Master Gardener

John Brookes is one of the most original and creative garden designers in the world. He is known for the more than 1,200 gardens he has designed worldwide and for being an inspiring teacher. His work teaching generations of garden designers has influenced the way we look at, and think about, gardens. This book is the summation of his philosophy. It is a supremely practical, easy-to-follow, and inspiring workbook. Brookes shows you exactly how to approach garden design. First, he gives you the basics of simple surveying, using his famous design grid. Then he gives you the tools and techniques you’ll need—how to work within the area of your site, how to use photography as an aid to garden design, how to select local plants and building materials to create a garden that looks very much at home in its setting. He shows you how to plan many kinds of gardens, large and small. He provides case studies of gardens and of garden features across the United States and Europe to show us how each has been planned and realized. And there’s a section on frequently asked questions—on subjects ranging from how to use gravel and the best techniques for making ponds and other water features to choosing appropriate materials for a terrace and finding a reliable contractor. His advice is easily applied and always useful. He shows us how to plot a garden with paper cutouts, how to keep the garden beautiful through all seasons, ways your garden can make the best use of your local climate, and how to weigh budget and space limitations against your garden “wish list.” The Essentials of Garden Design is ideal for those who want to design or redesign their own gardens, those who want to be armed with lots of ideas and knowledge when working with garden designers they’ve hired, and those who want to become garden designers themselves. Brookes’s tremendous flair for communicating his mastery has always been one of his key strengths, and the enthusiasm, expertise, and clarity that have made his courses so popular around the world now make this book the essential course in garden design.

A bestselling classic completely revised and updated The Essential Garden Design Workbook has been the go-to guide for students, professionals, and any gardener passionate about well-designed outdoor spaces. Now, eminent designer-educator Rosemary Alexander has teamed up with rising design star Rachel Myers for a complete update.  New garden plans, new photos and diagrams, and updated profiles of 50 top plants offer timely insights for today's designers. Advice on designing for sustainability and diversity has been added, along with guidance on planning for garden spaces large and small, using computer-aided design, and starting a garden design business. Detailed sections that lead you through the entire process--pre-design, concept, layout, planning, planting, and maintenance--are more relevant than ever. Invaluable for experienced pros and the next generation alike, this expanded classic is for anyone interested in designing beautiful, successful gardens.  

This artfully executed book is the first gardening guide to fully explain how and why colors work together in the garden. Enchanting author Sandra Austin takes gardeners beyond the common color wheel approach. Readers develop a comprehensive understanding of what color is, how it is perceived, how it affects perception and how it can be used to create beautiful gardens. Suggests new ways to think about color, including a basic vocabulary that encourages the creative use of color in garden designs. -- Includes new, fresh ways to use eye-catching color based on texture, light effects and creative imagination. -- Explains basic color concepts as well as sophisticated color theory that will appeal to advanced gardeners. -- Introduces modern color classification systems and explains how color families and combinations work together. -- Contains brilliant full-color photos and extensive drawings and illustrations throughout.

With a keen eye for aesthetics matched by a strong concern for the environment, garden expert Stephen Orr has developed a sense of what a modern garden should be- small, visually pleasing, and responsible. In Tomorrow's Garden, he presents gardens in 14 American cities that have been scaled back and simplified without sacrificing beauty or innovative design. A devoted supporter of the organic gardening movement, Orr advises gardeners to think about their gardens as part of an interconnected whole with the surrounding environment-with an eye to water usage, local ecology, and preservation of resources. However, for those who are afraid that a sustainable garden means a lack of flora and fauna, Orr believes that a garden, first and foremost, should be a thing of beauty. He encourages flower lovers to plant flowers, and he showcases gardens filled with traditional and exotic plants that are designed with both visual appeal and the environment in mind. With detailed case studies, stunning photographs, and an appendix of resources and information to help gardeners achieve their ecological best, Tomorrow's Garden will teach you the true definition of sustainability and show you how to create beauty without excess in the 21st century and beyond.

Gardens in the 20th century reach back into the Victorian era and forward into the age of Land Art. This survey, from Europe to South America, and Japan to the US, takes in many familiar designers including Robinson, Jekyll, Jensen, Farrand, Sessions, Mawson, Church, Sorenson and Jellicoe.

Author Marianne Majerus was one of three photographers for the seminal book by Prince Charles, HRH The Prince of Wales, Highgrove: A Garden Celebrated, published in 2014, which Camilla Swift of Gardens Illustrated praised for its photographs, "images so breathtaking I want to jump into them." In Garden Design: A Book of Ideas, she and Heidi Howcroft have created a stunning guide to designing gardens of all types. Ideal for all gardeners and landscape architects this book inspires and encourages while giving practical advice and clear instruction for creating a beautiful garden in any setting. Any experienced gardener knows there is no single way to design a garden. Personal style and creativity are what make gardening exciting and produce an enjoyable garden. In this outstanding reference the concise text, 600 inspirational photographs and 24 real-life case studies can help anyone create a dream garden. Incisive advice takes the reader through the entire process: assessing the garden situation, developing a design, installing the components, and finally, dressing the space. The brilliant color photographs show an enormous variety of gardens and their elements in detail, varying from large and small, to urban and rural, covering a wide range of styles, including contemporary, modern, city, Mediterranean and natural. There are plant recommendations throughout the book. Garden Design profiles existing gardens to illustrate important considerations that will factor into the final result, such as, Where is Your Garden? What Do You Want From Your Garden? and Knowing Your Soil. Here is a brief sampling of the contents: Structure (e.g., Paths, Enclosures) Materials (e.g., Stone, Timber) Steps and Ramps (e.g., Outdoor Staircases) Enclosures and Barriers (e.g., Hedges, Gates) Shaping the Garden (e.g., Mounds, Slopes) Greenery and Flowers (e.g., Trees: Scene Stealers; Working with Color Stems, Berries, Foliage) Shade (e.g., Light up the Dark with White Flowers) Flowers (e.g., Paint with Plants, Borders For All Seasons) Vegetables (e.g., No-Dig and Raised Beds) Furnishings (e.g., Fountains, Loungers, Lighting) Difficult Plots and Tricks of the Trade (e.g., Tiny Spaces and Odd Proportions). Creating a garden is part common sense and part instinct but almost everybody needs some help to achieve the garden of their dreams. Garden Design: A Book of Ideas inspires and motivates but it also provides practical guidance.

Finally, homeowners can tackle new garden designs and fix old ones with the confidence and know-how to succeed. Professional garden designer Gordon Hayward provides the tools by demonstrating the guiding principles behind his own designs: take clues from the style, materials, and proportions of existing features, particularly your house, but also garages and outbuildings, property lines, streets, walls, and walkways. Look closely at these features, and they will suggest good design. Over sixty color photographs and over one hundred detailed watercolor sketches of Hayward's plans for his clients show how to read the clues and then design gardens that relate to their surroundings and unify entire properties. Many tricks of the trade are given, including how to make inviting, sheltering entry gardens; screen unsightly features and utilities; and reclaim narrow, shady side yards. Surefire methods for designing front, side, and backyard gardens are explained.