1 comments about Monet's Garden: Through the Seasons at Giverny.

1. As a long time fan of impressionist art, Claude Monet and gardening, I found this book very informative. The setting is Monet's former home just outside Paris, France. The book details how the grounds were renovated under Monet's direction and how upkeep continues on the grounds today. Many of the settings such as the Lilly Pond are pictured and described in detail. This book is well worth the purchase price for Monet fans.

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.

No comments about Plant Marriages: What Plants Look Good Together - How to Choose the Perfect Plant Combinations for Your Garden.

No comments about Digital Land: Integrating Technology into the Land Planning Process.

No comments about Ortho's Plans for Beds & Borders.

5 comments about The Lost Border: The Landscape of the Iron Curtain.

1. This book is a must for those who have never seen the Border regions during the cold war. These pictures show the regions as they were then. The photographs in this book show these areas as beautiful, tranquil, quiet and foreboding, with the ever present eye of East German Guards peering at you from the border towers. Those fences and no mans land are gone now, and have since been replaced by reconstruction. These photographs are very rare and exclusive, taken throughout Berlin, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Czeshoslovakia and Italy. It is a haunting reminder what communism was, especially for those who lived between the fences.



2. With photos taken in the mid 1980s the author takes us on a pictorial trip along the former Iron Curtain from the Baltic sea coast at Travemunde (West-East Germany) to the Adriatic sea coast at Trieste (Italy-Yugolsalvia [today Slovenia]); with a separate chapter on the Berlin Wall. They are superb photos full of (sad) atmosphere, poignancy and historical importance. Like another reader, I just wish there were more of them. The chapters with photos from the period following the collapse of the Soviet empire and thus its lengthy prison wall with the west are relevant too. The author doesn't provide any lengthy description of the physical nature of the fortifications, history of escape attempts, as well as the constrast in the lives of people on each side of the borders but that has been the subject of other books and there is no need to; the brief comments combined with the pictures are all you need to appreciate it.



3. The Lost Border by Brian Rose fulfills an historical need by photographing the Iron Curtain before it was relegated to the dustbin of history. The photos are are in color and fill the need of being historical rather than some modern black and white modern art form which would have defeated the whole purpose of the book. I have walked the Berlin Wall many times in the 60's & 70's to take photos and aggravate the guards and for me to see the rest of the Iron Curtain in this large format book was a pleasure. I compliment Mr Rose on his endeavor. These photos show the stark reality of the evil of communism in clear detail. The Lost Border is an asset to any library; home or otherwise.



4. I haven't seen anyone else put together a book like this, with shots from all along the Iron Curtain in the Cold War. My only disappointment was that there's not more of it - because the work in here is excellent, and I would have loved for it to not end so soon. Highly recommended for anyone who is interested in what the Soviets did to Eastern Europe until the fall of communism.



5. I grew up behind that border, lived in this grey cold world. The photographs brought back a lot of supressed memories. Looking through the book, I realized that these memories should be kept alive. Awesome and chilling at the same time. I would recommend this book to anyone....the era has passed but it was real. A lot of lives were lost at that border and many untold stories are buried with it. To me that book is a tribute to all who suffered in the name of freedom, I was just one of many.

5 comments about Redesigning the American Lawn: A Search for Environmental Harmony, Second Edition.

1. I have to say that I bought this book on a lark, not expecting much from it. I was wrong. It presents a whole new way to look at the typical suburban lawn, namely mine. I have to admit that I have not yet come to grips with the notion that a dandilion might have a place in my lawn, but I have come to love the sea of white that is a clover lawn in bloom.
   
   The difficulty in that is that my neighbors do not love my clover lawn. Mowed short, my new lawn has still drawn criticism. Next spring, I will begin to add elements of a meadow to my lawn. That should be an adventure with my neighbors.
   
   The book is really interesting. What is does more than anything else is to rewrite what might be possible in even thinking about what "lawn" means. That there is an alternative to a sea of uniform green is wonderful. That adding the usual fertilizer/weed killer chemistry actually takes the life out of my lawn is an eye opener. And that one might be released from being enslaved to a kind of lawn that is utterly foreign to where I live is truly a relief.
   
   The practical steps back to sane lawn work and to a life giving lawn are clear, useful, inspiring, and effective. Take a look at this book. Read it slowly and at least allow the possibility that it offers a better way.



2. This book's forté is 2 things: Its' explanation of the negative impact of millions of monoculture, traditional lawns - not on just the environment, but on the lifestyles and wallets of those who tend them. And then it offers sound advice (which does -NOT- start with "get rid of your existing grass") which can be easily followed by the average homeowner. The solutions proposed in this book are not radical, unattractive schemes, and most of the suggestions offered will result in a BETTER LOOKING YARD and savings of time and money. I read it from cover to cover twice. I hope to soon have my yard working for me, instead of me working for my yard.

   I found a good compliment to this book in "The Lawn, A History of an American Obsession," by Virginia Scott Jenkins. If you're interested in more of the history and background of the entire lawn concept, (and some neat old pictures of advertising,) you'll love this book. It explains how agriculture, chemical companies, the garden industry, golfing, housing developments, world wars, etc... and the advent of new inventions have come together to result in an entire lifestyle revolving around 'the lawn.' The complete answer to the question, "Why do we have lawns, and what did people used to have around their property?" Read this, then read "Redesigning" to see what having all these lawns does to the world and the people in them, (and, of course, suggestions for improving things in your own little slice of the world.)




3. This is a wonderful resource about a very important environmental problem - the American lawn. The diagrams are especially clear and complete. It provides the history of the lawn, scientific background about the problems associated with the lawn, and also gives very practical advice about how to create a Freedom Lawn. I initially got this book (first edition) from the library, but decided this was one I wanted to have for my personal reference - especially since the second edition includes updated information.



4. Most Americans do not realize how much their tastes in gardening have been affected by marketing on the part of lawn care companies. Nor do they seem to realize what environmental havoc they wreak through the lawn care practices preached on TV, and promulgated every time they watch the Masters Golf tournament on TV and think they should try to emulate those greens and fairways at home. They have been seduced into an unrealistic world that wastes their time (why mow?), money (why put fertilizer down 4 times a year?) and the environment (Do they really even have the weeds or bugs in their lawn that the 'weed and feed', and 'grub killers' are prescribed for? If not, why are they paying extra for the privilege of putting down toxins they don't even need?)
   This book is a scholarly approach to reviewing the problem - highly recommended if you tend to ask "WHY?" before "How much?"



5. This book was truely a revalation for me. I consider my self to fairly conservation minded, yet I had know idea how much more I could do. This book taught me, more than anything else, that it truely is the little things that count. I liked it so much I gave copies to my family of christmass.

2 comments about Color by Design: Planting the Contemporary Garden.

1. Color by design is the best book on the subject I have read. A different and complex approach on using color and its effect on the human eye, mind and spirit.



2. An innovative and creative approach to designing with colour. The use of Clive Nichol's stunning photos of Hadspen Garden combine perfectly with the witty and informative text of Nori and Sandra Pope, who are also the gardeners at Hadspen. The publishers are to be congratulated for producing a book that will change the direction of garden book design.

1 comments about The Rough Road to Renaissance: Urban Revitalization in America, 1940-1985 (Creating the North American Landscape).

1. Analysis of Jon C. Teaford's The Rough Road to Renaissance: Urban Revitalization in America, 1940-1985

   The Rough Road to Renaissance is a chronicle of the urban revitalization efforts of several older central cities in the Northeastern United States from World War II to the mid 1980s. As the author reveals, these efforts were fraught with difficulties from the very beginning, but usually not from a lack of planning or enthusiasm. According to Teaford, "this study charts the treacherous course toward the seemingly elusive goal of urban renaissance" (Teaford, 2).

   The body of the work is a discussion of the techniques that city leaders used to stop the "blight" of the urban centers. Teaford divides these strategies into a number of historical stages based on renewal tactics and support for revitalization programs. The first stage in the story of urban renewal occurred during World War II, which was the realization that a problem existed in America's aging cities. Census figures revealed that the population in older urban areas was beginning to decline resulting from the increased migration to suburbia. City planners believed that the best way to combat urban decline and slow migration to the suburbs was by become more like them.

   With the war's end came the opportunity for enthusiastic city planners to test their renewal schemes. Because the post-war economy did not fall into the collapse that they had anticipated, plans for massive public works projects and federal support were stalled. Planners were forced to seek support from inside the metropolitan area through the installation of public officials dedicated to the cause, development of a solid fiscal base for redevelopment, and "massing the clout of big business behind renewal efforts" (Teaford, 45).

   By the 1950s, most older central cities had joined the urban renewal bandwagon. Because many planners believed that their cities simply needed a facelift, most revitalization efforts concentrated on creating a modern and clean urban image. Sewer and water treatment plants were constructed to clean up the environment and freeway systems and airports were built to bring the city up to the "automobile age." Instead of slowing suburban migration both of these tactics actually encouraged it. But planners were not yet disheartened, for failure had brought valuable lessons. "During the late 1940s and the early 1950s, America's aging cities may not have eradicated their slums or achieved their dreams of renewal, but they had experimented with redevelopment and rehabilitation and prepared the ground for more massive projects of the future" (Teaford, 120).

   Unfortunately, urban decline only accelerated in the following decades. Despite attempts at renewal, even more wealthy and middle class whites were washed out to the suburbs as poor minorities flooded in to the central city. Urban sales plummeted and manufacturing jobs disappeared. "By the early 1960s prudent observers perceived that the path to revival was longer and less direct than optimistic boosters had formerly hoped" (Teaford, 145). Almost everyone concerned agreed that something needed to be done to halt this decline, but there was little consensus on the best method of achieving this goal.

   The mid to late 1960s brought an increased bitterness to the battlefield as reformers were split between methods of human renewal, physical renewal, or neither. "If harmony and good will were characteristics of the renaissance city, then the goal of rebirth seemed to be receding rather than approaching" (Teaford, 183). By the mid 1970s, the state of urban decay had bottomed out, according to Teaford. Urban property was not only dilapidated but abandoned. Crime rose so high that many people were afraid to venture into the city. Cities faced their worst financial crises in history, as many were forced into bankruptcy.

   Not everyone, however, was ready to accept the death of the city without a fight. Some optimists still believed that rebirth was possible, but only along a new line of reform. Instead of becoming a pale imitation to suburbia, they believed that the city should concentrate on what made it great in the beginning: a spirit of community and "animation." To the surprise of many, Boston's Quincy Market proved the potential for success of this philosophy in the early 1980s. As sources of animation, cities had much to offer with which suburbia could not compete. Prophets of this new urban renewal philosophy were the city mayors who claimed each bit of success for themselves. What ever their actual victories, these "messiah mayors" did much to bolster the spirits and hopes of city residents.

   Of the older urban areas, Teaford concludes: "They had coped with a different world then that which had spawned them, and they had muddled through four difficult decades. But they had never regained their stellar positions, and boosters never felt so confident that they were willing to permanently shelve plans for renaissance or cease to look for signs of comeback" (Teaford, 313).

   In his introduction, the author states that because the study of urban development policy has been led by social scientists who tend to over generalize at the expense of historical reality, there exists no true picture of American revitalization efforts from the 1940s to the 1980s. Teaford's historical analysis is an attempt to fill this gap by recording the events without forcing them into a "theoretical straitjacket" (Teaford, 3). In this objective, the work is excellent. Using a good mix of primary and secondary source material, the author gives an interesting, accurate, and detailed account of the "who," "what," "when," and "where" of urban redevelopment strategy. The only thing missing is the "why."

   Throughout the work, the one characterization of renewal efforts that kept running through my head was "pathetic." With all their enthusiasm and planning, city planners seemed to have no idea why their ideas didn't work. The more projects they planned, the faster the decline seemed to accelerate. I would have been very interested in Teaford's assessment of why these attempts failed and why city planners were so slow to foresee failure. I also felt a lack of closure on the work; I would have enjoyed the author's opinion of the future of urban renewal. Perhaps Teaford should have taken a lesson from the social scientists in his historical analysis by concentrating less on the "history" and more on the "analysis."

No comments about Residential Landscape Sustainability: A Checklist Tool.