Garden Design in The Books Store

This book is nothing short of revolutionary. For too long, garden design has given pride of place to architecture, artifice, and arbitrary principles. The results? Soulless landscapes where plants play subordinate roles. With passion and eloquence, Scott Ogden and Lauren Springer Ogden argue that only when plants are given the respect they deserve does a garden become emotionally resonant. Plant-Driven Design shows designers how to work more confidently with plants, and gives gardeners more confidence to design. The Ogdens boldly challenge design orthodoxy and current trends by examining how to marry plantsmanship and design without sacrificing one to the other. Supported by extensive lists of plants adapted to specific purposes and sites, Plant-Driven Design explores how plants interact with place. In addition, the authors' experience gardening and designing in a wide variety of climates gives their perspective a unique depth. In ideas, scope, and detail, this book both embraces and transcends regionality. By reclaiming gardens as a home to plants, this groundbreaking work will restore life-affirming vitality to garden design and profoundly affect how we understand and experience gardens.

Patrick Blanc, an artist with a green thumb, has created dozens of his admired botanical tapestries in public and private spaces around the world, including the Marithé & François Girbaud boutique in Manhattan; the Jean Nouvel-designed Quai Branly Museum in Paris; the aquarium in Genoa; the Siam Paragon mall in Bangkok; and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, Japan. In this luscious, oversize, all-color book, he explains how to create plant walls using more than one thousand plants, drawing on his observation of natural milieus, his technique of growing on vertical surfaces, his savoir faire, and his passion for plants.

Features:

* The only landscaping guide designed specifically for Western gardeners

* Over 600 photographs and dozens of ready-to-use landscape plans

* Step-by-Step illustrations and exploded views show easy, do-it-yourself solutions

* Seasonal gardening guides and checklists ensure year-round success for experienced and novice gardeners alike

National surveys show that gardening has become the most popular, least exclusive hobby nationwide. From the balconies of Manhattan to the patios of Malibu to the backyards of Chicago, anybody with a few square feet of earth is doing their best to make their little corner of the world more gracious and beautiful. And the best thing is, you really dont have to be born with a green thumb to give life to a glorious garden. Anybody can do it with a little coaching. Which is where Gardening For Dummies comes in.

Puzzled by pruning? Baffled by bulbs? Cant tell a hosta from a hyacinth? Dont worry! This all-in-one reference delivers the know-how you need to transform your little patch of the outdoors into a blooming paradise. Drawing upon the expertise of the National Gardening Association, it gets you up to speed on:

• Basic gardening skillsfrom understanding your microclimate to using gardening tools to managing pests and common plant diseases
• How to design, plan and build a garden landscape that reflects your unique sense of style
• Selecting, planting and maintaining stunning roses
• Building a raised bed for your perennials and making them bloom in any climate
• Choose, grow and maintain annuals
• From amaryllis to spider dahlias to wood tulipscoaxing beauty from homely bulbs
• Enjoying natures bounty by growing you own vegetables and herbs

A veritable encyclopedia of gardening, this Gardening For Dummies is an indispensable resource for novices and experienced gardeners alike. It brings together between the covers of a single volume seven great books covering:

• Gardening Basics
• Garden Design
• Roses
• Perennials
• Annuals
• Bulbs
• Vegetables and Herbs