Price : $28.98

Product Description

North America’s eastern half, roughly from the Midwest to the Atlantic, was once a great deciduous forest. Although centuries of human intervention have cleared much of the land, the timeless forest remains in the spirit of the place. Today, even the shortest period of human neglect allows for the resurgence of the process of forest creation. The greatest gardens — and happiest gardeners — in this area will be those that take into account the nature of the land.In his unique, and often thought-provoking new book, award-winning author Darke promotes and stunningly illustrates a garden aesthetic based on the strengths and opportunities of the woodland, including play of light, sound, and scent; seasonal drama; and the architectural interest of woody plants. While written from a compelling and fresh perspective, The American Woodland Garden never strays from the realistic concerns of the everyday gardener. Information on planting, soils, and maintenance provides a firm foundation for horticultural accomplishment. An alphabetical list of woodland plants offers useful advice for every garden, emphasizing native trees, shrubs, vines, ferns, grasses, sedges, and flowering perennials that fit the forest aesthetic. More than 700 of the author’s stunning photographs show both the natural palette of plants in the wild and the effects that can be achieved with them in garden settings. Many of the most striking photos in the book were taken at classic gardens that are paragons of an ecological style. The American Woodland Garden is a clarion call to a new awareness of our relationship to the natural world. This book will take its rightful place among the classic works that have influenced our concept of the American landscape.

Customer Reviews

Review date : 2008-03-29
Loved this book – a keeper for sure. Rick Darke does a great job of writing – I found his prose to be both instructive and inspiring-one really gets a sense from his writing that he knows his plants in intimate and fond detail. Photography is stunning as he captures the spirit of the woodlands and plants he shows in the book. I especially love how he depicts the changing beauty & contrast throughout the seasons of a local scene as he drove by on his way to and from work. What a treat it is to be a gardener and have gems like this one to read and enjoy.

Review date : 2008-01-04
Whether you are planning a woodland garden, look out on a woodland garden, or just dream of woodland gardens, this book is a must have. It is the most beautiful, awe-inspiring garden book I’ve ever encountered.

The photos are the first layer of beauty. The descriptions of the plants are the second layer of beauty. The suggested arrangements of trees, shrubs and flowers are the third layer of beauty. You could spend weeks reading this book and not get through the layers. Mr. Darke has produced a true gift for those of us who treasure woodlands.

Review date : 2007-07-10
If you live near the edge of woodlands as we do, you’ll find this book to be a valuable source of information. It’s a challenge to landscape the transition from woodland to home, but this book provides the knowledge needed to make that happen. And if you love to live in or near woodland areas as much as we do, you’ll appreciate the wonderful photographs.

Review date : 2007-05-14
This man is the best photographer of the woodlands and a great speaker. Would purchase any book by him.

Review date : 2007-03-26
I am a novice gardener but this book gives great advice and great choices from groundcover to shrubs and trees for the woodsy landscape. I refer to this book all the time.

Price : $21.94

Product Description

Once maligned as a swampy outpost, the fledgling city of Chicago brazenly adopted the motto Urbs in Horto or City in a Garden, in 1837. Chicago Gardens shows how this upstart town earned its sobriquet over the next century, from the first vegetable plots at Fort Dearborn to innovative garden designs at the 1933 Worlds Fair.
Cathy Jean Maloney has spent decades researching the citys horticultural heritage, and here she reveals the unusual history of Chicagos first gardens. Challenged by the regions clay soil, harsh winters, and fierce winds, Chicagos pioneering horticulturalists, Maloney demonstrates, found imaginative uses for hardy prairie plants. This same creative spirit thrived in the citys local fruit and vegetable markets, encouraging the growth of what would become the nations produce hub. The vast plains that surrounded Chicago, meanwhile, inspired early landscape architects, such as Frederick Law Olmsted, Jens Jensen, and O.C. Simonds, to new heights of grandeur.
Maloney does not forget the backyard gardeners: immigrants whocultivated treasuredseedsand pioneers who planted native wildflowers. Maloneys vibrant depictions of Chicagoans like Bouquet Mary, a flower peddler who built a greenhouse empire, add charming anecdotal evidence to her argumentthat Chicagos garden history rivals that of New York or London and ensures its status as a world-class capital of horticultural innovation.
With exquisite archival photographs, prints, and postcards, as well as field guide descriptions of living legacy gardens for todays visitors, Chicago Gardens will delight green-thumbs from all parts of the world. (30081123)

Price : $46.41

Product Description

The most comprehensive, detailed, and lavishly illustrated guide to garden plants ever published, first published in 1997, has now been completely revised to include nearly 250 new plants and photos. The AHS A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants is an essential reference for all gardeners, from novices to experts.

Customer Reviews

Review date : 2008-10-19
I bought this as an "I’m proud of you" gift for my wife who is in the horticulture program at the local college. There is not a day that goes by that she does not refer to this book, sometimes for very long periods.
Even though not required for any of her classes, this book is used more than some of the required textbooks. Great learning tool.
(My only surprise was that the walnut tree was not in it!)

Review date : 2008-09-05
This is a great book! I’m very happy with it. The common names are listed as well as the latin names so it’s easy to cross reference. I can simplify my gardening library now!

Review date : 2008-07-24
Wow and A-Z it is. If you need to know something this has it. Great reference guide

Review date : 2008-05-27
I have been through my book, cover to cover twice so far and the second time through I found plants I thought were missing the first time and both were in photographings of said plants. It(the book) has helped me tremendously as a Master Gardener in selecting plants to propagate wisely for the community butterfly gardens I am now planting from the plants that I have grown from seeds or cuttings at least 90%. The other few were from wise purchases. We(mastergardeners) keep this bible in the shelves to assist the Master Gardener answering the "hotline" with questions about any kind of plants or problems people in Polk County, Fl have to ask our help in solving. I will probably be getting one on propagation to complete my needs and if one for Florida exists, it will be one that I review! I bought the encyclopedia so I could have it at home for personal refrence.
Master Gardener for Polk Co., Fl

Review date : 2008-05-21
An illustrated, complete book of garden plants. Offers great information for the advanced as well as the novice gardener. One negative aspect is it’s size and weight. Very cumbersome to handle which is not conducive to longevity of the spine of the book. Would have been better published in two volumes.