An Arcadian Landscape. The California Gardens of A.E. Hanson

The architect of some of Southern California’s most notable and spectacular gardens of the 1920′s. This book reconstructs the making of nine of them, including the Harold Lloyd estate in Beverly Hills, the Andalusian garden of Archibald Young in Pasadena, and the Italian garden of Kirk Johnson in Montecito. The autobiographic first chapter gives an engaging account of Hanson’s self training in the profession and his dealings with clients.


An Arcadian Landscape. The California Gardens of A.E. Hanson

Last Landscapes: The Architecture of the Cemetery in the West

Last Landscapes explores death and the landscape of the cemetery. The picturesque village churchyard; the tightly packed “historic cities of the dead” such as the Jewish Cemetery in Prague; the war cemeteries of Northern France; the modernism of the Stockholm Woodland Cemetery; the graveyards of North America — in discussing the history and culture of these architectural expressions of memory and loss, Ken Worpole also -locates the national, religious and romantic attitudes they express. This evocative book, which also examines the contemporary memorialization of artists such as Rachel Whiteread and Ian Hamilton Finlay, contains more than 100 color pictures.


Last Landscapes: The Architecture of the Cemetery in the West

Useful Backyard Landscaping Ideas

There are various backyard landscaping ideas that you can use to transform an ordinary tract of real estate into something worth marveling at. Any backyard can be transformed for the better with the right ideas and the right amount of effort. Just try to keep your imagination and creativity working. In no time at all, you will be able to make something beautiful out of your ordinary backyard.The most effective method of transforming any ordinary backyard is with the use of plants for landscaping. Creating a garden full of plants can help make any backyard spring to life. There are many way in which you can make different plants work to the advantage of your backyard. Choosing the plants that you wish to have on your backyard would give a different feel to your entire home later on.If you wish to make your home look stately, you may want to plant some stately trees in your backyard. Having evergreens for example as part of your landscaping plans can give your home that noble look that you mostly see in elegant mansions and homes. You cans imply create that same elegance with the addition of evergreen on your backyard.If you wish to add some color into your backyard, you may want to add up some flowering plants here in there to give a tinge of contrast on your surroundings. You may want to have beautiful red roses lining up a path way or bunched up together in a garden to create that bouquet of color on a chosen spot. You may even choose to make use of several flowering plants of various colors to keep your backyard even more colorful.If you wish to add some color but may not have the time to care for the plants regularly, you may choose to make use of wildflowers that usually require little maintenance in order to thrive. Using the may even give your backyard that rugged and unpolished look that you may prefer over manicured lawns and seemingly artificial backyard landscapes. Using plants can even help in making your own backyard easier to maintain. If it is your usual problem trying to mow an extensive area of your backyard, putting up a garden can easily reduce the lawn area that may need mowing. You can choose between putting up a vegetable or flower garden for this one. But bear in mind that putting up a vegetable garden may take a lot of patience since it may take usually a couple of months before you may be able to see their growth.And way before that, vegetable plants may require the right amount of water, nutrients, sunlight and care to thrive and hence, may require some bit of your time. Another way to reduce some mowing area in your backyard is to make use of “hardscapes”. This is another landscaping idea that you can use aside from considering the use of plants or trees on your backyard. You may want to make use of rocks, fences or walls to create alternative elements of beauty on your backyard.Making use of hardscapes may be at an advantage since they may not need as much maintenance as you would when you make use of plants. That would be one of the good backyard landscaping ideas that you may want to use someday.