No comments about The Oxford Companion to the Garden.

1 comments about Invisible Gardens: The Search for Modernism in the American Landscape.

1. Invisible Gardens is a well-written, lively introduction to the confluence of landscape architecture and modernism during the middle decades of the twentieth century. Although somewhat like a textbook in its style of presentation, the writing throughout is clear, incisive and often quite absorbing. And there are plenty of black and white photos and architectural renderings which accompany the text to enhance its ability to inform. But only twelve colour plates were included in Invisible Gardens. I felt a bit let-down personally by this aspect of the project. I thought the book could have used additional high quality colour plates of the often spectacular commissions under review to balance the density of the text. And to convey visually what often needs to be seen to be properly appreciated.

No comments about Residential Landscape Architecture (5th Edition).

2 comments about Creative Time: The Book: 33 Years of Public Art in New York.

1. This book is an absolutely illuminating look into the history of Creative Time's impact on public art. Beautifully printed images accompany textual explorations into artists' projects with Creative Time over the past few decades. A must-have for anyone interested in the growth of art that is vital for the creation of a more enriching public realm.



2. If you like public art and if you like New York, buy this book. It's a fascinating history of an organization that has, for four decades, been at the forefront of this field. This book is beautifully done by Princeton Architectural Press and the several year effort by director Anne Pasternak and her staff is really quite amazing. The 300 plus projects they have sponsored are chronologically presented with beautiful color photography and interspersed with essays and interviews by some fascinating people. Also, this book is going to be a collector's item because each cover is a distinct numbered print generated by a machine recording the sights and sounds of NYC. You can either skim the surface by focusing on the projects alone, or you can delve deeper into the minds of the people who have created and presented these projects.

1 comments about Reclaiming the American West.

1. This book is the first book I have read in the past 5 years that is so visually captivating I could not put it down. Berger uses his own gorgeous aerial and ground photographs, and visionary mapping techniques to show the world a new type of landscape that is being produced via landscape devastation and reclamation. He coins a new term -Post Technological Landscape-to describe the artificial landscapes being formed by humans in the post-mined areas of the western U.S. An introduction to the book, by the enigmatic poet Frederick Turner, also helps define this term. There is a very interesting,if not dry, appendix that reveals how each western state technically defines the term "reclamation" and what they have accomplished to clean up industrial leftovers in the landscape. I highly recommend this book for anyone thirsting for landscape photography, landscape theory, ecology and nature.

2 comments about Shocking Beauty.

1. As a garden designer and gardener, this book is inspirational. I am thrilled with the juxtapostions of plants in this book. Great job. I only wish I lived in the Northwest so I can have them all!



2. Thomas Hobbs is a master maker of gardens, and in SHOCKING BEAUTY he offers his original perspective on garden design through a series of literary, inspiring essays taking examples from exceptional gardens throughout North America and Europe to show how gardens can be inspired rather than arranged. Nature is the best example of how to blend colors and textures to create 'shocking beauty', Hobbs maintains: full-page color photos demonstrate this beauty.
   
   Diane C. Donovan, Editor
   California Bookwatch

4 comments about Garden Design Details.

1. As a professional designer, writer and photographer, I found this book to be chock full of great ideas! The title and description of the book fit perfectly, in my opinion, in that it did offer beautiful high quality images of a wide array of design ideas that inspired my own creativity. It's easy to get stuck in a rut when you sit at a drafting table or a computer day after day. This book was just the thing I needed to jar me awake and start thinking more creatively at the midpoint of what has been a very long season thus far.



2. On the contrary to what another disappointed reviewer sites as this book's failure to live up to professional landscaping standards, this is a great small reference book! Nowhere in the description does it state that it is anything other than a source for ideas and inspiration. At almost 200 pages it is full of fantastic photos which serve as the jumping off point for what you can aspire for in your landscaping projects. For those of us that don't have regular access to an environmental design library and have few other immediate references than the small thumbnail photos found on the internet, this book fills the niche quite nicely. Re-read the editorial review and I think you'll find this book is as diverse as it is pretty to look into.



3. The book describes function and meaning of landscape elements insightfully yet digested and understandable. This book is useful for both beginner and advance landscape designer. In addition, gists and tips in this book are also useful for public space and urban designer. Picture are well arrange to show creativity in traditional and comtemporary landscape detail design.



4. This book is a coffee table book. The pictures are nice, but it does not give any new or valuable information regarding garden design (no reference to styles or history whatsoever). It is not a book for professionals. I only gave it the 2 stars because the cover and pictures are pretty. If you are seriously interested in design, don't buy this book.

2 comments about The Xeriscape Flower Gardener: A Waterwise Guide for the Rocky Mountain Region.

1. In arid west, water is a scarce resource that has been taken for granted. This book provides many good ideas on how to have beautiful yard while using less water. One of the best parts of the book is the summary on different plants and their water requirements. Many in the west don't realize how much beauty they can bring into their landscapes by adding xeric natives such as penstemons, agastaches and the like.
   
   One of the best guides to xeriscape plants to experiment with, I recommend this book to all western gardeners who would like to use less water and provide more cover and nectar for wildlife.



2. This book was written for those of us who live in the arid west, love to garden and desire an attractive landscape, but who are faced with an uncertain water supply. As water resources are becoming more expensive, and in some cases rationed, we all need to consider how to garden appropriately for the climate zone in which we live. This book begins with the rationale for water-wise gardening, takes the reader through an easy to understand planning and design phase, and finishes up with excellent photographs and plant descriptions. Xeriscaping is definitely the wave of the future, no matter where you live!

No comments about Northwest Landscaping: A Practical Guide to Creating the Garden You've Always Wanted.

1 comments about New Orleans: The Making of an Urban Landscape.

1. New Orleans is an "inevitable city on an impossible
   site" is what Pierce Lewis said in his book Making Of An Urban Landscape.
   
   I would add to that "an inevitable party on an impossible site by illicite and illogical people.'
   
   Most of what is there now was not there prior to WWII. The early settlers (1699) understood the land and built appropriately.
   
   If anyone is to blame it is the French! But it is a most wonderful book about the growth and development of a wonderful city.