Outdoor & Recreational Areas in The Books Store

Landscape design for the (above) average homeowner

For any homeowner who enjoys decorating the inside of the home, this book teaches outdoor landscaping using the same principles of open sight lines, flow, color, space, light, imagination, and a bit of whimsy.  Illustrated throughout in full color, Inside Out features lush photos, landscape design schematics, line drawings, and paintings to fully explore how to create outdoor beauty and harmony around your home. Jeff Hutton writes in a warm, intelligent, personable style, as if he is walking the property with a client, giving his professional advice. The resulting landscape ideas are all within the ability of any homeowner to dream and then create on the ground.

Including:
Foundation beds
Walkways and paths
Decks, porches, and patios
Perennials and ornamental grasses
Stone walls
Lawns
Retaining walls and terraces
Swimming pools
Shade trees
Privacy screening
Landscaping for winter beauty
Landscaping for kids
Garden art
and much more!

Jeff Hutton is the author of the novel Perfect Silence, a Book Sense 76 pick. He is a landscape designer in Vernon, Connecticut.

Celebrate the best of the country lifestyle.

Harrowsmith Country Life magazine has been celebrating the country lifestyle in all of its forms for more than 30 years. In Living the Country Dream, editor Tom Cruickshank selects some of the most memorable articles and stories from the magazine's last 10 years.

Living the Country Dream includes selections on:

• Gardening -- rotating vegetable crops effectively and growing heritage vegetables and flowers
• Do-it-yourself projects -- building nesting boxes to attract birds, building a dry stone fence
• Alternative energy -- getting off the (electricity) grid
• Moving to the country -- pleasures, pitfalls and tips from those who've done it
• Recipes -- delectable seasonal dishes to tempt the appetite
• Country home-building and restoration
• Livestock, working dogs and fall fairs

The 200 color images are an inspiration for those who live in the country... and those who would love to.

• Colorful, detailed photos guide your progress

• Easy-to-follow instructions

You can take pebbles and other natural found objects and turn them into beautiful useful and decorative objects for the home and garden. Using easy methods and everyday materials, author Deborah Schneebeli-Morrell demonstrates in full color, step-by-step photographs how to create such beautiful items as a simple teapot stand to a rustic mosaic hearth. Other projects include:

• clay planter with broken china and pebble mosaic
• marble display tray
• garden edging
• candle holders for hurricane lanterns
• orchid saucer
• house number plaque
• sundial
• decorative plinth
• garden path slabs
• garden seat
• basket

Each chapter covers a different way of using mosaics in the home and garden. Projects range from decorative window planters studded with tiny violet cowry shells and amber sea stones, to a herringbone mosaic path laid with brick-red, turquoise and gray pebbles. A garden birdbath inlaid with country stones and the blue-and-white vintage jugs allow lots of room for personalizing designs. A complete material list accompanies each project, along with detailed step-by-step instructions and photographs.