Landscape Books

Plant-Driven Design: Creating Gardens That Honor Plants, Place, and Spirit

Scott Ogden, Lauren Springer Ogden

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

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.

Marie-Antoinette and the Last Garden at Versailles

Christian Duvernois

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Subjects -> History -> Europe -> France -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

VERSAILLES THROUGH MARIE-ANTIONETTE 4 out of 5 stars.
12 of 16 people found this review helpful.

Marie-Antoinette is something of an enigma, some feel she is the misunderstood tragic heroine of the Ancient Regime and some feel she is that Austria wh*re, who may or my not have said, let them eat cake, and spent France into Revolution, I feel she is probably all of this and more. One thing is for certain, she held herself and her family in honor as she took the guillotine, she died with grace befiting her stature, even if those around her threw things at her and called her unspeakable things. As for this book, it is very good, the images are well presented, some in black and white, others in color, and the text is informative without being too dry or scholarly. I appreciated the attention to such buildings as the glorious Belvedere and the gorgeous Pavillion, these two esquisite small buildings often get lost in the spendor that is Versailles, but they are actually two of the most beautiful stuctures on the Palace grounds. A few buildings such as the Petit Palais get sort of short shrift, but they have been covered extensively in other books and really are more thought of in the context of Louis XV and Pompadour. Overall, a good book that covers some new ground, fine images and interesting text make it a fitting homage to Antoinette and her small sanctuary at Versailles.

Editorial Review:

Marie-Antoinette has been idolized as the height of eighteenth-century French style and vilified as the spark that ignited the French Revolution. This book departs from such traditional interpretations of the infamous queen’s reign and chooses to reflect on the humanistic aspects of her private realm. To escape the formalities and royal obligations of Louis XVI’s court, Marie-Antoinette created a private realm of pleasure for herself at the Petit Trianon and Hameau, where she planted the first Anglo-Chinese garden; created a trysting grotto; a working farm; and revolutionized architecture and gardening trends for the century to come. Marie-Antoinette’s entire private domain and its story are told in beautiful photographic detail by François Halard for the first time since its recent restoration and accompanied by well-researched texts by garden expert Christian Duvernois.

A Visual Dictionary of Architecture

Francis D. K. Ching

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Ching's books are great! 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

This book is really good for architecture students. I do not use the book every day, but when I need it, it proves very usefull. All books from this author that I purchased are really good so far. This one has a lot of details drawings which are great.

The Visual Dictionary of Architecture 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

As with other materials by Francis D.K.Ching, the illustrations are not only clear and precise but aesthetically pleasing. It is a pleasure to read through the material for a comprehensive understanding of architectural concepts, presented in an historical perspective which clarifies the how and why of modern day building technology. The Visual Dictionary of Architecture
is an invaluable reference for the student and architectural practicioner as well.

Most USEFUL Book on Architecture EVER! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

My husband bought this book for me when I decided to go back to school to study architecture, and it has turned out to be sooooo helpful. I have used it in every course I've taken; it makes studying for tests so much easier. It has a fabulous index so you can find what you are looking for right away, and the illustrations and page layouts are great. This book is a must for any architecture student. I really can't recommend it highly enough.

Editorial Review:

This book defines over 5,000 terms relating to architectural design, history, and technology. It is the only dictionary that provides concise, accurate definitions illustrated with finely detailed, hand-rendered drawings, each executed in Mr. Ching's signature style.

In the Garden with Jane Austen

Kim Wilson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Beautiful! Inspiring! Informative! Every Jane Austen Fan will Love it! 4 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

"To sit in the shade on a fine day, and look upon verdure, is the most perfect refreshment." Fanny Price, Mansfield Park, Chapter 9

It seems quite fitting that a quote from Jane Austen's character Fanny Price, who is an astute observer of natural beauty, should open this book with such a succinct statement expressing her delight in being planted on the bench in Sotherton's parkland to enjoy the serene beauty of the green landscape around her. Verdure is not a word that one runs across very often in contemporary writing but we should, because it vividly describes a scene and sensations in one word. It is no leap of the imagination that Fanny's creator Jane Austen gave her such sentiments, for Jane dearly loved nature herself and included references to it and gardening in her novels and letters.

Author Kim Wilson must be a Fanny Price too, sensitive and observant to natures beauty as her new book In the Garden With Jane Austen is a verdurous delight, introducing us to Austen's affinity to nature through the gardens she would have experienced in her own homes, family members and public gardens of Georgian and Regency England. This beautiful little volume is packed full of quotes from her novels and letters referencing her characters experiences in the garden and her own love of garden cultivation. It has always appeared to me that some of the best plot development in her novels happened while her characters were walking and I am reminded that her heroine's Elizabeth Bennet, Catherine Morland, and Emma Woodhouse were all proposed to in a garden or on a woodland path. Hmm? Should we take a clue from this ladies and get your men outside?

Ms. Wilson has certainly done her research collecting many quotes and antecedents from Austen's novels, letters and family lore effectively placing them in historical context and illustrated with beautiful photographs of the actual locations mentioned. I felt like I was on a personal garden tour of Austen's life as I traveled from the cottage gardens of her home in Steventon and Chawton, to the manor house gardens of her family such as brother Edward at Godersham Park, Goodnestone Park, and Chawton House, and the estate of Stoneleigh Abbey owned by her cousins the Leigh's. We are also treated to views of other famous estates that might have inspired settings in her novels such as Chatsworth House reputed to be the inspiration for Pemberley in Pride and Prejudice and Cottesbrook Hall for Mansfield Park.

Even though this is a lovely pictorial edition, the text is what really shines with so many facts and observations on how nature and gardens influenced Jane Austen's life and writings. I will admit to a more than slight disappointment in the book's small size and paperback format though in comparison to other comparably priced larger sized hardcover editions on the market.

I must confess a large prejudice in favor of this book even before it was published since it combined two of my passions, Jane Austen and gardening. When I finally had the book in hand, I was happy to discover that the last chapter is devoted to re-creating a Jane Austen inspired garden yourself reminiscent of a Regency or Georgian era. What a fanciful thought that plants that Austen admired can be obtained and grown either in a classic presentation, a few simple pots of garden herbs or her favorite flowering shrub the syringa placed by your front door to remind you everyday that looking upon verdure in the perfect refreshment.

Editorial Review:

Jane Austen's natural world--real and fictional--comes to life in this colorful, illustrated stroll through the gardens, parks and great estates of Regency England. With lush photos, social history, excerpts from Austen's novels, biographical information, drawings and diagrams, this book brings the great outdoors to readers eager to understand more details of Austen's environment. Also featured are instructions on how to create your own English garden and on where to see sites mentioned in the book. Gardens from movie adaptations of her novels are included.

Listening to Stone

Dan Snow

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 31 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

A master craftsman provides us with the timeless wisdom he has gained from heaving and hewing stone.

In his highly anticipated second book, Vermonter Dan Snow once again proves that he is not just one of America's premier artisans, but also one of our most articulate voices on the natural world and our relationship to it. Snow's medium is stone: He is the nation's premier drystone wall builder. Schooled in this ancient craft, he painstakingly creates structures as breathtaking as sculpture with nothing but gravity as their glue. In Listening to Stone, Peter Mauss's tactile photographs of Snow's artistry are matched by the artisan's quietly compelling prose.

In a voice as expressive as Annie Dillard's and as informed as John McPhee's, Snow demonstrates astonishing range as he touches on such subjects as geology, philosophy, and community. We learn that stone's grace comes from its unique characteristics—its capacity to give, its surprising fluidity, its ability to demand respect, and its role as a steadying force in nature. In these fast-paced times, Snow’s life's work offers an antidote: the luxury of patience, the bounty and quietude of nature, the satisfaction of sweat. "I work with stone," he ultimately tells us, "because stone is so much work."

Tasha Tudor's Garden

Tovah Martin

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Tasha Tudor's poignant art has fascinated adults and children for decades. Her nineteenth-century New England lifestyle is legendary. Gardeners are especially intrigued by the profusion of antique flowers -- spectacular poppies, six-foot foxgloves, and intoxicating peonies -- in the cottage gardens surrounding her hand-hewn house. Until now we've only caught glimpses of Tasha Tudor's landscape. In this gorgeous book, two of her friends, the garden writer Tovah Martin and the photographer Richard Brown, take us into the magical garden and then behind the scenes. As we revel in the bedlam of Johnny-jump-ups and cinnamon pinks, the intricacy of the formal peony garden, and the volumptuousness of her heirloom roses, we also learn Tasha's gardening secrets. How does she coax forth her finicky camellia blossoms in the dead of a Vermont winter? How does she train that fantastic topiary to model for her artwork? How can she keep her crown imperials from tumbling in the winds? Tasha's garden reflects a wealth of family lore, perfected through the years and years of working the soil. We may be dazzled by the beauty of the garden, but we come away from this book with practical ideas about improving our own plots of land. "Paradise on earth" is how Tasha describes her garden, and along with the flowers and the vegetables that provide her food, her paradise is filled with an enchanting menagerie -- corgies, Nubian goats, cats, chickens, fantail doves, and forty or more exotic finches, cockatiels, canaries, nightingales, and parrots, which inhabit her collection of antique cages. Tasha's beautiful watercolors and her enchanting anecdotes color this sublimely beautiful book.

Gardens Private & Personal: A Garden Club of America Book (Garden Club of America)

Nancy D'Oench, Bonny Martin

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Remarkable Private Gardens 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Elements of beautiful private American gardens, perhaps most previously unknown to readers, are shown in remarkable photos by Mick Hales, coordinated to be shown in their peak by Bonny Martin, with text by Nancy D'Oench. All ninety gardens are owned by women (or occassionally couples), members of the Garden Club of America. Rather than have the gardens presented on their own, the book is divided into twelve chapters and photos from various gardens are used to illustrate garden characteristics such as views, walks, water, color, containers, etc. Perhaps there is only mis-step in the selection of beautiful photos, the view of a portion of Ms Martin's own garden showing a slip-shod display of bonsai on boards resting on concrete blocks; the other photos are very inspiring. Ms D'Oench's text is only o.k.; information is often lacking in the captions. Still, it is a very attractive coffee table book that would make a good gift for friends and relatives with a green thumb, or those who wish they had a green thumb.

Editorial Review:

More than 90 exquisite gardens were photographed all around the United States especially for this book by Mick Hales, one of the world’s leading garden photographers. Organized according to parts of the garden—entryways, herbaceous borders, water features, hedges, etc.—the pictures are accompanied by insightful commentaries and extended captions. Quotations from the owners—dedicated gardeners all—offer an additional source of inspiration to any garden lover.

Living Systems: Innovative Materials and Technologies for Landscape Architecture

Liat Margolis, Alexander Robinson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A good reference book for both design major students and seasoned professional designers 5 out of 5 stars.
20 of 21 people found this review helpful.

As the former Director of Material Research at Material ConneXion, Liat Margolis combined her many years of experience in innovative multi-industry materials research with the professional design experience of her co-author and fellow Harvard GSD graduate, Alexander Robinson in "Living Systems: Innovative Materials and Technologies for Landscape Architecture."

"Vertical landscapes also represent a conceptual shift toward a synthesis between landscape and architecture; building facades, for example, can be embedded within emergent, active and responsive skins..." Liat Margolis and Alexander Robinson wrote.

They continued to discuss various living systems and applications demonstrated with real examples, including:

Launch (Multi-tiered Vine Park, Misting Vine Pergola, Wind Adapted Road Canopy Structure, Fire-Escape Ecosystem, Parasitic Vegetal Structure)

Stratify (Mechanically Stabilized Landform, Floating Glass Plain, Multi-Operational Modular Surface, Gradient of Resilience, Surface Inversion)

Fluid (Weaving Porous and Non- porous Surfaces, Inflatable Dam System, Stormwater Garden, Drop Structures for Suburban Stormwater System, Networked Sidewalk Stormwater System, Bio-technical Wave and Erosion Control Structures)

Grooming (Tree Crutches Growing Guide, Artificial Winter for a Bamboo Garden, Saltwater Herbicide System, Low-Maintenance Perennial Plantings, Stunted Growth Pattern)

Digestive (Bio-Remediation Park Design, Fluvially Integrated Effluent Wetlands, On-site Sewage Treatment System, Ground Reconstitution Strategy, Strategic Contaminated Soil Placement)

Translate (Pheumatic Body, Power by Wind, the Ground is a Turntable, Weather Informed Park Access System, Fiber Optic Marsh)

Volatile (Responsive Cloud Machine, Computer Animated Rain, Dynamic Thermal Wind Wall, Impression of Rain).

There is a helpful list of products and technologies at the end of the book.

"Living Systems: Innovative Materials and Technologies for Landscape Architecture" has 191 pages and many color interior photos and illustrations. It is a good reference book for both design major students and seasoned professional designers.

Gang Chen, Author of "LEED AP Exam Guide" & "Planting Design Illustrated," LEED AP, AIA

How to Build Treehouses, Huts and Forts

David Stiles

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

A READER 1 out of 5 stars.
17 of 33 people found this review helpful.

Please don't buy this book unless you are comfortable reading vague plans and are an experienced carpenter. For all the other "Weekenders" like me who appreciate step-by-step instruction with diagrams/pictures, detailed information on techniques for their projects, discussion regarding suitable materials and tips on finishing the project (i.e. painting, etc.) PLEASE choose a book more suited to your skill level. ... I sense impending doom if I attempt to build his cover playhouse which, by the way, seems rather small at only 6'x6'. I think I will join the ranks and order Norm Abrams plans and video as well. DONT BUY THIS BOOK

Editorial Review:

A treehouse is a wonderful idea, but how in the name of creation do you actually build one? In this delightfully illustrated handbook, David Stiles, the unofficial world grandmaster of the treehouse, shows how.

Not assuming anything about the treehouse builder, Stiles starts with the basics: how to nail, how to buy wood, what kind of screws and nails to use.

Then it's on to an A-frame design so simple that it can be built in a weekend out of four sheets of plywood, followed by lean-tos, a tree hut, and a Tarzan-style jungle hideaway. There are also forts of every description, including a 21-foot-tall lookout tower modeled on one George Washington built to keep an eye on the redcoats.

Stiles also adds a design for a snowball catapult, an igloo and even a Nerf-loaded cannon.

Written for children, with an adult peeking over their shoulder, Stiles's TREEHOUSES, HUTS, & FORTS is a dreamer's handbook, offering practical results.

The Essential Garden Design Workbook

Rosemary Alexander

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

A well-designed garden provides pleasure to owner and visitor alike but often eludes even the most experienced gardener. Encompassing many different disciplines, garden design is one of the most challenging art forms but, with time and practice, everyone can develop the necessary skills. The Essential Garden Design Workbook guides you through every stage of designing a garden from site assessment through to drawing up plans and selecting suitable hard landscaping and plants. By working through the book from start to finish, a designer garden is within everyone’s reach.

This practical workbook goes right back to basics and pinpoints the key practical essentials for a successful design. Here you will learn how to assess your site and experiment with design ideas that fit well with the garden’s surroundings. You will find easy ways to measure large spaces, estimate the height of a tree, and advice on the right proportions for a deck, pathway or steps. The book includes clear instructions for drawing up plans from initial site survey through to final design, complete with tips on drawing and rendering detail to give a professional touch.

This book is tailormade for hands-on gardeners who want to rework their gardens to achieve that sought-after ‘designer finish’. Hundreds of explanatory drawings and quick-reference diagrams provide ‘facts at your fingertips’ making this workbook a vital addition to the bookshelves of every gardener, design student and newly qualified professional.