Hyacinths won’t grow in the desert, so why struggle to create a shaded damp environment for them. Instead, why not create a garden haven that is sympathetic to its natural environment? Considering a variety of climates, soil conditions, and animal and insect species, this book is both an inspiration and practical guide to creating a harmonious, garden without taxing the environment. 220 color photos.
Making the Most of Outdoor Spaces
An outdoor space is a room with a view-anything from a family garden or an exposed roof terrace to a tiny balcony. These spaces often present a challenge to the decorator because of their exposure to weather, their limited size, and their unusual shape. This affordable book offers countless ideas for creating gorgeous outdoor rooms as gathering places for friends and family, or as soothing hideaways.
From assessing space to lighting, furniture, and planting, every page is filled with solutions. Full-color photographs, useful checklists, and three actual garden “makeovers” show how any outside space can be transformed into a lovely extension of the home.
Anyone Can Landscape!
Does your yard look more like Herman Munster’s than Martha Stewart’s? Do you think Mother Nature has it in for you? Or are you just tired of looking at the same landscape you’ve had since you moved in and don’t know how to change it?
If any of this sounds familiar, help has arrived! Landscape designer and Washington Post columnist Joel M. Lerner reveals the secrets to a landscape that fits the home owner’s personality in his latest book, Anyone Can Landscape! With full-color photos and sample design layouts, Joel explains the fundamentals of design principles and how to apply them.
Anyone Can Landscape! is written for the inexperienced do-it-yourselfer as well as for the seasoned weekend warrior. Part 1 lays out the basics of design, including design principles, drafting the layout, preparing the site, and acquiring materials. Part 2 addresses the practical aspects to a landscape, such as designing for athletic areas, screening and noise abatement, disabled access, utility areas, and security. Part 3 discusses the structural elements in a landscape-structures, sculpture, fences and walls, decks and walkways, and pools and water gardens, to name just a few. The organic parts of a landscape are presented in Part 4, with annuals, perennials, trees and shrubs, lawns, and various theme gardens each receiving their own chapter.
“If your landscape has you challenged, then this book will provide you with the tools needed to begin building your garden,” enthuses Holly H. Shimizu, the Executive Director of the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. And Betsy Flack, a landscape architect from San Francisco says this is “a great guide to life-long entertainment . . . many sensible design concepts, solutions, and practical applications.”
