5 comments about English Cottage Gardening: For American Gardeners, Revised Edition.

1. This is a truly wonderful and totally inspiring book. I bought it in order to look at the lovely photographs, but ended up reading it from cover to cover late into the night. I am completely new to gardening and have found so many books to be so dry as to be unreadable, not so this book. The main message of this book is just to start... LIke the gardeners profiled in the book learn from trial and error and move things around as necessary. The author describes a very personal, relaxed and process oriented approach to gardening which to me seems like the reason for doing it in the first place. Thank you Margaret Hensel.



2. My sister and I love english gardens...I bought the book for her..it was difficult to part with!



3. This books seems full of gardening ideas for those of us who are going to try to plant a cottage garden. We lost our home in the recent San Diego fires so this book should be great when we start from scratch.



4. But of little use if you're a novice looking for more of a "how-to" guide with practical advice on what flowers, etc. to plant and when. It got to the point I hardly read the text by the end.



5. Beautiful pictures, impenetrably dense text. I got this because of all the great reviews, but I have to disagree with them. I was expecting "how to create a cottage garden," but this is more like "two dozen cottage gardens and the two million plants that are in them." It was information overload, and yet not very informative. I was very disappointed. I returned this and got COTTAGE GARDENS (LETTS GUIDES TO GARDEN DESIGN), which was much cheaper and much more what I was looking for.

5 comments about Poolscaping: Gardening and Landscaping Around Your Swimming Pool and Spa.

1. I had high hopes due to high reviews, but I was very unhappy to find that only a small section of the book is actually about plants! You would think with a name like "Poolscaping" that the book would have had more to do about plants and landscaping around the pool. The book is instead divided in chapters about how to build a pool and many pictures on waterfalls and spa's. Very generic as a whole.



2. This book was an excellent resource for the designer looking to work with swimming pools. The ilustrated examples and artistic tips were an invauable inspiration for sparking the imagination when designing pools. Before reading this I did think of pools as slabs of concrete filled with water, but I believe this book has put far down the path of being able to design elegant swimming pools. I consider this a must read for any architectural designer.



3. Based on the description, I believed this book would be full of design ideas and photos of well-landscaped pools. It isn't. If you are looking (as I was) for examples to show a landscaper (or to do it yourself), you should look elsewhere.



4. This is one of the not so good books for pools like many many others. I don't know may be it is too hard to write for pools. There are inside some pictures but nothing to catch the eye neither spectacular. THis book was suppouse to guide you how to create your own pool but I have see much better books!
   So if you are going to spend money to build a pool keep on searching for another book!



5. Transform the swimming pool of a backyard into a Tuscan paradise with tiles and flowering plants, or create a pool with a beach-like presence filled with beach plants: that's the idea of Pool Scaping, a title which covers both swimming pool decor and appropriate landscaping around it. Pool Scaping is a lovely guide which covers the specifics of plants in a water surrounding.

5 comments about Outside the Bungalow: America's Arts and Crafts Garden.

1. I was looking for ideas to use in planning some landscaping for my craftsman bungalow. This book met that need, and then some, with lots of detail and plenty of photos. I especially liked the period landscape designs. All in all, a good book for casually perusing or for reading in more depth.



2. I was a bit disappointed by the quality of photographs in this book. They are not sharp pictures and I found the examples of gardens less than interesting. I was hoping to obtain some great ideas to incorporate into my own gardens, but nothing jumped out at me. Nice book, but I wouldn't recommend buying it. You can borrow mine!



3. This book is full of pictures of lovely arts and crafts style homes and gardens. I got several ideas for my own yard just from leafing through the pages.



4. This book covers the architectural aspects of the property surrounding the bungalow - gates, arbors, fences, walls, paths, steps, water features, courtyards, patios, pergolas, porches, outdoor furniture, etc. The photography and color illustrations are superb and it is hard to take your eyes off the photos to actually read the text! And although the photos were taken at the present, the authors have not neglected the history of these dwellings and have included beautiful colored postcards that were so popular during the 1920s and 1930s. An introductory sections discusses the movers and shakers of the Arts and Crafts Movement, like William Morris, William Robinson, Gertrude Jekyll and Gustav Stickley. The final chapter is devoted to the architectural firm of Greene and Greene, whose style was a major influence. Most of the houses and gardens photographed here are on the West Coast (mainly Seattle, WA, Portland, OR and Pasadena, CA) although there are some Rhode Island properties included as well. A final section is devoted to planting the garden and includes lists of plants which are good for any situation imaginable. This is a wonderful book - beautiful, unique and inspiring!



5. Disclaimer: I'm a bit biased, because its my home on the cover, despite this, the book is a crucial tool, there was so obvious a need for a book on this topic, one that relates to what people were wanting to do with their homes, and helping them to avoid. to a point, having to scrounge through years of bound periodicals in the library, and random drives through promising neighborhoods in search of inspiring examples....not that you would get to see the back yards.
   Doug and Paul have gone out of their way to search out appropriate examples for all three of their bungalow books together, ranging always from the garden shed to the Gamble house. This is the only in-print book I'd recommend for the topics of Arts & Crafts fencing, walls, paths, site integration etc.
   Having seen many of these sites in person, I can say that photographer Doug Keister, has brought a focus that many would miss in person. My wisteria only blooms 4-5 weeks a year, but of course, they got it then.
   My only complaint is that the photos are so compelling that many might never get to read all the text, which is what the book is all about.
   There is some validity to the point above about a West-Coast bias to the topics, but when you consider that virtually every other A & C garden book has a English tilt, it seems less a problem. There is room for a knowledgeable Mid-Westerner to write a good book as well. "Outside the Bungalow" is not the last book that should be written on the topic, just the best, by far, so far.

2 comments about The Landscape Urbanism Reader.

1. this book is really good to students who study Landscape Architecture.



2. This was a gift for my architect brother. He was thrilled with it. It was received as promised, with quick shipping and arrived in pristine shape. It was indeed a merry Christmas.

5 comments about Landscape Architectural Graphic Standards (Ramsey/Sleeper Architectural Graphic Standards Series).

1. It provides everything it claims to provide. I prefer this book's organization compared to the organization of similar standard books. It's a great quick reference for sport field dimensions and similar details I don't memorize. I know it's accurate and it's at my finger tips.



2. At long last, a definitive reference book on landscape architecture. Especially useful is the section on historic landscapes, which is an excellent summary of this sub-field of landscape architecture.



3. As another reviewer says, this book is infinitely better organized and user-friendly than Time Saver Standards for LA's while containing all of the same information. I believe that its use to me throughout my career will more than justify its hefty price tag. It should definitely be an addition to any office library.



4. As an educator and former president of the American Society of Landscape Architects and the Chief Landscape Architect and head of the New York City Housing Authority's Landscape Architecture division, Leonard J. Hopper, FASLA has made a significant contribution to the profession of Landscape Architecture by editing and compiling "Landscape Architectural Graphic Standards."
   
   For over 70 years, architects have been using a valuable reference book, "Architectural Graphic Standards." Finally, landscape architects can have a similar reference book, "Landscape Architectural Graphic Standards." This book includes 4 parts. Part One is Practice of Landscape Architecture. It covers overview of the profession, construction documentation, project administration, and legal and environmental factors. Part Two is Standards and Guidelines. It covers human factors, environmental factors (including a lot of sustainable design discussions), cultural factors, security considerations, cite planning, circulation, and accessibility. Part Three is Process, Implementation and Application. It covers construction operations and earthwork, stormwater management, irrigation and water features, pavement and landscape structure, site amenities, planting, special construction, hazard control, restoration and remediation, and parks and recreation. Part Four is Materials. It covers soils, asphalt, concrete, masonry, metals, wood, recreation surfaces, nursery stock, other materials, and evaluating the environmental and human health impacts of materials.
   
   "Landscape Architectural Graphic Standards" has 1088 pages (9.7 x 11.4 inches large format) and many line drawings. It is an important and comprehensive reference book you'll refer to again and again.



5. This book is essential for all Landscape Architects and designers and I highly recommend purchasing this latest printing. This book contains everything a designer needs for information and industry-wide standards that are used everyday as well as some that are not used everyday - this book puts it all together into one concise reference that should be kept within arms reach at all stages of the design process. I currently work with the author and he is extremely knowledgeable and experienced. Even if you have previous editions of this book, get this edition as it has been updated with current standards.

5 comments about Your House, Your Garden: A Foolproof Approach to Garden Design.

1. I have a library of gardening books and this is by far one of the best I've seen in years. Good design features; good advice. The only thing I would have enjoyed was a little more detail to the actual planting layouts. You won't regret buying this book.



2. Perhaps going into it...I expected too much!
   
   As a Landscape Designer I'd heard of him often, seminars, lectures etc. but somehow the book wasn't anywhere near as good as I'd hoped.
   
   I'm certain I would have enjoyed the book more if I didn't spend so much time wrestling with the layout. Mr. Hayward goes into great detail about landscaping concepts on a particular project & would generally end up referring to related photos or figures that were often many pages ahead. The going back & forth got really old after awhile...not to mention,extremely frustrating. I think any reader generally appreciates seeing the photos being referred to on the page they are explained.
   
   My other negative about this book was that so much detail seemed to be spent on specific projects that it seemed the author was more preoccupied at times with his clients project & describing things that often weren't even in the photographs or seriously helpful to a designer wanting to learn more. A more preferable approach in my opinion would have been to not fuss about specific client details but glean from the projects the essence or core principles applied & present them in a straight forward, generic fashion.
   
   After reading the entire book slowly & carefully, I would honeslty have to admit I'd hoped to find a vast wealth of practical & easily adaptable gems. Instead I only came away with very limited amount of useful information.
   
   I have not read any of Mr. Hayward's other books..so I may check them out in the library first before buying...perhaps they might be far superior to this one. I still hold to my opinion that he's a brilliant designer...however that doesn't necessariy make him a great writer!
   
   A book I found to be much better is The Landscape Design Answer Book by Jane Bath...



3. This book changed the way I look at landscaping. I have an oddly-shaped lot with both sunny and shady areas. This book has you get out your plot plan (something I never thought of!) and mark those areas and take a "whole yard" approach to your landscape. The advice is flawless, the pictures gorgeous. You will definitely want to add this to your library if you garden at all.



4. While I have several book shelves devoted to serious garden design, this is the book I always pull down and loan to my neighbors and friends. When they say " I would really like to do something with my side yard. I have to block out the new neighbors!", or " You know how bad my front walk looks I want to rip it out and redo it. What can I do to convince the kids to use it and not cut across the grass?" I say "Let me lend you a great book that will really get you thinking in the right direction". The advice is practical, logical and perfect for the weekend warrior. My copy of Your House, Your Garden has a waiting list for borrowing so I am buying a second copy!



5. This book has just been chosen by The American Horticultural Society as one of the five top garden books for 2004.

5 comments about Landscapes for Small Spaces: Japanese Courtyard Gardens.

1. Wonderful book with great photos and examples, some from different angles which are very useful to understand the actual lay out of these great Japanese gardens. Could use more in dept explanation of technical characteristics, but non the less wonderful.



2. This book is not only a great picture book, but it also provides wonderful descriptions of the Japanese gardens featured - succinct and informative. If you like landscaping with the Japanese feel, you'll enjoy this book.



3. The book is excellent but the dust cover was torn obviously before despatch as the packaging was good.
   The disappointment was that there was no method of complaint other than returning the product. From Australia to USA not practible.



4. I've been through a lot of Japanese gardening books, and many of been a little repetitive, covering the basic design elements and what not. Mizuno has put together a great "Intermediate" read once you've had enough of the basics. The pictures are some of the best available of authentic Japanese gardens, and the captions are short and to the point but with just enough plant identifications to be useful to someone in their planning stage.
   
   Perhaps the best feature of this book is the introductory discussion on the "Omoteya style" town home (traditional Japanese merchant class town home). The text suggest there is a conservation movement to this vanishing style of Japanese home that mirrors the affection American's are beginning to culture towards the Bungalow. As the Omoteya styled homes share similar dimensions with the American city lot (diagrams are provided with the text), this book is a fabulous resource to urban dwellers looking to incorporate the Japanese garden concept to their grassy postage stamp.



5. Beautiful pictures and good text. It doesn't contain "how to do" tips but there is a chapter on how the author build one tsuboniwa in a Kyoto house.

5 comments about Central Park, An American Masterpiece: A Comprehensive History of the Nation's First Urban Park.

1. Did you know that the elm lined mall leading to the Bethesda fountain and the view of the ramble are actually based on the layout of a church? Or that all of the lakes in Central Park are manmade. This and many other very interesting facts are interspersed with lovingly taken photographs of the park which were taken by the author of the book as well. Miller starts decribing how the park came to be and the leading ideas and ideals that lead to its creation by Olmsted and Vaux. She proceeds to describe systematically the various sections of the park providing historical information as well. She delves into the some of the controversies and compromises that Olmsted and Vaux encountered in the creation of one of the finest examples of 19th Century art but it is not a comprehensive history of the park. There is a 2 page map of the park at the of the book with a legend identifying each of the features discussed in the book. If you are first time visitor to the city wishing to explore the park in detail or a life long New Yorker this book will delight and surprise you.



2. As an avid fan of Central Park who has been exploring it and studying the books on it for decades, I was amazed at what there was still to learn about it from Miller's book. For example, other historians allude to a connection between Central Park's design and the Hudson River School of landscape art: Miller provides actual sources of the designer's inspiration and shows the results explicitly in the photos. And all in a way that is not at all "bookish" but instead makes you want to go right in and see for yourself the scenes she shows so well in the book's illustrations. The beautiful photos and fascinating stories and the well chosen historical prints all work together in such a compelling and entertaining way that one might never realize one is being educated by a superb textbook in the field of art.
   With her emphasis on the past of the park, and its present restored beauty, it is understandable that the author does not use very much of the book's valuable space on the remaining present-day problems, but she might at least have alluded to the incongruity of the city's insistence on using this artistic matepiece as a through route for motor traffic during the majority of daylight weekday hours. In effect, the city's Dept. of Traffic is providing a refuge from the chaos of the surrounding streets during rush hours - but for the cars, not for the people. If you want to appreciate the park shown in this book, go during the times when the traffic noise does not drown out the wind in the trees, the birdsong, and the happy voices of children!



3. Central Park is breath taking and this book does a fine job of giving the reader a feel for what makes this 850 acre masterpiece so special. The book is quite thorough and does an commendable job of disecting various sections of the park. The color photos are vivid and well thought out and the text is highly informative. The author has a real love for the park and it comes out in her writing. If you have never visited Central Park or have visited and fell in love with it like so many others, you will love this book. This oasis really is the heart of New York City and to understand New York you have to understand the parks history and its vast importantance to the city. Central Parks importance to New York and New Yorkers cannot be overstated, I can't imagine the city without it.



4. Commemorating the 150th anniversary of Central Park, photographer and historian Sara Cedar Miller celebrates the aesthetic, cultural and historic significance of America's first public park with the book "Central Park, An American Masterpiece." This is the park's definitive illustrated history, and offers some of the most gorgeous photographs I have seen on the subject - a difficult task given the number of pictures that have been drawn, painted and photographed of the Manhattan landmark. The book includes over 200 color illustrations, original plans and drawings alongside modern photos, giving the viewer/reader an historical perspective.

   Accompanying Ms. Miller's work, portraying the park throughout the seasons, is a well written text which highlights the conception and creation of the park and its art and architecture. This is a big, beautiful picture book that would make a wonderful addition to any home or library. It's a wonderful gift idea. I know as I have given it numerous times.

   Ms. Miller is the parks official historian and photographer and has been since the mid-1980s.
   JANA




5. Sara Miller has put together an outstanding book: a book as vast and detailed as the Great Park itself. For those not familiar with the park and its history, this is an invaluable introduction to the political, demographical, economic and, especially, aesthetic thinking that went into the creation of 800 acres of gorgeous park space in the middle of Manhattan. For those seasoned veterans of NYC history, this is a welcome reminder of the enormous vision and efforts of Calvert Vaux and Fredrick Law Olmsted, as they conceived the park.

   Nota Bene: A lot of books have gorgeous photos but the print job is miserable ... Others have high-qualtity prints but the photos aren't that interesting ... This book has glorious prints and an expert print job. Pick up this book.

   Rocco Dormarunno, author of The Five Points and The Five Points Concluded

5 comments about Infrastructure: A Field Guide to the Industrial Landscape.

1. For me, this book brought a new level of fun to driving around. Another take on the many things that 'make civilized life possible.'



2. This engrossing book leads the reader on a tour of industrial features that one would encounter on both a cross-country or cross-town trip. After reading this book, you will find yourself---as I did---pointing out industrial installations and explaining their use to friends and family.
   
   The glossy, full-color pictures are the most striking feature of this large book. They superbly complement the already excellent, clear, and well-organized text. I was also particularly impressed by the further reading listed at the back of the book. It is organized by chapter and ranked from "Kids" to "Geeks". It filled my stack of reading for several weeks after I finished Infrastructure.
   
   My only criticism of the book echoes the author's apology in the preface: there are many technologies and industries necessarily absent from the book. I can only hope that the author will produce further books of similar quality in the future.



3. If you go for a walk and start actually looking around, you'll see a lot of things that most of us don't really understand -- power lines, sewer systems, the mysterious blue telephone junction boxes. This book explains why and what these things are -- think of it as a Nature Guide for the human-made environment. Do you have Sibley's Guide? Well, you should have one of these, too. My only quibble -- the pages are below standard quality for a hardback book. But never you mind -- don't be picky, like me! Get this book!



4. A proviso that must be made is that this is a very-USA-centric book. No disrespect intended as it is a beautifully photographed and relatively detailed (plus references for a lot more information) tome. Just something to keep in mind as the world is not (yet?) flat in infrastructure.
   
   I like to think of myself as pretty knowledgeable, but I learned quite a bit in each chapter. I can imagine a similar book for Infrastructure 1925 (or so). Would be fun to see what has been lost (trains/streetcars/twice-daily-mail delivery) and gained (more obvious).



5. I've been looking for a book like this for quite a while. I've always been interested about how technology is part of the infrastructure of our everyday lives. Particularly as it relates to electricity and telecommunications. While all of the novels and technical books I read eventually make their way to either my bookshelves or a box, I can easily see this book as something that will permanently become part of my coffee table. I look forward to reading (and re-reading) the various sections. I've found the book to be sufficiently technical, yet simultaneously casual in tone. Considering the subject matter, a very easy, informative and entertaining read. Highly recommended.

1 comments about Recovering Landscape: Essays in Contemporary Landscape Theory.

1. Recovering Landscape: Essays in Contemporary Landscape Architecture, proposes that when landscape is considered solely as a noun, its active role in the everyday lived experiences of humankind is lost. In this light, the volume seeks to recover landscape as not only a verb, "as process or activity," but also to recover the role of idea and the imaginary in landscape. To this end, Recovering Landscape is primarily directed toward the practicing landscape architect and how he/she can invoke this concept into his/her training, design and activities. Scholars of applied landscape who are concerned with turning idea into artifact will undoubtedly find this volume informative in guiding their practice. At the same time, theoretical landscape scholars who are interested in understanding and interpreting landscape as both cultural artifact and cultural process will also find much of interest in this volume.

   The volume itself is divided into three sections: "reclaiming place and time" which explores the temporal, habitual, physical and cultural influences on the context of landscape; "constructing and representing landscape" which explores several different methods for representing landscape and how these methods can be used to approach and design landscape as a process or verb; and "urbanizing landscape" which presents what can be considered as, more or less, case studies invoking the above ideas, drawing them out in specific contexts.

   The concept of understanding landscape as a process, or an activity, rather than as an object offers an unique perspective to landscape scholarship, similar to the ideas introduced by W.J.T. Mitchell in Landscape and Power (1994). This perspective brings more fully to the forefront the temporal, habitual and cultural processes that not only effect, but are integrally a part of landscape. Too often landscape is seen not only as an object, but as objective, something which exists apart from the individual and something which is larger than the individual. This notion is reversed in Recovering Landscape. The essays demonstrate that the role of an individual (as well as society) has the ability to significantly affect landscape, whether it be the landscape architect who actively designs landscape, the individual who habituates and experiences landscape, or the scholar who contributes representations of landscape. All of these are important considerations for the field of landscape study and, as such, Corner's volume articulates the various ways by which the above aspects can influence the understanding and interpretation of landscape.