2 comments about Ten Landscapes: Raymond Jungles.

1. While I was interested in seeing the presented works, I was disappointed that the landscaping drawings were mostly only a half page and had no detail information as to the plantings, etc. Basically it becomes a picture book to examine the presented landscapes, some of which I have seen repeated elsewhere. The overall size of the book is too small to get much value out of the photographs of the landscape that are presented. The plants seem to mostly exotic that would not be available to most people.



2. Splendid and inspiring... Raymond Jungles tropical gardens are wonderful living works of art, a must for anyone interested in modern art and landscape architecture. The photographs capture a unique talent and love of nature that transcends landscape design and will always be modern and artistic. This book should be a primer for anyone studying landscape architecture, and is a refreshing breakaway from the rigid monotony that is so commonly done by practicing landscape architects.

No comments about The Victorian Gardens: The Art of Beautifying Suburban Home Grounds, a Victorian Guidebook of 1870.

No comments about Frederick Law Olmsted and the American environmental tradition (Planning and cities).

No comments about LARE Review Section A Sample Exam: Project and Construction Administration.

No comments about Kew Palace: The Official Illustrated History.

No comments about Capturing the Horizon.

1 comments about Garden Planning (Reader's Digest Home Handbooks).

1. Editor John Brookes brings us Garden Planning full of color photographs and illustrations covering all types of garden elements for a small city apartment to a large estate. The concept of the book is excellent, but the topics covered are too limited and narrowly covered. Not a bad title for those who want a starting point in planning their garden.

2 comments about Planting Design: A Manual of Theory and Practice.

1. I'm landscape design teacher. I've been looking for the books about planting design for my students. There were few i had found. This one is golden. Very useful both for me and my students



2. I like this book.
   Its strength is in the design aspect of planting design. Nelson discusses seasonal effects of plants, lines, form, texture, color, scale and angle of vision. He also explores some basic design principles: repetition, variety, balance, emphasis, sequence and scale.

No comments about Gertrude Jekyll: A Vision of Wood and Garden.

4 comments about The Backyard Landscaper: 40 Professional Designs for Do-It-Yourselfers.

1. This book is not designed to be all things for all people, but rather a starting point. I think it gives good sketches for ideas on what you might want to do with your landscaping. It shows you general classes of plants, how many, and where to place them to achieve similar results from what is depicted in the book. I did not find one particular sketch to be fitting of what I want but pieces of several that I used to draw my own sketch for my yard. Then with looking around the landscaping in my area and talking with the people at local nurseries, I have been able to select the appropriate plants to fit that sketch -- all for free. So if you are looking for an absolute cookbook approach to landscaping, this is not it. But if you want good ideas and some guidance, you'll find what you are looking for here. You can by the landscape plans for $55 or less. So the investment isn't so bad if you want the recipe too.



2. The landscape plans are tiny and there are no plant lists - you have to buy the plant list, deck/structure plans and useable sized landscape plans. When I realized this could easily amount to a hundred bucks I returned the book (and I NEVER return anything).

   You are asked to invest this money in a landscape design based on an artist rendering of the design, generally from one angle and in one season. I can't imagine anyone purchasing a plan this way.

   And wosrt of all many of these plans are not original. They are the same or very similar to plans that have appeared in landscape or house design magazines (where you also have to order the plans and plant lists).

   For about the price of this book you can buy Sunset Northeastern Landscaping, Landscaping in the Northeast and Canada zones 3,4,5 and 6 or something similar for your region. With these books you get plans with plant lists and descriptions, how-to info, photos and much more.

   Please look around befor you waste money on this book. There are MUCH better books out there.




3. Over the last decade we have landscaped 3 homes and the landscape plans here were a huge help in defining what we wanted and how exactly to lay out the plants. I have referred to this book and Easy Care Landscape Plans over and over again. I only wish they had a book filled with plans for those of us dealing with small California yards!



4. This book has plenty of ideas for backyards, but they're all sketches, not photographs. Plus, you have to order the blueprints to find out what plants they're talking about in the book. This book was not very helpful.