2 comments about Taylor's Weekend Gardening Guide to Topiaries and Espaliers: Plus Other Designs for Shaping Plants (Taylor's Weekend Gardening Guides).

1. This is a great beginner's book on how to create topiaries & espaliers. The book is in full color with lots of photos. Instructions are clear and easy to follow. In each section appropriate plant types are discussed.

   First, frameless topiaries are described. Designs included are lollipop, poodle, spiral, & corkscrew trees. The book then shows how to make empty frame topiaries. Included are circles, hoops and spirals.

   Then it shows you how to make a moss-filled bunny. Following this method you can make almost any shape imaginable. Several kinds of espalier shapes, and how to make them are then show.

   Finally, knots, mazes, pleaching, pollarding & coppicing are covered. Proper tools and shaping hedges are explained as well. Be aware that most plants used are for warmer climates (zone 6 or above).




2. This is the first negative review I've written, and I feel badly about it. I was so anticipating the arrival of this book.

   The instructions, which I was eager to get, were only the most general, basic things I already knew even though I'm a raw beginner. I was particularly interested in espalier and pleached allee directions and was hoping for a book with lot of focus on these. A couple of short articles available on the Net were much more informative and illustrated each step very clearly.

   The list of recommended plant materials was limited. With a little research on the Internet, I obtained a much more extensive list suited to my area.

   The photos were the best part, although they could have been improved, too.

   The most positive statement I can make is that the price was most reasonable, and perhaps that is why this book was so lightweight, more for browsing than using for instruction.

   I'm ordering another book from Amazon, hoping for better instructions--and hopefully, I'll be able to write a glowing review!

2 comments about The Contemporary Guesthouse: Building in the Garden.

1. i was most impressed by this truly valuable publication - a must for anyone's library interested in efficient design, architecture and entertaining.



2. This book is consistently wonderful. As a collection of small scale architectural works, it illustrates that small in size can be large in ambition and accomplishment. Sirefman uses the guest house to represent an important cross section of contemporary architecture, and the book is a gem.
   
   The guest house (as a "type") is generally considered second string to the main house architecturally, but this collection argues that it doesn't have to be. The guest house's transitory, secondary nature allows it a freedom that a primary house does not have. The projects in the book have playfulness, eccentricity, quirks, and drama (sometimes all at once) that are immediately compelling. But the dialogue between main house and guest house is not the primary emphasis of the book - instead the best projects here are visual essays about the guest house's place in the garden. Many projects here play with the question that F L Wright asked Philip Johnson at the Glass House: "Well, are we inside or are we outside?"
   
   High points include the luminous and dazzling Mountain Tree House by Mack Scogin, or the brooding, poetic entries from two Japanese architects (Satoshi Okada, Atelier Hitoshi Abe).
   
   The selection of projects is refreshingly international. Although weighted toward the New York area, the most compelling projects are far from the madding crowd - coming from Mittagong, Australia, Dillard, Georgia, or Duluth, Minnesota. It's an interesting statement on the current dispersal of design talent that what's shown here from Oklahoma City, for example, is more accomplished than anything on the pages by New York architects.

No comments about Landscape Architecture: An Illustrated History in Timelines, Site Plans and Biography.

No comments about Other People's Gardens.

No comments about Spectacular City: Photographing the Future.

2 comments about Plants in Garden History.

1. This beautiful book by one of the most acclaimed gardening experts in the world is a fascinating walk through the gardens of the past. From ancient gardens through to medieval enclosed gardens and more modern garden styles, Hobhouse is a fantastic guide to matters of style, content, and design.

   If you enjoy garden history, or books like Anna Pavord's The Tulip I think you will really like this book. It is also great inspiration if you would like to include a historical garden (like a knot garden) into your landscaping plans




2. I first saw this book at an art bookshop. It is one of the lovliest books I have see in a long time. I am just about to purchase it and I can hardly wait to receive it in the mail. For anyone loving plants, beauty and history this would make such a excellent present.

1 comments about Shortcuts for Accenting Your Garden: Over 500 Easy and Inexpensive Tips.

1. Want your garden to be unique, one that neighbors and friends "ooh and ahh" over? Read Marianne Binetti's Shortcuts for Accenting Your Garden. Learn how to create focal points and to showcase your favorite plants. If you've always wanted an archway, Marianne gives you great ideas. And you'll gain the confidence you need to add walkways, a bird bath, or garden ornaments to your yard. Best of all, this book gives easy and inexpensive gardening tips (over 500) that help spark your creativity no matter what your starting point is. What more can you ask for in this easy-to-read book! And you'll enjoy the fun that Marianne has with words. I know I'm going to refer often to Marianne's book for inspiring gardening ideas.

No comments about City Lights: Illuminating the American Night (Landscapes of the Night).

No comments about Earthscape a Manual of Environmental.

No comments about Mario Schjetnan: Landscape, Architecture and Urbanism.