3 comments about Green Roof: A Case Study: Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates' Design For the Headquarters of the American Society of Landscape Architects.

1. This book is perfect for readers who already know that green roofs are good for our planet, but are looking for technical information on how to build one. Product and plant guidelines and the construction process are marvelously detailed. It's also generous with photos and diagrams. This particular green roof demonstrates that they can be more than just sedum in planters on a flat roof--green roofs can be a building amenity and enhance the viewshed for nearby buildings as well. The book is very well written. It should be noted that the author is a German landscape architect and Germany leads the world in green roof design. An excellent resource for developers, real estate executives, building owners, and designers.



2. Exceptional text, supplemented with beautiful and informative graphics and diagrams. Very good book for anyone interested in Greenroofs.



3. This case study is primarily geared towards the client's requirements and satisfaction, rather than basic green roof benefits. For example, there is more emphasis put on employee/ human use of the roof over the traditional benefits that roof greening putatively confers. Although there are some interesting techniques employed, like the grating over the sedum plantings, it is quite clear that roof greening is still for the elite rather than us common folk. Considering this, the concept of roof greening still has a long way to go before it will become a truly 'sustainable' practice in North America. The ASLA intended this project to showcase their involvement in this arena, but we would all be better served if they would test/employ techniques that were affordable to the masses rather than the wealthy elite.

1 comments about Green Infrastructure: Linking Landscapes and Communities.

1. This is an excellent resource for physical planning in relationship to environmental sustainability. If you buy this book , buy also Skinny streets and green neighborhoods.

5 comments about How to Build Wooden Gates and Picket Fences: 100 Classic Designs.

1. This book was really fun to browse through and look at all the different styles. I'm sure I saw some of the fences in the book when on vacation in colonial Williamsburg. In the end, we decided on a pretty simple picket style and used some of the techniques suggested in the book to add interest by using varying heights and accents on the gate posts and gate itself. It turned out beautifully and the book was a big help in finding the style.



2. This book is great! I've never seen a book with so many styles of fences that would go with so many different types of architecture. I also like how the material and illustrations are presented to allow the reader to easily see and compare the many different styles. The first fence books I bought had a few nice photos with trees and flowers, but, the fences themselves were not that special.
   
   I think it is much easier to see the fences for their own style and appearance the way they are presented in this book. If you are looking for an abundance of design ideas, this book has no equal.



3. It's a very nicely drawn & explained book but if you have any other style home other than Victorian, there are limited styles that would match. Also, you have to order patterns separately.



4. I own a Victorian Cottage in Texas and purchased this book hoping for some ideas on building my own unique picket fence. The book has tons of pictures and drawings of fence designs. We actually used two different designs and came up with a "one of a kind" fence around our yard. It became the talk of the town for a while and now our house is known as "the one with the fence"!
   The book is a little short on details of building the fences, but if you are skilled with tools, you will figure it out. We are starting our second fence with it this month, which we hope is a masterpiece. I recommend this book if you need Victorian fence ideas.



5. We bought this book because we were looking for ideas for a fence. This would be an excellent reference for someone with a Victorian style home. The book also has some simpler fence designs, but most are quite ornate.

No comments about Morocco: Courtyards and Gardens.

4 comments about The Granite Kiss: Traditions and Techniques of Building New England Stone Walls.

1. I surprisingly enjoyed this book. I purchased a few other stone wall books with the intention of building my own wall. I originally did not buy this book because other reviewers indicated not any pictures & a few drawings (this is true). But it is a easy read & tells of the pleasure of building in addition to techniques.



2. The Granite Kiss is an endearing look at the practical and esthetic aspects of creating and repairing stone walls. The book has an artistic quality with its extra wide pages with pen and ink drawings of walls under construction or old walls still standing. There are no photos.
   
   There is a feeling of working alongside the author while he idly rambles about the task at hand and jobs he has completed in his career. I especially enjoyed his nicknames for the various rock shapes likely to be found in any imperfect rockpile and the relationships the shapes may have to each other in a completed wall. All in all, stone wall building is a task of patience and persistance - which the author relays in topics such as: spreading the "good" rocks out; working with rocks that are not perfect blocklike shapes, time management; and what is likely to stand the test of time.
   
   This is a book to get you into the slow and methodical, but contemplative mood for learning and practicing this dying art.



3. Of the half-dozen books I bought in preparation for recycling some of the old stonewalls up through the woods on our farm into a new retaining wall, this is my clear favorite. It is more detailed than John Vivian's Building Stone Walls, particularly when it comes to retaining walls. Because it is not as glossy and illustrated as Haywards' Stone in the Garden or David Reed's Stonescaping (which are, by the way, both excellent in their own right), I'm not as wary about taking it out to the project with me.

   The text is clear and concise, and includes a healthy dose of stone philosophy and the index is detailed enough to help the do-it-yourselfer find what he needs, but short enough so that he can find what he wants, even if he does not know the proper name for it.

   However, the main reason I like this book so much is Gardner's assurance that anyone who puts his mind to it -- which includes me -- can build a stone wall. While his respect for old stone walls and the art of building them is obvious, he also has a healthy dose of practicality. "The notion that all, or even most, of the old stone-work we see around New England is the result of concentrated applicaion of arcane skill," he write, " is demonstrably false." Once that sacred cow was out of the way, my confidence level went up and anything seemed possible.

   The black & white drawings that illustrate the text are clear and very helpful.




4. This is a wonderful book...it's about stone walls, and about building stone walls, and all the things stone walls have meant and done for 350 years, and what it feels like to live and work in a place where just past the urban sprawl every one of those 350 years blends with this one (and if you look out the corner of your eye there're older times than that hiding in the shadows.)

   It's not a homeowner howto, though it's got everything you can learn from a book. It's a book for masons who love their craft, New Englanders who love their home place, and anyone who likes good work. Whatever that means to you.

5 comments about Residential Landscape Architecture: Design Process for the Private Residence (4th Edition).

1. I bought this book for my Landscape Design class going toward my Horticulture degree. I looked through this book many times when I was stuck and unsure on what was supposed to be done. It's a wonderful book for beginners even if you are just designing your own home garden. Even if you aren't going to be a landscape architect it's a wonderful book to read through and learn the principles of design and what goes into to making a great design.



2. If you want to learn how to do landscape architecture, this is the textbook for you. Don't let the word "textbook" turn you off with thoughts of back when you were in school wishing you were elsewhere. While it is not full of plant lists nor pretty photographs of inspiring gardens; it will, however, teach you how to create your own inspiring gardens. The multitude of graphics will help you to even better understand the well-written text, which is not in the least dull. I doubt there is a better book on the market for the purpose stated in its title. I highly recommend it and am using the principles gleaned from this book to design my own garden. How well I'll do is yet to be determined. But it has given me the skills (I hope) and courage to try. If I fail, at least I know what to look for in a professional.



3. I am in love with this book! It is clear, concise, well-written, and has wonderful graphics. I am a landscape architecture student at UCD and this book has taught me more than any of my teachers combined! Highly recommend.



4. I am a student at Kansas State University in Landscape Design, and this book is wonderful for getting ideas, symbols, and disign techniques. My professors own this book, and constantly approve and recommend this book for sudents. Although it is titled for a private resident, professional landscapers use this book also. This is one book you should add to your library.



5. This book is great, but you might like to know that a 4th addition of this book is now available. Type in - "Residential Landscape Architecture: Design Process for the Private Residence (4th Edition)" and check it out.

2 comments about Professional Planting Design: An Architectural and Horticultural Approach for Creating Mixed Bed Plantings.

1. Pro: copius details about design principles. Con: lack of color photos -- too many black and white photos



2. In almost every landscape architect's office, you can find two kinds of people: the designers who layout the design and do the color renderings and presentation drawings, and the horticulturists who select the plants. This book will give you a good understanding of both the design and horticultural aspects of planting design, especially the latter.
   
   It is also a very practical book. It'll leave you something useful that you can actually apply in your daily landscape practice after you read it.

No comments about Urban Landscape Architecture.

3 comments about Private Landscapes: Modernist Gardens in Southern California.

1. This book is a bit light on for photos. If you are buying it for ideas for a modernist inspired garden you might be disappointed.



2. Although this is mostly a coffee-table book (great pictures and original & later landscaping plans), it does give an unexpectedly generous amount of historical background on the modernist architectural movement in Southern California.
   
   It also focuses on specific examples of modernist houses and gives the background on the thought process of the architects and landscape designers, how they designed the houses and landscapes in relation to the lots and surrounding areas.
   
   I think the best part of this book is how it juxtaposes pictures and plans of each house from the past and how they look in the present day. Thus, you can get an immediate sense of how well the designs have held up over time. Some of it looks dated, but much of it remains relevant (especially with the resurgent interest in mid-century design). Also, you get to see how some of the houses were revised by later architects and designers. You get to see how the original plants have aged as well.
   
   I borrowed this from the library, but I may end up buying it.



3. Kathryn Smith's erudite introduction and the authors' texts add historical resonance to this enticing collection of new and original gardens (including several by Burton) that set off classic houses by Schindler, Neutra, Soriano, and Quincy Jones. The plans and photographs are reminders of how Garrett Eckbo and others led the way in integrating modern architecture with landscape, inspired by Neutra's vision of the house as "a machine in the garden." (Michael Webb is the book reviewer for LA Architect magazine.)

No comments about Theory in Landscape Architecture: A Reader (Penn Studies in Landscape Architecture).