Enjoy the Season - Virtually Visit Gardens: Read about gardens....

American Home Landscapes is a comprehensive, fully illustrated guide to recreating nearly 400 years of historical landscape design and adapting them to modern needs. You will first learn how to research design elements for a particular property. For each historical period from Colonial to late 20th century, there is information about the use of landscape and garden features such as paths, seating, driveways, fences, hedges, accessories, etc. with illustrations provided. Extensive bibliographic resources and historically accurate plant lists included.

Written by landscape architect James van Sweden and horticulture expert Tom Christopher, any gardener can learn the secrets of the gardener s art and absorb the essence of inspired garden design to help you create your own perfect garden. Whether it s a ten-foot-square city terrace or a ten-acre expanse, the same principles apply- the intelligent use of positive and negative space, of form and scale, of light and shadow, of rough and smooth textures. Do you want a garden you can immerse yourself in? A garden you can smell and listen to as well as observe? An exuberant garden or a contemplative garden? The authors also introduce you to famous gardens around the world and encourage you to find inspiration in the arts - painting, music, sculpture, and even dance when they introduce the gardens of famous artists.

There are numerous benefits to having a bee garden, both personal and global. Not only are bee gardens gorgeous, they are organic, pesticide-free, and ecologically sustainable. For fruit and vegetable gardeners, inviting nature's most productive pollinator into the yard can provide an impressive increase in yields and better tasting produce. And finally, bee gardens help fight the much-publicized decline in bee population. In The Bee-Friendly Garden, award-winning garden designer Kate Frey and bee expert Gretchen LeBuhn provide everything readers need, from "super blooming" flowers to regional plant lists and plants to avoid. Illustrated with spectacular full-color photos, the book debunks myths about bees, explains seasonal flower progression, and provides how-to instructions for nest boxes and water features.

John Brookes is a creative garden designers who is known for designing more than 1,200 gardens worldwide. This workbook is a practical, easy-to-follow, guide to show you exactly how to approach garden design. Brookes gives you the basics of simple surveying and the tools and techniques you need to work your garden site, 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. There is a useful section of questions and answers 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, how to find a reliable contractor, and how to keep the garden beautiful through all seasons. The Essentials of Garden Design is ideal for those who want to design or redesign their own gardens and those who want to be armed with lots of ideas and knowledge when working with garden designers.

"A practical guide to maintaining a shade garden with a useful calendar of seasonal tasks, plant directory and inspiring design ideas." --Gardens Illustrated   Shade is one of the most common garden concerns homeowner's have, but with the right plant knowledge, you can learn to embrace shade as an opportunity instead of an obstacle. In Glorious Shade, Jenny Rose Carey celebrates the benefits of shade and shows you how to make the most of it. This information-rich, hardworking guide is packed with everything you need to successfully garden in the shadiest corners of a yard. You'll learn how to determine what type of shade you have and how to choose the right plants for the space. The book also shares design and maintenance tips that are key to growing a successful shade garden. Stunning color photographs offer design inspiration and reveal the beauty of shade-loving plants.   

David Culp's beloved two-acre Pennsylvania garden is where he mastered the design technique of layering--interplanting many different species in the same area so that as one plant passes its peak, another takes over. The result is a nonstop parade of color that begins with a tapestry of heirloom daffodils and hellebores in spring and ends with a jewel-like blend of Asian wildflowers at the onset of winter. The Layered Garden shows you how to recreate Culp's majestic display. It starts with a basic lesson in layering--how to choose the correct plants by understanding how they grow and change throughout the seasons, how to design a layered garden, and how to maintain it. To illustrate how layering works, Culp takes you on a personal tour through each part of his celebrated garden: the woodland garden, the perennial border, the kitchen garden, the shrubbery, and the walled garden. The book culminates with a chapter dedicated to signature plants for all four seasons.

No longer a technique just for apartment dwellers or novice gardeners, the use of ornamental containers on decks, patios, terraces, and in the garden itself can save time, space, and money, while offering experienced home gardeners unique creative challenges, site flexibility, and experimental fun. Author and award-winning horticulturist Ray Rogers takes you on an engaging exploration into basic design principles as well as how to create focal points, use water, exploit the potential of empty containers, and more. Stunning photographs by Richard Hartlage provide guidance and inspiration, as well as visually explaining each principle.

A stunning guide for gardeners keen to transform small and awkward outdoor spaces into beautiful and practical escapes. From courtyards to rooftops, Kate Gould draws on her experience as an award-winning garden designer to provide tailored solutions and inspirational ideas. Covering topics such as how to design and measure the perfect garden, choose and use the best materials and maintain a lush garden all year round, Small Garden Design includes detailed advice for gardeners undeterred by limited space. This carefully illustrated guide ensures gardeners of all abilities achieve the best results outdoors. Creating a personal and unique space is also at the heart of each project and Kate makes sure to discuss how to tie each design back to the interior of the home.