Book Description
The perfect companion to the Better Homes and Gardens New Complete Guide to Gardening.
Illustrated easy-to-follow instructions for planning, designing, and building typical landscape projects.
Customer Reviews:
Beautiful, book of knowledge and ideas!.......2007-03-15
This book is great for beginners and advanced landscapers alike. I never worked in a yard before but I can tackle most projects after this book.. it really has great step-by-step info.. I recommend this for all gardeners!
Great book for your bookshelf!.......2005-05-20
This book is great! I use it all the time and my pages have been dog-eared to death. Very useful and the pictures can give you some great ideas! I pull it out all the time, even just to look at the pictures.
Great guide for new gardeners.......2004-03-05
This has been one of my best purchases yet for gardening. From preparing the land to the final touches this book contains excellent detail. In addition, you have multiple plans for projects from gazebos to water fountains. I highly recommend this book. You will not regret the purchase.
REALLY IS COMPLETE!!!.......2003-08-10
They weren't lying when they said new complete guide! It has everything and more. It has really inspired me.The pictures are fantastic. They can give you ideas themselves. This book lets you know how to plan out your landscape, let's you use your imagination, and gives you choices and step by step instructions to make your landscaping dreams come true. I highly reccomend it. This is the best book out there! It has some excellent ideas!
greatest landscaping book I've seen so far.......2003-06-23
This is really a great and very comprehensive book, I love it. I saw it the first time in a store and I was really impressed by it, so I decided to look for it on amazon. My favorite part is the different ways shown to incorporate water. Also I liked the thoughtful tips that should be considered when planning a garden, such as a form of privacy around the spa.
Book Description
A celebration in words and breathtaking images of thirty-five landscapes created for private clients by today's preeminent designers.
This is a time of renewed originality in garden design. The last twenty years have seen a lucky confluence of money and talent lavished on gardening, and the results are surprising, enchanting, sometimes even controversial. The range of possibilities suggested by these thirty-five gardens is extraordinary: from Jacques Wirtz's undulating beech hedges that recede mysteriously into the mist to Penelope Hobhouse's latest interpretation of the traditional English garden, to Martha Schwartz's Texas creation of red, yellow, and pink painted garden rooms.
These hidden masterworks of modern gardening are unlocked for us by the authority, experience, and resources of House & Garden magazine. Every page is an invitation to explore landscapes that have never before been seen by the public—and may never be seen again. International in scope and lavish in its production, this book is the last word on the state of design in the garden world. 340 color photographs.
Customer Reviews:
A tour around the best gardens in the world.......2007-05-08
This book is huge and a most for garden reference. It's organized in seven chapters that will impress all kind of taste:
The New Classicism: Magical gardens from places such as NY, Spain, Germany...+
The New Traditionalism: Enchanting pictures from NY, IL, France, Japan...+
The New Naturalism: Beautiful gardens from NY, Idaho, France, Arizona, England.
The Plantsmen: Magnificent proposals from New England, California, The Netherlands...+
Personal Visions: NY, California, and Texas
The Cottage Garden Reinvented: Lovely gardens from England, France and Ireland.
The New Modernism: The best and trendiest gardens of California.
You'll be able to see some of the best gardens from places such as Arizona to Japan. Some of my favorites gardens where from England, The Netherlands and France.
The text is pleasant to read and full of details no only about the flowers portrayed but also to the architect and artist that created such beauty. The balance of text and picture is excellent. The quality of the pictures is excellent, full pages pictures trout the book. House and Gardens did a tremendous job and it's absolutely clear that the took at least ten times the number of pictures in the book since you'll only see the best angle and light possible for each picture.
The only con is the lacks of tropical gardens since most part of the book are focus on the northern hemisphere.
The New Garden Paradise: Great Private Gardens of the World.......2007-05-07
Wow! This book is incredible, a treat for the eyes and imagination!
Great Private Gardens of the World.......2007-01-29
This is a beautiful book anyone would be pleased to have. The quality of the photos is splendid. Most enjoyable.
The New Garden Paradise: Great Private Gardens of the World.......2007-01-03
Book is really interesting and has a lot of beautiful full-page photographs. Makes a great gift for everybody, not only for gardening fans!
Big book, big gardens, big budgets.......2006-02-28
This coffee table book features private gardens and estates of the wealthy who have the funds to hire the most talented garden designers in the world to realize their visions. Most of the gardens featured are in the U.S. although a few are in England and Japan. Chapters are divided by varying styles, such as classicism, traditionalism, naturalism, cottage garden, modernism, etc. It is an eclectic collection, from minimalist elegance to lush romantic woodlands. Sculptures, art work, water features and stone work are a feature in many.
Chapter names tout the garden designer which includes such talents as Patrick Chasse, Dan Pearson, Jacques Wirtz, Dan Kiley, Piet Oudolf, Martha Swartz, Sarah Raven, Christian Louboutin, Isabelle Greene, Penelope Hobhouse, Topher Delaney and Steve Martino. The owners of the gardens are rarely mentioned (with the exception of actors Brad Pitt and Tim Curry and a few others). Although the text is often stuffy and oft-putting, the photographs alone are reason enough to purchase the book. This beautiful book is wonderful for garden dreamers who will find gardens such as these unattainable.
Book Description
New Complete Home Landscaping is an updated, expanded edition of Creative Homeowner's award-winning comprehensive book on landscaping for the home. It covers every aspect of home landscaping, from design principles to construction projects; plant selection to plant care. The book consists of three parts. Part One: Preparing to Landscape explains how to design and create a landscape. Part Two: Setting the Stage shows how to build such features as paths, ponds, walls, decks, and watering systems. Part Three: Planting and Growing describes how to select, plant, and care for flowers, trees, shrubs, ground covers, and lawns.
Customer Reviews:
New Complete Home Landscaping.......2007-01-03
There are some interesting and workable ideas in the book. Before purchasing you might want to check out your local library first. I'm not disappointed with it however I think the layouts are more for the professional landscape/design area. There is even a section for making your own pesticides. It is a nice book to have on hand.
Definitely complete.......2006-05-19
This book touched on all aspects of gardening and landscaping - design elements and plans, water features, walls & fences, gazebos, decks and patios. It offers suggestions on plants and flowers appropriate for specific areas and climates. There is also a section with solutions to common problems. I highly recommend this book. The text gave me a lot of knowledge, while the pictures inspired me to start working on my own yard!
A step-by-step guide for amateur & professional landscapers.......2005-02-10
Over 950 photographs and watercolor paintings illustrate New Complete Home Landscaping, a step-by-step guide for amateur and professional landscapers alike. Internationally recognized garden writer Catriona Tudor Erler discusses how to choose the right plants for one's climate and soil conditions, how to install a fence, when to fertilize and what fertilizer to use, fighting common diseases, how to transplant large trees and shrubs, and much more. Packed with pages and pages of detail and explicit constructions, New Complete Home Landscaping lives up to its title as an indispensable and well-rounded resource for anyone seriously contemplating a landscaping project.
Book Description
Shelter, like many other elements of human existence, comes at an extraordinary cost to our planet and its inhabitants. In the U.S. alone, construction of 1.2 million new homes a year results in a massive drain on Earth's natural resource base. Today, nearly 60 percent of all timber cut in the U.S. is used in building houses, not to mention construction wastes and the huge amounts of resources used in the day-to-day operation of the "modern" household. In addition to environmental costs, there are the personal economic costs--the thousands of dollars each homeowner spends each year to heat, cool, and power our homes. Today, a new generation of architects and builders is emerging, intent on creating homes that meet human needs for shelter while causing only a fraction of the environmental impact of conventional housing. The New Ecological Home provides an overview of green building techniques, materials, products, and technologies that are either currently available or will be in the near future. Author Daniel Chiras provides a wealth of up-to-date, practical information for home buyers, owner-builders, and anyone interested in building for a sustainable future. Included are chapters on: * The Healthy House; * Green Building Materials; * Wood-Wise Construction; * Energy Efficiency; * Earth-Sheltered Architecture; * Passive Solar Heating and Passive Cooling; * Green Power: Electricity from the Sun and Wind; * Water and Waste: Sustainable Approaches;* Environmental Landscaping.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent introduction to wide array of green building options.......2006-12-11
During the planning phase of building our first home, this book was very helpful. We liked the emphasis right at the start on site selection -- what to look for in everything from the overall community to aspects of the land itself and how to environmentally protect that land during construction. A comparison checklist for assessing lots is included. Even though ours will not be a "natural House" (rammed earth, straw bale, etc.) and though those types of construction are covered, there was plenty of solid information on building a more energy efficient, and less wasteful, home of wood and concrete. Also included are chapters on design, using green and non- or less toxic materials, sustainable approaches to water and waste, environmental landscaping, and enery-efficient design, heating, and cooling. As this will be a retirement home, we especially appreciated the chapter on accessiblilty and ergonomic design.
An Excellent Overview of Green Building...Superb!.......2004-11-05
Author Dan Chiras has produced a series of amazing books on green building, including The Natural House, The Solar House, Superbia!, and The Natural Plaster Book. His books are extremely well written, well organized, comprehensive, and extremely well illustrated. He's truly one of the best, if not the best, writer in the green building field.
The New Ecological Home is no exception. In fact, I think it is one of the best books he has written. Although the cover is pretty drab, the book is a beauty inside. The book is engaging, easy to read, and full of interesting and helpful information that will assist those who want to explore the many options for building homes that are good for people, the planet, and the economy. This book should be read by all who are considering building a new home as well as those who are thinking about remodeling their homes. It is also a valuable resource for architects, builders, and students of architecture. Adding to its value, this book has a detailed resource guide that adds considerably to its value.
Ok, but not great.......2004-10-29
This book was a little bit hard to understand, especially if you are not knowledgable on the subject. I would recommend something more clear and easier to read.
Book Description
There are hundreds of books on the market about designing the interior of a home, but none for homeowners that focuses on the design of a home’s exterior. And yet the exterior of the house is what we all see and remember- it’s the “face” of home we fall in love with--whether we are looking for a new home or just taking in the sights during a Sunday afternoon drive. All of us can relate to a house’s exterior, but few understand how they’re put together, or how the outside and inside should work in harmony. When people describe the exterior of a house, they usually give a label or a style- Cape, Colonial, Ranch. But, in truth, what they are referring to are not only its exterior physical characteristic- the particular blend of rooflines, siding, trim, windows, doors and porches, but also its emotional characteristics- inviting, austere, friendly.
In his new book The Face of Home, Jeremiah Eck, FAIA, author of Taunton’s The Distinctive Home, examines these physical and emotional characteristics, explores the concepts and applications of exterior design and how they can be successfully used to enhance the experience of home and provides a fresh, new language for describing, understanding, and shaping the face of home.
After a comprehensive first chapter that illustrates the way houses have traditionally been identified: by historical description (Queen Anne, Tudor); material (Shingle, Craftsman); shape (Salt Box, Ranch); and architectural (Wrightian, Miesian), Eck then introduces a new, fuller language for exteriors that goes beyond and behind these to explore the basic concepts of good exterior design: scale and massing, symmetry and asymmetry, and transparency and opaqueness. These concepts are then further refined and expressed by the shaping of features and details such as roof, doors, windows, siding, and the use of color and textures through a highly a visual tour of 23 houses vividly illustrating how these concepts are applied to give a home its unique style and personality Throughout the book, Eck shows us the close relationship between interior and exterior design and how they impact one another.
Customer Reviews:
Something didn't fit.......2007-01-15
I bought this book online so I never go a good look inside before I bought it . There are a few of the ideas fit with my idea of what a nice house is but then there where more ideas where I would be saying huh that does not look so good.
My advice is to get a good look inside the book before you buy it.
Great houses, great ideas, OK writing.......2006-05-24
First, I should say that Jeremiah Eck is my favorite architect. If I ever build a house (which is hard, because I live in Boston where there are essentially no lots), I'll probably use him as an architect. So I should love this book, and I mostly do. Ideally, I'd like an architecture book to:
1) have lots of great pictures and floor plans of wonderful houses
2) have interesting ideas to convey
3) have good prose to read
I'd say this book scores very well on the first two points, and less so on the third. The photography is excellent, with lots of great houses. Mr. Eck is trying to convey some important ideas about the exterior of a house. Ideally, he things the exterior of a house should have a style that follows from other elements of the design, rather than being superficial decoration. So on the strength of those reasons alone, you should buy it. But for some reason I find his prose hard going. I can't quite put my finger on what bothers me, but it doesn't pull you forward. I found this to be true of his first book, "The Distinctive Home" as well. I'm very pleased I read it anyway.
Book Description
The move to liveable communities--ideal ``small towns'' and neighborhoods where people work, live, play, and walk from place to place--is on. Profit from what a visionary group of architects leading this movement has learned about designing new ``small towns'' in Peter Katz's The New Urbanism. You'll discover the amazing potential for this kind of work as well as case studies, site plans, project analyses, and 180 beautiful photographs. This unique reference also tackles--and answers--the critical issues of crime, health, traffic, environmental degradation, and economic vitality and opens a startling window on the look and feel of future communities. Every designer can profit from this guide to building the utopias of tomorrow--today!
Customer Reviews:
Time to Pay Attention.......2005-08-05
I'm actually studying to be an Urban Planner in school. New Urbanism was a concept that greatly interested me because its principles focus around SMART and RESPONSIBLE planning.
I'm a huge fan of Peter Katz's book. There's only one thing I have to critisize about it--it doesn't confront those opposed to New Urbanism concepts, and I believe that in order to be effective you must challenge the tired, old, and sometimes downright arrogant ideas of the opposition (mostly the same Urban Planners who got us into this whole Urban Sprawl Mess).
Basically, New Urbanism speaks for itself. I would admit, it does have its own issues, but ALL great ideas have issues. And honestly, I would trade the issues of a New Urbanist Town over the issues of a delapidated suburb any day.
I think the best example I can give about how New Urbanism can nuture a growing and healthy community is to look at the television show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition". Not to say that all New Urbanist communities build such homes, but the point I'm making is that the crew of EM:HE give to a family what they truly deserve...a good home. A good home makes a good family, and a good family can contribute to a good community.
New Urbanism is like that, in that it builds COMMUNITY. I mean, how many of us come home to our neighborhoods and sigh at what we see. I know I do. It saddens me to drive past the run down streets of my neighborhood, only to know the local government is content in finding it suitable enough for habitation.
And with rising gas prices, who wouldn't want a walkable community. I know I would, and I live in Florida--one of the more Humid States in the Union. I remember in my early college days. My Community College was 45 minutes to an Hour away (NO TRAFFIC), and so was BORDERS, my place of employment. I would go to school in the morning, drive back home, then drive all the way to BORDERS. That's A LOT of Gas, and A HUGE dent in my pocket book. But I had no choice, and I absolutely LOVED my school and job.
And that's how Jacksonville, Florida is. I LOVE it here, I love my city, but it TOTALLY sucked when I didn't have a car to get around. You HAVE to own a car in Jacksonville, being as the mass transit system is as close to unreliable as it is efficient.
I support this book as much as I support the New Urbanism movement. This book will help educate as well as inform readers of the benifits of SMART URBAN PLANNING. The notion that the ideas of New Urbanism are dangerous are absolutely absurd when compared to the dangers of the decaying suburbs of America. Why do you think Bank of America is so involved in creating better communities? Less bank robberies (LoL). And take a look at a city like Boulder, Co--voted the number one place in the country to raise a family. The city is built on an opposition to Urban Sprawl (though they could do better to lower the real estate prices).
Oh yah, and about the porches in Seaside, Florida being out of usage. Have you ever been to Seaside? Last time I checked it was a pretty vibrant community. Not to mention, have you ever visited Florida during the Summer? The Humidity will Kill you! I wouldn't be out on my porch either if it was during Summer.
Community is not Architecture.......2001-03-02
I grew up in what new urbanists would probably call a paradise. It was a real community in which neighbours were really neighbours. People did sit on their verandahs and converse with their neighbours on the street. There was an understanding that one could borrow things if the owner wasn't using them. It was considered polite to tell the owner if he was there but if he was away one could just borrow the thing and tell him when he came home if one was still using it. In short it was everything new urbanism wants. This was in a moderately large city in Canada.
There were two things wrong with this paradise:
a) it was not about verandahs, facing the street etc. It was about control and conformity. The neighbourhood protected itself by frowning on unexpected behavior. There was an expected range of interests and an expected range of activity. If someone went out of this range, one could expect social sanctions unfailingly. The dark side of Jacobs 'eyes-on-the-street' is Foucault's 'gaze.' The neighbourhood worked as an exercise in power. The verandahs and street life were instruments of that power. Heaven help anyone who had non-standard interests.
b) the neighbourhood was unsustaining. With the growth of the personal rights ethos, the ability of the neighbourhood to control its inhabitants fell away. No longer could the neighbourhood fathers take action to control petty teenage misbehaviour. Instead personal rights and social policy took these controls away from the neighbourhood and gave them to government agencies. As a result the neighbourhood is now perhaps not unsafe but definitely uncomfortable. No one leaves tools or equipment out now in case a neighbour needs to borrow it. Everything is locked up. The doors are firmly closed and neighbours now complain to the police instead of discussing thier joint problems.
New urbanism seems to miss this point. Neighbourhoods are about local power. For some people this produces a comfortable paradise. For those slightly different it creates a jail of conformity. Some people thrive in it. Some peole will be stifled. Neighboourhoods are an exercise in hopefully beneficent control. Architecture does not create this control. It can destroy it certainly and make it impossible but it cannot create it.
Every library in the country should have this book!.......1999-08-13
I have only had the book a day and already it has given me great pleasure and joy. I love the fantastic pictures and diagrams. The computer digitalizations on a few existing towns today and what they could be like were truely fasinating. I couldn't help not liking the indepth descriptions of numourous cities, towns, and villages from around the country and canada as well. This book had colorful photos and diagrams, this book to me is pure genus!
how to design urban spaces in small communities.......1999-01-08
A very good appraisal of design examples of new communities with also a consistent theoretical approach to New Urbanism concepts. This is a necessary reading to those that want to be updated with the best design practices of integrated urban spaces.
New Urbanism: This is how/where I want to live.......1998-12-12
The basic principles presented in this book are the stuff that dreams are made of. I have shared the ideas presented in this book with many of my friends and they all want to live in communities such as this. We've been strip-malled, mega-malled and automobilized to near-death. New Urbanism as presented here is like a million breaths of fresh air.
It is best to read the basic principles presented in the front of the book first. It may look like dry reading at first but as you get into it, your interest will be piqued at first, then grabbed, and you won't want to put it down till you've read it all. Having read this part you will be armed with the knowledge that, to date, no development or developer has had the guts to follow the principles completely. All of the projects presented include some elements of New Urbanism but none of them have it right. One of the other customer reviewers of this book, Ken Wing, missed this entirely. Hey Ken, there is no people in the Seaside pictures because they want the reader to see the architecture! Those who don't get it, or are afraid of change, tend to trivialze New Urbanism and mis-represent it.
Once you have read this book, you, like myself will want to immediately pack up and move to a New Urbanist community. Better ones are coming out of the ground each year and I hope to see one near me real soon.
Average customer rating:
- Jackson Heights Has Its Own Martha Stewart - M.D. Smith
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The Romantic Garden
Marion Duckworth Smith
Manufacturer: Sterling/Chapelle
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Romantic Garden (Garden Bookshelf)
ASIN: 1402705360 |
Book Description
Tour lush, beautiful gardens, and find inspiration and guidance for bringing the same charm and romance into your own yard. Lavish full-color photographs walk you through the extravagant gardens of the author’s historic home, showcasing their many surprises and special touches. Observe how to use flowers and foliage to create spectacular arrangements of color and texture, establish private nooks for intimate moments, and set up pleasant areas to sit in quiet conversation. Add birdhouses, sculptures, found treasures, water features, furniture, and other accessories for extra beauty. Make the most of your romantic haven with tips for alfresco entertaining and winter gardening. A Selection of the Country Homes & Gardens Book Club.
Customer Reviews:
Jackson Heights Has Its Own Martha Stewart - M.D. Smith.......2005-02-15
by Liz Rhoades, Managing Editor, Queens Chronicle
February 03, 2005
If you crave a Martha Stewart fix now that she's out of commission for awhile, there's a new gal in town from Jackson Heights who will satisfy all those needs.
I don't know about her skills in the kitchen, but when it comes to gardening, decorating and the fine arts, no one comes close to Marion Duckworth Smith. You can read about her skills in "The Romantic Garden," published by Sterling Publishing Company.
The author and her husband, Michael, are responsible for lovingly restoring the 1654 Riker-Lent homestead in Jackson Heights, which is the oldest building in the city that is still used as a private residence.
When that arduous job was completed, Duckworth Smith turned her attention to the sprawling one-acre garden, adjacent to the Riker Cemetery, which is also on the property. Through years of back-breaking work and constant tweaking, the garden has become a gem.
Unfortunately, it's not open to the public, but readers will be transfixed when they pick up this coffee table book that is filled with gorgeous shots of the garden at its summertime best. Most of the photographs were taken by Duckworth Smith, a professional photographer, who specializes in greeting cards, calendars and magazine illustrations.
Her artistic talents are evident in the book's photographs as well as in her knack for arranging things just right. A blue hydrangea placed on a white wrought-iron bench invites the reader to sit down and admire the view. A slightly chipped pitcher that is a flea market find turns up filled with colorful flowers next to a decorative cherub mounted on a brick wall.
This book is a treat for the eyes and anyone who loves flowers and plants will enjoy paging through it. But there's more than just voluptuous illustrations to show Duckworth Smith's romantic side, which she admits permeates her life.
The commentary perfectly complements the photographs and the author does not preach. Instead, she shows the readers how to make the best of whatever outdoor space they have. She admits her style is not for everyone, but nevertheless offers general tips that everyone can adapt to their taste.
Duckworth Smith's use of metal and wooden gates, statues and whimsical birdhouses and feeders show how you can set off different areas of your garden, even if you don't have an acre of land.
She also doesn't take herself too seriously, which is particularly refreshing. I especially liked the photo of a slightly beat-up painted metal washbasin, which serves double duty for the author. She uses it as a birdbath with floating white hydrangeas and as an iced-drink container for parties. "It can be placed almost anywhere in the garden for gatherings, where it inevitably sparks lively conversation with my guests," Duckworth Smith writes.
There is also a good balance between the text and photographs. The photographs illustrate beautifully Duckworth Smith's ability at arranging, while her breezy writing never detracts from that ambiance.
Her numerous collections of dishware, baskets, buckets and other accoutrements she uses in the garden rival those of Martha Stewart. And the author will give you plenty of ideas to use in your own garden.
What better time to read "The Romantic Garden," than now, in the dead of winter. The author draws you into her pictures and you are once again sipping iced tea in the middle of summer, only this time under her Victorian gazebo near a four-tiered gurgling classic fountain. Ah, if only...
If you're yearning for a winter escape and who isn't with 15 inches of snow on the ground, look no further than "The Romantic Garden." It would make a perfect Valentine's gift for gardeners and those who have a romantic outlook on life. The book can be purchased at select Barnes & Nobles (they will gladly take your order if it's not in stock) and at Amazon.com.
It's a delight for all seasons."
Product Description
Including Southeast Canada Book, Detailed Descriptions Of Over 200 Plants Used In The Designs, Plus Advise On Their Selections & Care, Step-By-Step Instructions For Projects, Such As Paths, Patios, Walls, Fences, Trellises, Arbors, & Small Ponds.
Customer Reviews:
Love this book!!.......2007-09-11
I have so many landscaping books that I never opened again after the first week I bought them. This is not one of those books. It's by far so much better than most of the other ones out there. It's well organized for info, and the plans are numerous and easy to follow. Not just for beginners. a really great book!
Curb appeal made easy.......2007-08-31
It's great the way these books are customized for each individual climate area here in the U.S. Saves a lot of wasted planning with the wrong plants and materials.
One of my favorites.......2006-05-19
I recently became interested in gardening (now that I have a yard in which I can plant). This is one of my favorite books on gardening and landscaping. Great resource for those of us living in the northeast. Full of wonderful photos, explanations and illustrations. It gives many ideas for addressing certain areas of your yard (i.e. front entryway, patio, rock wall). Explanations are excellent; I learned a great deal from this book. Very well written. Highly recommended.
Have my own and now purchasing for a neighbor!!.......2005-07-15
A neighbor showed me her copy and I had to get one for myself. Great layouts, great plant selections, this book offers great ideas and variations and is FULL of information! I showed another neighbor the garden I am planning and now I'm buying her a copy as well. We are going to have a GREAT looking street!!
This book is wonderful .......2005-05-26
Home Landscaping: Northeast Region is a very informative book filled with beautiful photos. I don't think I will need another book while doing our landscape planning. Landscaping designs, expected sizes of plants and trees and shrubs, different colors and species, how to's, this book will cover all your landscaping needs if you live in new england.
Amazon.com's Best of 2001
Fragrant. Lush. Seductive. Can these words describe any city other than New Orleans? With new plant life bursting from every cranny and ancient cypress trees, the gardens here present many unusual combinations of freshness and decay. Gardens of New Orleans has captured this magnificence in full glory, with page after page of beautifully green photographs.
Authors Lake Douglas and Jeannette Hardy include historical sketches, maps, and photographs that provide an informative introduction to the city. The outdoor French Market photographs show piles of fruit you can almost taste, even if the picture is in sepia tones. The section on public spaces follows, bringing glossy color photos of charming statuary and enormous live oaks that are memorable both for their size and grace. The final chapter is filled with close-up shots of many private gardens in the city, and show off the best New Orleans has to offer: peaceful balconies, bright flowers, antique ornaments, and artfully trimmed hedges. The lovely Ursiline convent is included in this section, with its glowing white statues and peaceful paths for meditation.
In every case, photographer Richard Sexton has captured the remarkable light as it filters through the trees. His close-ups clearly show the vines and sprouts popping up between bricks and under older plants, while his landscapes showcase both the heavy greenery and the well-known cast-iron decorations on houses, fences, and furniture. Whether you're a New Orleans native or simply love impossibly green gardens, this lovely book will bring the rich flavor of this charming city to your living room. --Jill Lightner
Book Description
New Orleans is a gardener's paradise. Fragrant ginger and night-blooming jessamine scent the air. Nary a crack in the cement or divot in the wall is free from rogue ferns, mosses, or draping greenery. For generations, residents from wildly varied cultures and sensibilities have been at work creating magnificent gardens throughout the city. New Orleans Gardens explores this rich history and tours public gardens, as well as opens the doors to lovingly tended private balcony, patio, and mansion grounds. Interviews discuss the environmental and cultural forces that shaped the gardens. In photography as sumptuous as his acclaimed New Orleans: Elegance and Decadence, Richard Sexton vividly illustrates the many traditions interwoven in this bewitching city's landscape heritage.
Customer Reviews:
Gardens of New Orleans: Exquisite Excess.......2007-04-28
New Orleans is a sultry, seductive city whose gardens reflect a rich history. Decadent nineteenth-Century buildings and courtyards provide an exquisite backdrop for exotic profligate vegetation. These serve as inspiration for all garden enthusiasts.
Beginning with A Brief History, that may not be brief enough; - the book stolidly drags the reader on through endless bayous of pages that recount the minutiae of the French settlers, Native Americans, African Slaves, German and Swiss farmers.
Subsequently, it combines the cities latest horticultural overlay of recent Southeast Asian immigrants depicted at vegetable markets with mounds of cut mint. Then, it offers impassive photos of the Warehouse Arts District, and dilapidated fence structures of no particular aesthetic merit, interest, or relevance.
The few published photos available to the buyer are quite nice. Nonetheless, the book itself, offers little more in the way of exotic balcony gardens, or lush French Quarter design to inspire ardent gardeners. This pre-Katrina effort adroitly circumvents all that is attractive, interesting, vibrant or comely within the city. It plods along with sluggish text, mostly unremarkable photography, and seemingly indifferent editing.
Gorgeous photos and more.......2005-10-03
Not only is the photography lush and gorgeous, but I also love the way this book has chapters on a variety of New Orleans gardens. There are examples of hidden courtyards and terraces as well as public parks and Garden District homes. There's even a comprehensive section on the history of the city. I treasure this book all the more given the recent tragic events with the hurricanes.
For lovers of gardening- it captures the heart & imagination.......2004-03-16
I was fortunate enough to find this book in a wonderful little garden shop tucked away inside the French Quarter of New Orleans. If you've never visited and seen their charming style and beauty first hand, this book is filled with superb photographs that come to life, with a wealth of great information about the homes and gardens you really will feel like you're there. For any lover of gardening, New Orleans simply transcends conventional time and space, capturing all of the senses and inspiring the heart and the imagination like no place else in the world. . .from the petite cottages to the elaborate plantations, there is garden for every home and every occassion! Tres-magnifique!!!
excellent resource.......2003-11-07
I am fortunate enough to have Lake Douglas as an instructor. He has forgotten more about landscape architecture than most people will ever know. I love going to his class because he has a genuine passion for the subject and almost limitless knowledge. Buy this book. You won't be disappointed.
Can't wait to start on my own "New Orleans" garden.......2001-07-28
I bought this book hoping to get some ideas on how to make my backyard into a New Orleans garden oasis and this book delivered. Not only is it a helpful resource for gardeners (it has a chart of commonly used plants in New Orleans gardens), but it also is nice to just leaf through and look at the pictures. My only gripe is that there weren't enough gardens featured.
Book Description
Attractive international projects with, by and in water.
After decades of being banished from residential areas, water is now becoming an increasingly significant feature in urban design. Whether it is the integration of natural water courses into the built environment rainwater management, the incorporation of water elements in urban areas for climatic purposes or the creation of oases of tranquility or drama such as pools or fountains – all these aspects are not only encountering renewed interest among architects and urban planners, but they are also greeted with appreciation by the general public.
This book reveals the wide variety of possibilities for using water as a creative element in the city, in art, in the landscape and architecture. Amongst the works documented are a large new city park in Portland (Oregon), the botanical gardens in New York Queens, the conversion of a former airport in Oslo, the park for a new residential area in Oulu, near the Polar Circle in Finland, or a project for Hangzhon, China.
Books:
- New Cook Book: 1953 Classic Edition (Better Homes & Gardens)
- Official Nintendo Animal Crossing: Wild World Player's Guide
- Outside the Not So Big House: Creating the Landscape of Home
- Painting and Decorating Clay Pots: 117 Step-by-Step Projects for Making People, Animals, and Fantasy Characters on Terra-Cotta Pots
- Physical Chemistry
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- Planting Green Roofs and Living Walls
- Pokemon Colosseum (Prima's Official Strategy Guide)
- Post-Modernism and the Social Sciences
- Pots in the Garden: Expert Design and Planting
Books Index
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