Garden Design

For those who want a beautiful garden but don't have the time or the money to develop a plan, this title offers a selection of off-the-peg designs to suit a range of styles, tastes and pockets. There is a design for every type of garden, from the low-cost family garden to a town garden for entertaining, each one accompanied by a complete planting plan. With 20 imaginative designs to suit every taste and lifestyle - from a container garden to the latest in gravel gardens - all are guaranteed to transform even the most unpromising plot.

isbn: 9781841882086

To make the most of a small garden it is essential to have a really successful, well thought out design. Careful forward planning and organisation are essential if the various elements of the garden are not only to be fitted into the available space but are to be arranged in a way that prevents them from appearing cramped and impractical. Here are 20 imaginative designs to suit every taste and lifestyle - from a container garden to the latest in gravel gardens - all are guaranteed to transform even the most unpromising plot.

ISBN: 9781841881270

There is a revival of interest in growing food, but as gardens become smaller many people find it difficult to find the space or vote for flowers over food, fearing that vegetables and fruits won't be quite as attractive. "The All-in-one Garden" proves that this isn't the case. Whether you've got acres, a yard or even a window-box, Graham Rice shows that you can integrate food plants into your garden in an attractive way. Some food plants are inherently ornamental, with eye-catching flowers, foliage or fruits. Others have been developed to be ornamental, providing the perfect combination of form and flavour. The true way of having your cake and eating it in garden terms, this is a new way of enjoying your garden to the full.

isbn: 1844034518

The elements of garden architecture - paths, walls, gates, fences, terraces, sheds, lighting, furniture, waterworks and art - together form the backbone of any well-designed garden. In this illustrated and accessible book, landscape architect James van Sweden explains how to design and build a garden like a professional. Each case study highlights a particular architectural element, breaking it down into practical ideas that any gardener can apply to his or her own garden, including dozens of detailed schematic drawings that can be used to build many of the elements described by the author, along with an extensive illustrated glossary. This book aims to inspire you with its many practical ideas on how to domesticate your landscape and design an outdoor space that suits your taste as well as your lifestyle.

isbn: 0711221898

Using architectural plants, a plain garden can become an exciting space filled with drama and dimension. Gem Architectural Plants is the only guide you need to successfully choose, plant and care for the most popular varieties. For year-round presence in the garden, architectural plants like ferns, palms, bamboo and cacti are a perfect solution. The unique shapes and exotic origins of these plants are guaranteed to make a statement. This indispensable guide, part of the successful Gem series, introduces the beginning gardener to one of the fastest growing areas of British horticulture today. Gem Architectural Plants begins with the basics of plant care, focusing especially on pruning in order to keep plants looking their best through every season. A directory of the most popular architectural plants provides essential information on where to site, height, spread and maintenance. With pruning and care tips for each plant, even the most inexperienced gardener can't go wrong. High-quality photography and clear design throughout make this guide the best way to bring your garden to life with architectural plants.

isbn: 0007201249

Architectural plants are plants that make a bold statement in the garden, such as ferns, palms, bamboos and cacti. Usually exotic, they are grown for their strong shape and year-round presence. Gardening with architectural plants is one of the fastest growing areas of horticulture in Britain. The bulk of this guide comprises a comprehensive directory of the most common architectural plants available for growing. Each entry includes: background information on general characteristics, planting and care; a table of plant care with easily accessed advice on soil, site, watering, pruning, general care and pests and diseases; colour-coded icons to indicate hardiness; and expert tip boxes. The book opens with a practical guide to essential gardening techniques, which covers: assessing your plot for soil quality, drainage, sun and shade; where to buy and how to tell if the plant is healthy; advice for planting trees and plants; creative ideas for planting combinations; specialist care for architectural plants throughout the year, including winter protection, brown bitting and pruning; and increasing stock with propagation techniques. The book closes with a section on plant problems, which includes a trouble-shooting chart to identify the problem and a directory of pests and diseases.

isbn: 0007146558

It is now a widely accepted practice to treat the garden as another room, with carefully considered surfaces and special, large, structural plants, such as palms, topiarised boxes and exotic shrubs, to achieve volume, form and drama in the garden. This beautifully illustrated and authoritatively written new book assumes no prior knowledge of garden design or plant cultivation, and looks at a variety of different ways of bringing shape, style and life into the garden. Over 100 stunning photographs illustrate an informed text which covers both plants and sculptures. A useful plant directory gives care instructions and preferred growing conditions for all the plants mentioned in the text. COVER PRICE £12.99

isbn: 184330466x

This is a guide to the old fashioned traditions of designing and planting herb and vegetable gardens, emphasizing artistic design. It offers information on designing kitchen gardens, plant selection, colour, texture, growing basics, seeds and seedlings, and following ideas from paper to garden.

isbn: 1561581801

This book presents a collection of over 15 dramatic designs for your lawn ranging from the straightforward to the spectacular, and guaranteed to leave your neighbours green with envy. It contains easy-to-follow mowing instructions for a wide variety of projects, from a simple chequerboard pattern to more intricate christmas tree and eagle designs. All you need is a lawn, a lawnmower and a length of string to create the sensational designs - then sit back and watch your neighbours drool!

ISBN: 9780715325773

Artists' Garden are places of both creation and inspiration, often the most personal reflection of their minds and works. This beautifully illustrated book celebrates the gardens of the twenty artists worldwide, exploring the close links between the artists, their works and their gardens and local landscapes. .

ISBN: 9780753712849

The Arts and Crafts movement laid the foundations for gardening as we know it. This book examines the architectural features and planting trends that defined the style in Britain, America, Europe and Scandinavia and considers the legacy of Arts and Crafts gardening as a profound and sensual philosophy, still relevant to gardeners today. The idea of the garden as an outdoor living room, a seamless extension of the planning and decoration of the house, was an ARts and Crafts invention. Sheltering porches and finely crafted front doors, emblazoned with the tree of life or simply presenting the quality of their natural materials, diminished the boundary between the building and its surroundings. Verandas and pergolas entwined with roses and white wisteria drew people out of doors while arbours and summer houses were designed with an element of make-believe, creating spaces for the imagination at the same time as defining the structure of the garden and catering for the practicalities of living outside. Gardening and design celebrities such as William Robinson, Gertrude Jekyll and William Morris expounded the philosophy behind the style. Their rejection of ostentatious display and their insistence upon simplicity, craftsmanship, tradition and a reverence for nature in all its forms established a new agenda in garden-making which still resonates today.

ISBN: 9781851774487

The Arts and Crafts movement laid the foundations for gardening as we know it. This book examines the architectural features and planting trends that defined the style in Britain, America, Europe and Scandinavia and considers the legacy of Arts and Crafts gardening as a profound and sensual philosophy, still relevant to gardeners today. The idea of the garden as an outdoor living room, a seamless extension of the planning and decoration of the house, was an ARts and Crafts invention. Sheltering porches and finely crafted front doors, emblazoned with the tree of life or simply presenting the quality of their natural materials, diminished the boundary between the building and its surroundings. Verandas and pergolas entwined with roses and white wisteria drew people out of doors while arbours and summer houses were designed with an element of make-believe, creating spaces for the imagination at the same time as defining the structure of the garden and catering for the practicalities of living outside. Gardening and design celebrities such as William Robinson, Gertrude Jekyll and William Morris expounded the philosophy behind the style. Their rejection of ostentatious display and their insistence upon simplicity, craftsmanship, tradition and a reverence for nature in all its forms established a new agenda in garden-making which still resonates today.

ISBN: 9781862053854

The first book devoted to the subject, Autumn Bulbs covers over 30 genera and hundreds of species and cultivars in depth. Unlike spring-flowering bulbs, which need to settle in over the winter before blooming, autumn bulbs are planted in late summer to early autumn and flower later the same season. New and well-established autumn bulbs are featured, and the genera covered include: Aconite, Allium, Amaryllis, Anenome, Arum, Biarum, Codonopsis, Colchicum, Crinum, Crocus, Cyclamen, Cypella, Eucomis, Galanthus, Gladiolus, Habranthus, Hippeastrum, Leucojum, Lilium, Merendera, Muscari, Narcissus, Nerine, Oxalis, Pinellia, Rhodophiala, Scilla, Schizostylis, Sternbergia, Tigridea, Tropaeolum, Zephyranthes. The range ensures that the reader makes the most of their garden in the later months of the year. Fully illustrated with colour photography, the book covers: Cultivation: for the garden, for pots and frames. It includes details on siting and using microclimates within the garden in order to extend what can be grown successfully in our changing climate; Propagation techniques; Plant associations to add freshness to the dying days of summer; History of plant introductions - the gardeners, nurseries and plant hunters

ISBN: 9780713489620

This book, first published in 1912 by "Country Life", contains the substance of a legend, when the Arts and Crafts Movement had evolved into country house architecture and then found expression in the making of gardens. Both Gertrude Jekyll and Lawrence Weaver were working on "Country Life" in its early days under its founder and owner, Edward Hudson. Lawrence Weaver was an architect, the Architectural Editor of "Country Life", with an immense eye for detail and the intricacies of fine craftmanship. Gertrude Jekyll was art school trained, and into her second life as a gardener. In collaborating to write this book, the two authors found an area of common ground and revelled in their mutual intuitive, artistic and historic gardening ideas. For its craftmanship and planting relationships, as well as in its use as a practical handbook, useful for the restoration of gardens, readers of this book should find it no less pertinent to the present than when it was first published.

isbn: 9781870673167

Diana Snape and her colleagues are passionate about Australian gardens and their enthusiasm pervades the wealth of information in this book. Australia enjoys an astonishing range of unusual and beautiful plants. "The Australian Garden" shows how Australian plants can be used in all major gardening styles. Choices include the untouched natural garden, arid, country, walkabout, grassland, cottage, wildflower, small and courtyard, plus formal gardens where control, however unobtrusive, is of the essence. The book provides a vast array of Australian plants for designing groundcovers, features, ornamentals, infill or for almost any purpose. Many other aspects of design are covered, such as the beauty and tranquility of water in the garden, the joy of living with Australian wildlife and maintaining a sense of harmony amidst a mini native ecosystem.COVER PRICE £19.95

isbn: 9781870673464

Aimed at all those new homeowners who inherit a bare plot from the builders, this title reveals how to make your garden work for you from the very beginning with simple solutions and instant transformations. It includes six off-the-peg designs aimed to inspire and take you step-by-step through the process of planning your perfect garden. In time when budget allows, you can add more features from the guide, developing your garden without wasting anything you may have done so far.

isbn: 0600607828

Gathers information on the characteristics and uses of plants that promote the growth of other varieties, offering descriptions of helpful weeds and insect-repellent plants.

isbn: 1580170277

In this volume, Maggy Howarth shares her practical experience, artistic enthusiasm and the fruits of her travels and research, which have uncovered much new information on this little-known art. Both beautiful and durable, pebble mosaics are a wonderful addition to gardens, patios and public spaces. This is a complete sourcebook for enthusiasts and landscape designers - an accessible and illustrated guide for creating basic to advanced projects from start to finish. This handbook features: materials, tools and techniques, both traditional and modern; how to choose pebbles and stones for shape and strength; step-by-step instructions for making mosaics; advice on designing successful mosaics from simple sketches to scaling up and a survey of traditional styles throughout the world and a gallery of work by contemporary pebble mosaic artists.

ISBN: 9780711222830

The book takes a comprehensive approach to the complex process of Planting Design. It shows how to choose and combine plants for specific effects: for year-round colour and interest; for drama and movement; and to overcome site difficulties. From initial vision to finished planting, the book clearly explains the practical steps, considerations, opportunities and decisions that need to be taken. This process can be applied to readers' own gardens, and it will also allow them to take their skills further into other people's gardens.

ISBN: 9781845334123

This work offers simple steps to gardening success, from the experts at the RHS. Follow RHS show-how and know-how for a garden that looks great all year round (whatever size it is). Inspirational tips and techniques on decorating with pots, hanging baskets, creating themes, selecting the best plants, mulching, pests and more guarantee success. Get perfect results: whether you're a green-fingered guru or a gardening novice. For more step-by-step gardening advice, pick up other titles from this series.COVER PRICE £6.99

ISBN: 9781405315920

Covering both basic and more advanced information , this book on the cottage garden includes a clear explanation of the subject, equipment and preparation. Detailed step-by-step photographs and instructions take the reader systematically through all the techniques.

isbn: 0751307025

There is perhaps no style of garden more emotive and evocative than the cottage garden - imbued with a sense of romance, idealised by writers and painters, and so alluring to garden makers all over the world, it has been fashionable for nearly two centuries. But, today we often think of it as outdated, old fashioned, past its sell-by date. Wrong! With the hustle and bustle of today's frantic lifestyle, the cottage garden has never been more appropriate. It is the distillation of the essence of what a garden should be - it is a place of beauty, repose and tranquillity. It enables us to get back in touch with the soil, to enjoy the hugely rewarding, but simple pleasures of sowing seed and taking cuttings, of caring for plants and watching them grow and thrive, of harvesting and eating home grown produce. And when the work is done, we can relax in a beautiful, sweetly scented floral retreat. COVER PRICE £12.99

ISBN: 9781903221754

This work includes ingenious solutions for creating small, secluded gardens for outdoor living; gives blueprints for designing, building and decorating a courtyard including barbecues, water features & decking; shows how to bring a courtyard alive with detailed planting blueprints; and is written by an eminent and best selling author. "Courtyard Gardens" is packed with imaginative ideas for creating small, secluded gardens for outdoor living. Whether you are starting with a new plot or transforming an existing garden into a private haven, this books offers a wealth of design and planting solutions. This book features 18 three dimensional plans for classic garden styles that can be adopted for all different sizes and uses, from the classical garden through renaissance courtyards and Mediterranean styles to classical Japanese gardens. The book contains hundreds of ideas for wall. Screens, floors, water features and lighting as well as a directory to plants give guidance on the best type of plants for different types of garden. COVER PRICE £12.99

ISBN: 9781903221747

A guide to selecting and maintaining low-allergy plants. The author deals with the causes of allergies and how to avoid them, as well as offering inspirational ideas for designing a low-allergen garden. COVER PRICE £14.99

isbn: 1857324544

Many gardeners today would like to create more wildlife-friendly gardens, but may feel restricted by their situation, or put off by assuming that they will have to make huge changes to an established plot. This practical book will scotch any myths about wildlife gardening, and encourage everyone, wherever they garden, to invite wildlife to share their outdoor spaces. There are practical ideas for gardens of all sizes and in varied situations, with a special chapter on wildlife gardening in towns: the smallest shady garden can support a range of wildlife and even a window-box or hanging basket in an urban apartment block can make a difference, if you ensure ingredients like extra food in winter, plants that sustain insects and bright or aromatic plants are planted to attract animals and keep them returning. From the best sites for ponds to the right plants to feed various fauna, this book should ensure both you and the wildlife enjoy your garden as fully as possible.
COVER PRICE £18.99

isbn: 1844030350

Today's most innovative garden designer, Diarmuid Gavin, shares advice, inspiration and ideas on how to design your garden. Diarmuid's ten, easy-to-follow, practical steps cover everything from the basics of good design, to assessing your plot and using plants for style and affect. This practical guide will give you the confidence to create and express your own unique style, whatever your garden space.

isbn: 1405305452

How often have you wished that you could create a little corner of the Mediterranean in your own garden? How often have you wished that you could eliminate the strenuous and time-consuming chore of watering the garden? How often have you though about growing Mediterranean plants but feared they could not survive in a cooler, less hospitable climate? By following the advice in this book, you can do all these things and more. You can create a truly beautiful garden using exciting and exotic plants, yet at the same time eliminate the need for extra water and reduce the maintenance required. Fully illustrated throughout with scores of photographs and the author's own meticulous drawings of plants, this book offers inspiration to anyone wishing to incorporate a dash of Mediterranean style into their garden.

ISBN: 9781861267825

Each designer has contributed four completely original designs and there are borders for every situation, season and taste, each one stamped with the individuality and personality of its designer. They range from a sunny Mediterranean border, a shady woodland border and a colourful summer border to an oriental border, a single colour border and an easy care border. The designs are accompanied by a detailed planting plan, a 3-dimensional realization and plant portraits to inspire amateurs to think like professionals when planning their borders. COVER PRICE £20.00

isbn: 1844030105

Charlie Dimmock presents this fun, down-to-earth book to inspire everyone to have a go in their garden. With over 200 illustrations this is for those who fancy getting their hands dirty, but have been put off by all the Latin plant names. THIS IS A NEW UNREAD BOOK BUT THE DUSTJACKET HAS SIGNS OF SHELF WEAR

isbn: 0718144295

An inspirational guide to adding decorative features and ornaments for all styles of outside space. Looks at the practicalities of decorating a range of different gardens, from Formal and Romantic Gardens, to Mediterranean and Japanese Gardens, to Seashore and Contemporary Gardens. Includes easy-to-follow, step-by-step projects for unique creative ideas such as a distinctive mosaic table, painted terracotta pots, metal mobiles to catch the breeze and even a Willow and Hazel Pig sculpture. The book looks in detail at how to decorate your garden, starting with amterials for embellishing the garden floor, and how to use paint, mirrors, tiles and mosaics to transform the boundaries. Decorative structures such as arches and arbours, pergolas and gazebos are described as are the vast array of containers, statues and sculptures, garden lighting and water features. With its stunning original photographs and helpful advice, this is a perfect sourcebook of inspirational ideas for turning your garden into a work of art, whether you are choosing a piece of sculpture or designing a stylish garden from scratch.

ISBN: 9781903141328

This is an essential reference for anyone wanting to make the most of their garden, whatever the size, situation or budget. It guides the gardener through the key principles of garden design, from choosing suitable plants and installation to maintaining the garden for years to come. It includes over 150 designs and 1,000 inspirational photographs of award-winning gardens worldwide. This is a resource that will be turned to time and time again when creating the right look for your garden.

isbn: 0715322281

Every gardener wants to create the perfect garden. With this in mind, this planning guide features more than 1000 individual plants in combination with other plants, showing over 4000 imaginative and visually effective displays, providing detailed information about which plants go best together according to location, soil type, climatic and seasonal considerations. Separate chapters are devoted to shrubs, small trees, roses, climbers, perennials, annuals and bulbs.

isbn: 1552096238

Fresh, sweet, delicate, intoxicating - scent stimulates and engages our senses and is inextricably linked to the garden. This captivating book will enable you to turn your garden into an oasis of fragrance. Divided up season-by-season, the book is presented as a gardening calendar, comprising tasks, propagation, planting advice and practical step-by-step projects featuring scented plants. Whether you want to design a fragrant garden from scratch, harvest flowers for drying, or enjoy scented containers, this book will enable you to get the most out of your garden all year round. COVER PRICE £14.99

isbn: 1853919683

Whether you are creating a garden from scratch or rejuvenating an existing garden, applying some basic design principles can help you to make the most of your outdoor space.In "Garden Design", expert gardener and Chelsea Flower Show gold-medalist Andrew McIndoe provides easy-to-follow advice on the whole process: from planning through to realisation.This title covers many different garden challenges, including slopes, narrow spaces, tiny courtyards, large plots and new gardens. It offers ideas on choosing the paving, buildings, features and structures that together will create the set for the real stars of the garden stage - the plants. It encourages you to consider the way your plants are put together in terms of shape, colour and texture, allowing you to achieve a garden that really has its own identity.

ISBN: 9780715328576

If you would like to avoid the expense of a garden designer yet still achieve an original and beautiful outdoor space, this book will show you how. With 40 fabulous garden designs to copy - or mix and match different elements to suit your own particular space - create the ideal garden with the minimum of fuss, time and effort. Designs range from 'The Scented Garden' and 'Rural Retreat' to the more contemporary 'Turning Japanese' or 'Simply Minimalist', and each contain expert tips and step-by-step projects. And with every type of space covered, from an urban rooftop to a cottage garden, there is something here for everyone.

ISBN: 9780600615415

How can you avoid the expense of a garden designer and yet still achieve an original and beautiful outdoor space? Over 40 garden designs are provided here that can achieve that designer look without breaking the bank. Step-by-step projects such as pergolas and arbours ensure that you ideal garden can look fabulous with the minimum of fuss, time and effort. Whether you have a balcony or a wide open space, there is something here for everyone, from cool contemporary to colourful cottage gardens.

ISBN: 9780753715192

Whether you want a wall, or a pond, a new look for your lawn or an inventive way to pave your patio, "Garden Design Details" is packed with hundreds of images and ideas. With practical information about what materials and designs will work in harmony with your garden, this book will open your eyes to the possibilities at hand. All the ideas are attainable and durable, with options for different styles and sizes of garden. Divided into four main chapters - Verticals; Horizontals; Punctuation; and Casework - the book discusses the main visual elements of a garden and then shows them in context through a selection of international case studies.In Verticals you'll find walls; hedges; fences; railings; trellis work; entrances and openings; gates; doors; level changes; feature plants and trees; woods; orchards; and land sculpture. Horizontals covers beds; borders; edging; paths; terraces; lawns; meadows; wild flower planting; knots; parterres; mazes; lakes; ponds; water features; natural swimming pools; stepping stones; land sculpture; and bridges. Punctuation discusses eye-catchers; seating; planters; pots and urns; statues; sculpture; fountains; arches; pergolas; tunnels; plant supports; and garden buildings. A final chapter of case studies shows the bigger picture with vertical, horizontal and punctuation design elements together in situ to show how they can be used to best advantage.The case studies illustrate a range of styles and settings including traditional, contemporary, minimal and international. Arne Maynard gives useful and practical advice for every type of garden from country acres to town courtyard. With over 350 photographs and design information covering everything from walls to paving, and fences to ponds, "Garden Design Details" is packed full of ideas.

ISBN: 9781840915082

This guide aims to maximise the potential of the often-neglected heart of the garden, and convert it into a stunning centre piece. With design considerations foremost, the text presents a variety of ideas, each of which comes accompanied by step-by-step instructions. COVER PRICE £16.99

ISBN: 9781859742747

Decorating and designing with mosaics has been popular for centuries. Mosaic is incredibly versatile and a whole range of effects can be achieved using ceramic, vitreous glass, marble, mirror or granite tiles.This stunning book explores the use of mosaic through 19 beautiful step-by-step projects for the garden. Adorned pots, garden figurines and ornaments, a bird bath and table, a sundial and more elaborate projects such as wall panels and stepping stones are just some of the projects featured in the book.With a comprehensive chapter on materials and techniques and clear step-by-step photographs and instructions throughout, this is the perfect guide for the beginner, as well as more experienced mosaic artist.

This text traces the use of ornamental features throughout the history of the Western garden, and explores the variety that are still being sold in salerooms. It presents some tried and tested principles of design that can still be applied to the typical modern garden. COVER PRICE £16.95

ISBN: 9780500280799

Providing practical projects and advice on how to make the most out of your outdoor space, this book contains over 30 original projects grouped together in themed chapters - seating and eating, wind and weather, birds and wildlife, creative containers, and inspirational ideas. A range of projects are included from simple decorative flowerpots to traditional wooden planters. There is a final section devoted to sources and techniques which includes information on using colour in the garden, paint finishes, and buying and preserving timber.COVER PRICE £16.99

ISBN: 9780600597421

This is a practical book divided into thematic chapters. The first chapter looks at the basic garden plan and how space can be used in different shaped or sized gardens. The following chapters look at ways of enlivening, or disguising unpleasant aspects of a gardens perimeters; how to make the most of both light and shade; the best ground surface substitutes for grass and paving; and ideas taken from stage designs to create theatrical effects in a garden, as well as how to rearrange space for a garden party.

ISBN: 9781845333072

The mix of sensuous sea air and rolling landscapes of flora and rock produce evocative gardens. Whether wild and rambling, sprouting naturally from the surrounding landscape, or a formally designed property punctuated with sculpture, they are gardens infused with romance and beauty. "Gardens by the Sea" gives a view of these gardens, some never before open to the public eye - with creations by Madison Cox and Tom Armstrong, former curator at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and Whitney Museum director, along the coasts of New England to internationally famous camellia specialist Jean Laborey in his exotic garden of Delvosalle in Brittany. For Tunisia, we visit a garden of sand; in Rhode Island we relax in a garden of grasses; a Buddha holds court beneath a climbing rose in Malibu; in Normandy a tower peeks above the palms. Each garden in the book is a fresh fantasy. PUBLISHED PRICE £29.95

WAS £9.99

ISBN: 9780500511077

For the first time, these birds-eye views of spectacular gardens from all over the world provide a totally new vision of the gardener's art. Anyone with an interest in gardens or landscape, and how they interact, cannot fail to be thrilled, amazed and informed by these extraordinary images. They are unlike anything seen before, and they present in each case an extraordinary overview - half maps, half illustration - of both familiar and unfamiliar gardens. One will never experience gardens in quite the same way again.

COVER PRICE £25.00

ISBN: 9780711224483

An exploration of over 100 private and public German gardens highlighting their most striking features and describing the distinctive character of each. Illustrations of each garden are provided. Included are specially created tours with route maps and nearby cultural sites of interested are noted. In the GARDENS OF series. COVER PRICE £14.99

ISBN: 9781857328974

In this book, Helen Dillon encapsulates, in her inimitable witty and accessible style, her lifetime of gardening know-how, deep love of plants and assured sense of design. Here is illumination for every gardener - from the beginner wondering why nothing will grow in the garden of the new house to the sophisticate aiming at exquisitely subtle effects. Thoughtful ideas on garden style are underpinned by practical advice on looking after plants and careful instructions on the basics of digging, planting and propagating. Helen Dillon teaches us all how to garden, and garden well. Helen Dillon is revered world-wide as one of the most skilled and perceptive gardeners of our time. She comes from Perthshire in Scotland and has been living in Ireland with her husband, Val, for the past thirty-four years. Much sought after as an author, broadcaster and garden consultant, she lectures frequently in the United States and New Zealand as well as all over Britain. She has also travelled extensively in order to study plants in Nepal, China, South America, South Africa and New Zealand. In 1999, she was awarded the Gold Veitch Memorial Medal of the Royal Horticultural Society in England and in 2003 the George Robert White Medal of Honour of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. In autumn 2004, she was made a Distinguished Counsellor to the Board of the New York Botanical Garden. Her garden in Dublin has been open to the public for the last twenty years.

ISBN: 9780711227101

This is a practical work book that goes from the basics of simple surveying, through the author's celebrated use of a design grid, to detailed styling and planting design. Topics covered also include the tools needed for designing a garden, construction details, how to design a larger garden, creating pools and other water features, and useful tips on how to research the original garden plan, as well as the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions people ask when designing part or all of their garden.

ISBN: 9781845332990

After a foreword by John Brookes himself and a brief introduction, "The Story of John Brookes" reveals all the influences that have come to bear on John's work plotting the major stages of his career. The chapter plots his growth as a garden designer, from his apprenticeship with the Nottingham Corporation Parks Department in 1954, through his work with Brenda Colvin and Sylvia Crowe in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and his setting up of his own garden and landscape design practice. His first successes in London town gardens in the 1960s are charted, as well as his key designs and educational achievements around the globe throughout his career, right up to his current position as the doyen of contemporary garden designers. The second chapter provides a fascinating insight into John Brookes' garden and landscape design work, by analysing 18 of his most significant designs and their execution. Written after extensive research, Barbara Simms summarises the history of each commission, the challenges John Brookes faced, and describes his design approach in meeting the brief. Some of John's original design sketches are reproduced and contemporary and recent photographs capture the development of each garden.

ISBN: 9781840914481

Keeping a healthy and verdant lawn can be a real challenge. Collins Practical Gardener Lawns looks at all imaginable aspects of starting and maintaining a lawn. Whether your lawn is mainly for your family or intended as a show piece, Lawns will provide all the know-how you need to design, prepare for, create and keep a lawn tailored to your needs. All the technical info is covered from ground roots up, including advice on sowing seeds, laying turf, buying equipment and making repairs. Individual design features are suggested, ranging from creating a wildflower meadow to planting bulbs through your lawn in eye-catching patterns and shapes. Each listing in the A-Z directory of grass types features a visual chart listing the best varieties and optimum sowing times. Quick-access care charts provide a hit list of care requirements and the troubleshooting chart tells you how to identify and solve many common problems. Also featured is a directory of pests, diseases and how to treat them, which means when something does go wrong you have all the information at your fingertips to help put it right. Full of information, advice and practical tips, this no-nonsense guide to lawns is the most informative reference of its kind! Contents include: / History of Lawns / Types of lawn / Designing a lawn / Site/aspect / Soil types / Drainage / Preparing for a new lawn / Seed sowing techniques / Laying turf / Aftercare of newly laid lawn / Lawn Maintenance - tools, irrigation / Lawn repairs / Other lawn features / A-Z Lawn Grasses / A-Z Lawn Weeds and Broadleaved Weeds / Troubleshooting / Pests and diseases / Common name plant index and subject index

isbn: 000718266x

An opening chapter, The Poetry, explains how the modern garden has evolved. The book is then split into a series of thematic chapters. The Grammar looks at the basic structure of garden design from initial thoughts, inspiration from the landscape, understanding of proportion, and underlying influences such as art and architecture; The Narrative considers styles of different types of modernist gardens, including roof gardens, courtyard gardens, urban gardens, country gardens, and landscape gardens; this chapter then looks at creative ways of using an ever-changing palette of plants in the modernist garden.

ISBN: 9781840007862

Gardens in the twentieth century reach back into the Victorian era and forward into the age of Land Art. Modern Garden Design traces the revolutionary postwar period - the Harvard rebels, Eckbo, Rose and Kiley; Noguchi, Burle Marx and Barragan - and the powerful influence of the Scandinavian landscape designers. The garden city is given close attention, from late Victorian Britain, through the Greenbelt Towns in the American Midwest, to the newest regeneration of urban centres worldwide. Notable artists and architects also feature here: Monet, Le Corbusier, Mondrian, Wright, Mies van der Rohe and Gaudi among others. Land artists have brought landscape and the garden into the 21st century - including Robert Smithson and Kathryn Gustafson in the US, Richard Long, Andy Goldsworthy and Ian Hamilton Finlay in the UK. This book will delight and inform everyone with an interest in gardens and contemporary culture.

ISBN: 9780500284216

A celebration of gardens in which man-made materials such as plastic perspex, steel, glass and textiles have been used by a new generation of garden designers to create gardens more in keeping with contemporary design and lifestyles. Award-winning and controversial garden designer Paul Cooper has chosen the best examples of New Tech gardens from all over the world including kinetic gardens, portable gardens, multi-experience gardens for use in both day- and night-time, instant-assembly gardens, and radical gardens that overthrow convention.

ISBN: 9781845332914

"A Pattern Garden" gives us the tools for creating our own highly satisfying garden spaces. Easton identifies 14 garden patterns that she sees as fundamental to successful design and that will turn any landscape into a memorable and rewarding retreat. This book will help you identify what pleases you, and why, and provide inspiration and direction in the planting and layout of your own garden. Discussions of essential patterns, such as the creation of paths or the incorporation of water into the garden, are complemented by concrete advice about plant selection.

ISBN: 9780881927801

In this fully revised edition of a classic design and style sourcebook, Robin Williams shows you how to make beautiful gardens in which every element fits harmoniously into a whole. With a wealth of examples and plans, including three-dimensional sketches, he sets out the general principles of garden design and guides you through the process of assessing the plot, finding a style and choosing every garden element, from paths to planting. The book shows a full range of types, materials and styles for every garden detail and advises on suitability for different garden situations, how to design and construct them and how best to place them. Straightforward explanation, professional experience and outstanding illustrations combine to make this a handbook on which anyone making a garden can completely depend.

ISBN: 9780711226326

London is a city of hidden gardens, a place where few ever glimpse the many colourful secrets behind the sober townhouse facades that give so little away. But the gardens are there, fascinating in their diversity and infinite in their variety, and beautifully revealed on the pages of this book. The secret gardens of London that are uncovered here go beyond convention; they range from the large, classical and formal, with simple, single colour schemes, to tiny gardens that run riot with colour of every imaginable hue. There are gardens on roofs and gardens in basements, gardens where the boundaries cannot be seen and gardens on terraces. There are gardens on top of the world, gardens with water - even gardens on water. There are gardens sheltered by tropical plants, or by billowing sails. There are English cottage gardens, and modern gardens that present sculpture outdoors. There are gardens of artists and gardens of practical enthusiasts. There are collectors' gardens, passionate plantsmen's gardens, gardens restored, revived or reclaimed. The gardens revealed here in this intriguing selection of unique places - thanks to the shared dreams of the owners and the ingenuity of London's finest designers - will delight and inspire anyone with an interest in gardens, gardening - and learning one or two secrets along the way.

ISBN: 9780500511787

Shady parts of the garden throw up all sorts of problems when it comes to choosing plants - and keeping them alive. Full of practical advice and step-by-step instructions, Collins Practical Gardener Plants for Shade will show you what plants to put where - and how to keep them thriving. With its clear, practical advice on assessing your garden for different types of shade, guidance is given to what you should plant where for maximum success. All the technical know-how you'll need is covered, from digging, shaping borders and fixing trellis to planting, mulching and pruning. It is packed with practical ideas for tackling shade-related problems and innovative suggestions, from painting walls to using mirrors, raised beds or sculptures to lift those dingy corners. A comprehensive A-Z directory listing over 100 genera of shade-loving herbaceous plants, bulbs, ferns, climbers and shrubs provides at-a-glance reference on care needs and individual varieties - no more wading through heavy text to find the right plant. Another invaluable feature is the diagnostic troubleshooting chart, enabling you to identify plant problems from the symptoms so you no longer need to know what the problem is before you can solve it. Packed with information, advice and practical tips this 21st-century guide to plants for shade is the most attractive and down-to-earth reference of its kind. Contents include: / Assessing your garden for shade / Design solutions / Choosing plants / Good planting combinations / Preparing the area / Planting step-by-step / Mulching / Watering / Pruning / A-Z directory / Troubleshooting chart / Pests and diseases / Common name plant index and subject index

ISBN: 9780007182985

Whether you have just moved into a new home and want to create a garden from scratch or simply adapt an existing plot, the informative text and structured record pages will guide you from inspiration to realization. Hardback with spiral binding, this is the place to organize your ideas, decide your priorities, find out how to survey your plot, sketch out designs and keep a photographic record of 'befores' and 'afters', as well as monitor your budget. Graph paper and storage pockets are included. Throughout is plenty of advice to help you create the garden of your dreams that fulfils your wishes and suits your lifestyle.

ISBN: 9780711228177

Portable Drama, Staging Incidents, Zonal Denial - all these and more concepts presented by iconoclastic and trend-setting garden visionary Thomas Hobbs in this challenging, cutting-edge book on innovative garden design. Using examples from exceptional gardens throughout North America and Europe, Hobbs shows how freeing up the mind from the bonds of conventional garden design concepts can result in gardens of singular allure. Hobbs attests that we can learn from Nature how best to blend colour, texture, and species of plants to create beauty in the garden. It is luxuriantly illustrated with over 190 striking four-colour photographs.

ISBN: 9780794650216

There are huge advantages for the gardener in growing native plants: local plants are low maintenance because they are adapted to local soils and they will usually withstand adverse weather conditions, such as summer droughts. Many will also grow in difficult areas in poor soil conditions. But perhaps the best reason for growing them is that they help to sustain and preserve the natural biodiversity of the local area: insects, birds and other animals depend on them for food and shelter. "Starting Out with Native Plants" illustrates and catalogues all the plants, excluding trees and shrubs, which are native to Britain. For each plant there are details of its size, habit, flowering season, hardiness, soil and site requirements, propagation and pruning methods, providing British gardeners with an instant and valuable source of reference for their local plant heritage. COVER PRICE £14.99

ISBN: 9781845376697

Increasing numbers of gardeners wish to modify their gardening habits to benefit the local wildlife. "Sticky Wicket: Gardening in Tune with Nature" shows how this can be done. Pam Lewis' initial plan for Sticky Wicket, her garden in Dorset, was to take a painterly approach to combining colours in the flower borders. But, as the years passed, she realized that what she really wanted was to strike a balance between her desire for a beautiful garden and the needs of the insects, birds and small mammals that shared it with her. Pam's garden is now that rare treat: a feast for the eye and one for the local wildlife, too. This book, an account of the process, is both sharply observed and full of valuable information for those who want to learn from her experiences. Those interested in wildflower meadows will enjoy Pam's first book, "Making Wildflower Meadows", about the five different meadows at Sticky Wicket.COVER PRICE £16.99

ISBN: 9780711227590

Succulent plants offer dazzling possibilities for garden design and require only minimal maintenance to remain lush and alluring year round. Featuring the work of more than 50 professional garden designers and creative homeowners, this complete design compendium is as practical as it is inspirational. Lavishly illustrated with over 300 photographs, it gives design and cultivation basics for paths, borders, slopes, and containers; hundreds of succulent plant recommendations; and descriptions of 90 easy-cares, drought-tolerant companion plants. Beginners and experienced designers, landscapers, and collectors alike will find what they need to visualize, create, and nurture the three-dimensional work of art that is the succulent garden.

ISBN: 9780881928167

Trees are an underappreciated and underused aspect of the garden. Their 'bendy' form means they can be manipulated and pruned into fantastic shapes, which can transform a garden from ordinary to entirely unique. The authors, Ivan Hicks and Richard Rosenfeld, show how trees and shrubs can be turned into practical and fun towers for children to play in, bent over as pliable saplings to create bridges, arches, tunnels and temples, planted in semi-circles or pairs to create arbours and arches or even transformed into conceptual sculptures. Accessible and practical, this text is accompanied by the author's original concept sketches and a wealth of beautiful photos showing the sculptures in situ. These inspirational ideas are supported by lists of trees and horticultural information suitable to the related project. The book is divided into seven main chapters: chapter one covers how trees grow and the basic points of arboriculture; chapter two lists the best trees to use for the many projects included; chapters three through to six cover the many forms one can create and includes tricks suitable for the urban gardener or those with small balconies or terraces; the final section comprises a comprehensive plant directory. With many simple tricks and quick ideas, as well as more challenging projects, "Tree Sculpture" will inspire readers to view trees and shrubs as potential design aspects of their garden.

ISBN: 9781862057340

This practical handbook shows how to turn a garden into a fantasy of exotic contrasts: thrusting spikes alongside feathery grasses and vibrant colours against a deep green backdrop. It has advice on growing exotic plants in non-tropical climates, showing that exotic specimens can be easy to manage. PUBLISHED PRICE £16.95

WAS £6.99

ISBN: 9781861082374

This is the most authoritative and inspiring source of garden design knowledge, ideas and advice. Author of "Small Garden", John Brookes draws on 40 years of gardening expertise and shows you how to be creative in your garden. Find out how to make any outside space beautiful, from looking at enclosures like walls, boundaries and fences, to creative structures including arbours and arches to the scale, form or colour your plants should follow. Using inspiring photographs, annotated sketches and diagrams John shows you how to turn theory into reality in your space, drawing on his own work and the best of other designers.

ISBN: 9781405320191

Full of advice and clear instructions, Collins Practical Gardener Wild Gardens is the most comprehensive guide to creating a wild garden. One of the latest titles in the successful Practical Gardener series, Wild Gardens will teach you the skills, techniques and planning needed in creating the perfect wild garden. Wild Gardens explores a range of planting options and combinations, from wild flower favourites such as poppies, daisies and cornflowers to rambling climbers like honeysuckle and clematis. Covering many varieties of grasses and prairie plants, Wild Gardens also details an assortment of styles and garden themes to choose from, including the planting of bluebells, ferns and snowdrops to achieve a pastoral woodland look. Useful information on matching plants to wildlife is also included, directing the gardener towards high pollinating plants for attracting butterflies, as well as outlining handy tips for dealing with pests, diseases and other plant viruses. Every alphabetically listed genera is supplied with background information, planting suggestions, illustrations and a visual chart providing details on the specific needs and qualities of each plant. Also included is a handy, quick reference care and troubleshooting chart enabling you to identify, diagnose and remedy plant problems from their symptoms. Packed full with information and great ideas, Wild Gardens is an invaluable addition to the Collins Practical Gardener series and is one of the most attractive and useful guides of its kind.

isbn: 0007183976