It’s garden porn, pure and simple. Fans of modern design will especially love it." — Digging"Who knew dry could look so lush? San Francisco landscape designer Daniel Nolan presents 25 examples of drought-tolerant gardens of his and others’ designs with richly saturated photos by Caitlin Atkinson." — Society of Architectural Historians“The textures, architectural shapes, and lushness of the dry gardens captured by Daniel Nolan are overwhelming. His book has inspired me to create my own dry garden in LA. I am always trying to find ways to conserve water and never thought a garden could be so beautiful—with so little water.” —Jacqueline Schulze Weitzen, director, communications, GOOP

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Book SynopsisCreate the landscape of your dreams! This practical, easy-to-use guide covers everything you need to know to design a customized and dazzling landscape. Using a simple 12-step method, Janet Macunovich shows you how to assess your site, set a budget, choose plants, and make final adjustments before planting. With help from handy checklists, helpful illustrations, and creative techniques, Macunovich stresses the importance of considering future maintenance as you design a functional and elegant landscape you’ll enjoy for years to come.

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Book SynopsisFrom the dazzling orange leaves of Flame Grass to the feathery purple haze of Switch Grass, ornamental grasses can add a vibrant and colorful dimension to any garden. Nancy J. Ondra shows you how to use grasses on their own or in tandem with perennials, annuals, and shrubs to add visual interest and texture to your outdoor space. Insightful profiles of dozens of varieties of ornamental grasses enlivened by Saxon Holt’s stunning photography will inspire you to create your own dynamic, grass-filled gardens.

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Book SynopsisTurn your outdoor landscape into a rich, living canvas of color and texture. Encouraging experimentation, Stephanie Cohen and Nancy J. Ondra show you how to plan a garden that incorporates unique combinations of plants to achieve stunning effects. With an overview of garden design fundamentals and 20 sample garden plans, Cohen and Ondra will inspire you to play with creative juxtapositions of vibrant hues and subtle textures. Let your imagination run wild as you create your own unique and original garden designs.

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Book SynopsisGround covers are a pretty and practical way to bring diversity, elegance, and durability to open sweeps of lawn. Give your landscape a vibrant new palette that is both sustainable and low-maintenance through plantings of herbs, shrubs, mosses, and more. Barbara W. Ellis provides a variety of full-color lawn designs and professional planting advice to get you started. You’ll be amazed as your ordinary lawn transforms into a striking display of color and texture.

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Book SynopsisAdd a touch of the unexpected to your garden. From agaves to ice plants and sedums to sempervivums, hardy succulents can bring color, texture, and versatility to perennial flower beds in any climate. This comprehensive guide offers clear growing instructions accompanied by vivid photography of these durable and beautiful plants. With tips on choosing the right varieties for every North American hardiness zone, you can enjoy all the quirky vibrancy of succulents wherever you live.

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Book SynopsisA survey of thirty well-conceived and beautiful contemporary landscapes and gardens in which design is driven first and foremost by ecologically appropriate plant selection. In contemporary American garden design, beauty for beauty’s sake is making a comeback. The sixty gardens featured here trace current planting trends across the country, showcasing the best designs of recent years from the verdant Pacific Northwest to the tailored Eastern Seaboard, as well as prairies in Denver and Texas and exquisitely detailed private gardens in the Southwest that create a sense of lushness even while working exclusively within the vocabulary of cactuses and succulents. Plants are used to reinforce meaningful content, ecological strategies, and, most importantly, to create immersive and emotional experiences. As the movements of architectural, naturalistic, meadow, matrix, graphic, and ecological planting design have been adopted in such notable incarnations as the High Line in New York and Citygarden in St. Louis, they have rekindled interest in using plants that suit a given site’s ecology - and in letting plants, rather than hardscape elements, lead design. Residential as well as public gardens are featured, and all are united by an immediately perceptible, intelligent selection of plants that create an enthralling, memorable, and fitting sense of place: this is what makes a garden truly authentic. Over 250 full-color images reveal gardens created by the top American firms working today, including Andrea Cochran, Jack deLashmet, Doyle Herman, Elysian Landscapes, Gustafson Guthrie Nichol, Hoerr Schaudt, Ron Lutsko, Steve Martino, Nelson Byrd Woltz, Nievera Williams, Oehme van Sweden, OLIN, Raymond Jungles, Christine Ten Eyck, Bernard Trainor, and Michael Vergason, as well as beautiful gems of gardens by lesser known regional firms. Detail as well as overview images of gardens throughout the seasons and abundant plant identifications make this volume a valuable reference for all home gardeners as well as landscape design professionals interested in tracing the themes prevalent in contemporary American gardens.Trade Review“While lavish collections of gardens proliferate in this publishing category, it is rare to find one that foregrounds the importance of planting design. Richard Hartlage and Sandy Fischer, the principals of Seattle-based Land Morphology, have selected projects from all over the world in which 'plants, rather than hardscape elements, lead design.' The work of landscape architects, some well-known for their planting design, others less so, is prominently featured and discussed in each project, another layer that sets this book apart from the typical garden coffee table book. Although the prose is pitched at knowledgeable amateurs rather than design professionals, this beautifully photographed book succeeds in placing the projects in the context of design history.” - Landscape Architecture “The push toward naturalistic landscapes can be traced to Europe’s emphasis on meadow, matrix, and graphic planting design. The history of landscape architecture and its influence on contemporary trends are explored in a new book The Authentic Garden.” - Architectural Digest online

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Book SynopsisBuild an efficient and productive garden! These 39 simple-to-make projects are designed to increase your harvest while simultaneously making your garden chores easier. Requiring no specialized equipment or previous woodworking experience, detailed step-by-step instructions guide you through the construction of cold frames, compost bins, raised beds, potting benches, trellises, and more. Most of the projects can be made in just a few hours, so you can spend more time enjoying your beautiful and thriving garden.

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Book Synopsis“This thoughtful, intelligent book is all about connectivity, addressing a natural world in which we are the primary influence.” —The New York Times Books Review Many gardeners today want a home landscape that nourishes and fosters wildlife, but they also want beauty, a space for the kids to play, privacy, and maybe even a vegetable patch. Sure, it’s a tall order, but The Living Landscape shows you how to do it. You’ll learn the strategies for making and maintaining a diverse, layered landscape—one that offers beauty on many levels, provides outdoor rooms and turf areas for children and pets, incorporates fragrance and edible plants, and provides cover, shelter, and sustenance for wildlife. Richly illustrated and informed by both a keen eye for design and an understanding of how healthy ecologies work, The Living Landscape will enable you to create a garden that fulfills both human needs and the needs of wildlife communities.

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Book Synopsis“If you want to successfully add more bold fronds and a tropical style to your landscape, Designing With Palms is the comprehensive book for you.” —Gardenista Palms are a landscape staple in warm, temperate climates worldwide. But these stunning and statement-making plants are large, expensive, and difficult to install, resulting in unique design challenges. In Designing with Palms, palm expert Jason Dewees details every major aspect of designing and caring for palms. This definitive guide shares essential information on planting, irrigation, nutrition, pruning, and transplanting. A gallery of the most important species showcases the range of options available, and stunning photographs by Caitlin Atkinson spotlight examples of home and public landscapes that make excellent use of palms.

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Book Synopsis“Delightful!” —The New York Times Book Review Discover a world of beauty and creativity! Chanticleer has been called the most romantic, imaginative, and exciting public garden in America. It is a place of pleasure and learning, relaxing yet filled with ideas to take home. And now those lessons are available for everyone in this stunning book! You’ll learn techniques specific to different conditions and plant palettes; how to use hardscape materials in a fresh way; and how to achieve the perfect union between plant and site. And Rob Cardillo’s exquisite photographs of exciting combinations will be sure to stimulate your own creativity. Whether you’re already under Chanticleer’s spell or have yet to visit, The Art of Gardening will enable you to bring the special magic that pervades this most artful of gardens into your own home landscape.

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Book Synopsis“No matter the size or shape of your growing area, this will guide you through creating a butterfly-friendly space.” —Mother Earth News Welcome the world’s most exquisite visitors to your garden! Gardening for Butterflies, by the experts at the Xerces Society, introduces you to a variety of butterflies who need our help, and shows you how to design a habitat where they will thrive. This optimistic call to arms is packed with everything you need to create a beautiful, pollinator-friendly garden. You will learn why butterflies matter, why they are in danger, and what simple steps we can take to make a difference. You'll also learn how to choose the right plants and how to create a garden that flutters and flourishes with life.

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Book SynopsisGarden with the confidence of a winner! Proven Winners is America’s #1 plant brand. And now they are sharing their expert plant knowledge and creative design ideas in their first book, The Proven Winners Garden Book. This definitive guide starts with lessons on how to prepare a space, tips on choosing the right design, and a primer on buying the right plants. Twelve garden plans provide simple design ideas that will add curb appeal to your home garden. They include: ·A welcoming entryway ·A butterfly and pollinator garden ·A fragrant flower garden ·A shady summertime retreat ·A deer-resistant gardenThere are an additional twenty-five container recipes that add color and pizzazz to gardens of all sizes—even on balconies and patios. The creative combinations include holiday themes, solutions for shade and other concerns, poolside ideas, and much more.

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