4 comments about Home Landscaping: Mid-Atlantic Region (Home Landscaping) (Home Landscaping).

1. This book was wonderful because it had lots of picture to draw ideas from. It also had information on different seasons and how the plants would be affected. It was so helpful to me.



2. This book is a wonderful resource. The book is full of design ideas shown in site plans, 3-D renderings, and with great close up photos of the flowers, scrubs, and trees. Many designs are shown in each season and in a progression of how it will look in three to five years and then in ten to fifteen years. I found this book to be very helpful in designing flower beds, in picking plantings, and in knowing how to care for each planting.



3. I'm not under 13, but I didn't want to give my name and email.

   This book is great. It takes advantage of some great underused native plants from the Mid Atlantic. It is very helpful because it provides plant spacing and maintenance. Most plants are low maintenance, all year interest.

   I have used the landscape plans in my yard and will continue to use this book as my number one reference.




4. I am new to gardening and I am have cleared out my backyard, I had no idea what I was doing or what kind of plants to put where until I read this book. It also has good ideas for building patios... great illustrations too!

No comments about Gardens of the National Trust.

4 comments about Golf Has Never Failed Me: The Lost Commentaries of Legendary Golf Architect Donald J. Ross.

1. Although the only real written work Ross has left us, it is a wellspring of information regarding his thinking on good (and bad) course design. There are also comments regrading how the game was played in his day and a number of other informative and enlightening segments.
   
   The overall style of the book is a collection of short comments on concepts, courses, and techinques of course building. As such, it lacks the flair that we see in other books written by the same generation of architects to illustrait a greater story (as with, for example, Macdonald's Scotland's Gift). Even so, Ross' character comes out.
   
   In addition to the rare look we get at the thinking of a master course architect, there are also numerous photos and design sketches that bring into clear view what is being discussed.
   
   Lastly, for those hoping to hunt down a Ross course near you, there is an index of Donald Ross designed courses and clubs included.
   
   It should be kept in mind that this is a book for the architecture crowd. People looking to "shave off a few strokes" will need to look elsewhere. It is hoped, though, that this book will be available before the 2005 US Open at Pinehurst, as there will no doubt be an increased interest in Ross and his courses.



2. In the introduction to this book, Donald Ross's daughter says, ". . .he approached every new course with the idea that the golf player, champion or duffer, should complete his round challenged by the layout and enriched by the beauty of nature."

   In his career, Donald Ross designed more than 400 courses in the United States. His most famous is Pinehurst No. 2, considered one of the ultimate tests of tournament golf.

   This book was created from an old manuscript Mr. Ross wrote in 1914 that was never published, intended as a guide to future golf architects, supplemented with other published commentaries by and about Ross.

   Mr. Ross had an unusual background for a golf course architect. In a time when engineers usually designed and built the courses, he had served as the pro and greenskeeper at Dornoch in Scotland, after training at St. Andrews with Old Tom Morris and at Carnoustie. The lure of much higher income and the opportunity to build lots of golf courses drew him to the United States with his first job of rebuilding Oakley in Watertown, Massachusetts.

   Here are some of the ideas he shares in the book:

   "These are my standards to laying out a golf course.

   Make each hole a different problem.

   So arrange it that each stroke must be made with full concentration and attention necessary to good golf. Build each hole in such a manner that it wastes none of the ground at my disposal, and takes advantage of every possibility I see."

   A sandy loamy soal is best, with very little humus. This gives you better playing conditions and a longer season. Long Island and Cape Cod are best.

   Avoid clay soils because they are hard to drain. Unfortunately, most land around major cities is clay soiled. Favor fan-shaped and oblong tracts of land so that the clubhouse can be returned to with little wasted land after 9 holes.

   Start out with two or more easy holes.

   Favor par 4s unless people insist on par 5s. Par 4s make a better test, especially 425-450 yard ones.

   On par 5s, provide two paths to the green -- one for reaching in 2 and one for reaching in 3.

   "Select your putting green locations, if possible, to give desirable undulating surfaces."

   "Make all the short holes difficult."

   "The holes should be trapped so that par golf depends on skill rather than physical strength."

   "Bunkers should so be placed as to be clearly in view, and in such locations as to make all classes of golfers think."

   He recommends designing from the land, rather than on paper. He also suggests building the best few holes the land will allow, because golfers are attracted and retained by memories of great and challenging holes. He ends humbly with "I am not much of a writer. I find my thoughts run far ahead of my hand and figures when I sit down to write."

   There are about 60 pages in the book that will be valuable to architects and greenskeepers, but will not do much for golfers. You may choose to skip those.

   The book lists the known Donald Ross courses, and has many beautiful black and white photographs and illustrations.

   One of the pleasures of reading this book for me relates to having played on many Donald Ross courses, and belonging to a country club (Brae Burn in West Newton, Massachusetts) that has a Donald Ross course. The book features 3 photographs from our course (the 1st, 2nd, and 17th holes). I will certainly have many new thoughts whenever I play this course after reading this interesting book. To golf's pleasures, I can now add thinking about what the architect was trying to accomplish.

   I also came away with a greater appreciation for Donald Ross, because he was trying to make golf more challenging and less frustrating for the average club golfer like me. This made me want to play many more Donald Ross courses in the future. I hope you have that reaction, too.

   Use this book to help you pick courses that will improve your enjoyment of golf!

   What else do you enjoy doing where the designer or architect makes a difference to you?

   If you like this book, there is a new book out with color photographs of 18 of Mr. Ross's finest holes that you should see entitled: Golf as It Was Meant to Be Played which I also reviewed.




3. Donald Ross was the pivotal figure in the establishment of golf as a recreational sport in the U.S. His courses remain as challenging today as they were during his times.

   This book gives the reader insights into how to view a course with a critical eye. And after reading it, one can quickly identify the trademark features of a Ross design and perhaps score a little better on it.

   The book also provides a comprehensive listing of courses.

   --The man who is going to play every Donald Ross course.




4. This book is timeless. Written over fifty years ago the text and accompanying photos and sketches are well done. If you want to understand a Donald Ross Golf Course then you need to read this book.The photographs are from a time gone by - you can picture yourself there.

1 comments about The Mathematics of Turfgrass Maintenance.

1. It should be named something like the "Essential Math Reference Book for Farmers, Landscapers, Golf Course Superintendants, Nursery Managers etc." What a wonderful and easy to use reference book for anyone dealing with the frustrating world of area measurements, volume/fertilizer/pesticide/irrigation/seeding rate calculations, and spreader and spayer calibration. I've worn out one copy and am on my second. I use it on my farm, at work as a pesticides applicator, and in my landscaping business. This is a must-have book for folks like me that hate math but have to use it almost everyday....believe me your money won't be wasted on this one and it won't just collect dust on your shelf.

4 comments about Dutch Colonial Homes in America.

1. This book provides an overview of a number of houses built by the Dutch colonist and their descendants in the former colony New Netherland. Beautiful photo's and an extensive historical description of eacht house and its area.



2. This is one of may favorite books featuring authentic Dutch colonials.
   
   The pictures are wonderful as well as the text.
   I had no idea as to the contribution the Dutch had not only in architecture but to the development of the country.
   
   There are many distinctions in their details. There are also many commonalities. I've been able to sort through and incorporate some simple but memorable treatments in one of my projects thanks to this book.
   
   It's a great reference for ideas as well as history and I turn to it often as of late.



3. This book contains some of the best visuals I have seen in quite a long time. The useage of lateral light to bring out texture, color, and ambience is striking. The authors have succedded in isolating commonplace daily scenes found in everything from common humble surroundings to the grandest settings. All scenes are presented equally well, and ,most important, in a new manner- Thus allowing the contemporary viewer to more than glimpse into the past. The visuals are accompainied with an informative, very readable text to greatly aid the reader in interpretation of the scenes depicted. Well done!



4. The material culture of the Dutch in America has always been misunderstood, mis-interrupted, and ignored. Now a book which gives visual evidence of the major contributions of the Dutch in the New World- how this culture in large part contributed to the newly emerging American culture and society.
   This is a must read for anyone interested in early American history as well as the colonial era.

No comments about Piet Boon.

1 comments about Landscape Ecology Principles in Landscape Architecture and Land-Use Planning.

1. Quick read if you want to avoid digging through peer-review journals to learn the same principles.

No comments about The National Park Architecture Sourcebook.

1 comments about The Original Pink Flamingos: Splendor on the Grass.

1. If you are a one of the many lovers of phoeniclpteris ruber plasticus, (pink plastic flamingos), this book will delight you. It is the story of the progression of the p.r.p. from its birth in Leominster, MA, to its spread throughout the United States. The book is the collection of photos summited to the company on the 40th anniversary of the flamingos' entrance into Amercian culture. Writer Tom Herzing gives a delightful tongue-in-cheek dialog of the dear birds; the photos chosen are better than your average bird photos. THE ORIGINAL PINK FLAMINGOS;Spelndor in the Grass, makes a wonderful addition to the usual coffee table clutter of 'real art'.

No comments about Garden Paths: Inspiring Designs and Practical Projects.