Price : $25.99

Product Description

Gardens are unique creations, reflecting not only the landscape, flora, and climate of their environments but also the heritage-the history, architectural styles, and influences-of the cultures that made them. From the fountain gardens of the Iranian desert to the whimsical Garden of Cosmic Speculation in Scotland, from the Zen gardens of Buddhist temples to the Impressionist gardens in Giverny, the huge variety of gardens around the globe is a testament to our age-old desire to tame and refashion nature.

In The Most Beautiful Gardens in the World photographer Alain Le Toquin celebrates the diversity of these manmade landscapes, capturing 31 of the greatest public and private gardens on five continents, including Majorelle in Morocco, the Versailles gardens outside Paris, the Keukenhof flower show park in The Netherlands, and the Huntington Gardens in California. With more than 150 images and 12 gatefolds featuring spectacular panoramic photographs, this gorgeous book will captivate travelers and garden admirers alike, and will inspire gardeners themselves with fresh ideas for design, horticulture, and use. AUTHOR BIO: Alain Le Toquin, a former specialist in ornithology and animal ecology at the Natural History Museum in Paris, has been a photographer specializing in both culture and nature for more than 20 years. Jacques Bosser, a writer and translator for design and photography books, was a contributor to Abrams’ The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World. Michel Baridon leads a history and research group for the French National Council of Parks and Gardens. He has published several books on gardens.

Customer Reviews

Review date : 2008-11-22
Absolutely gorgeous photography. This is a big, heavy coffee table book that gets oooh’d over far more than it gets actually read. There is text within it, talking about the various gardens/landscapes that have been chosen, but truth be told, that’s secondary to all the beautiful pictures.

Review date : 2007-11-23
I have just finished writing the ZEN OF WATERING YOUR GARDEN. Which some may consider a "coffee table book" but it is really a challenge to the reader to get out and garden. This book of private gardens is filled with beautiful grdens which i think are nice to look at but untenable for any gardener to achieve.

Review date : 2007-07-09
I got this as a gift, but I did scan through it and its full of beautiful garden pictures.

Review date : 2007-07-02
I did enjoy the book and many of the photographs were a pleasure — however, I was SO glad I bought it used from an Amazon reseller. I would have been really annoyed if I paid anything close to list price. I felt this book did a surface job both with pictures and narratives. It left me wanting more, but not in a good way. Also, it probably should be called "The Most Beautiful Garden STRUCTURES in the World" — because garden structures dominate the photographs. Criteria for choosing "the most beautiful" also unclear.

Review date : 2006-11-18
I’m not sure why the previous reviewer did not like this book. I thought the photographs were absolutely beautiful, vibrant, and clear. Each garden was photographed from several different angles. The photos take up entire pages and several are on fold-out pages for a panoramic view. The book is printed on quality paper and is quite heavy. I bought this book as a gift for my Mother but I enjoyed looking through it several times before I finally giftwrapped it.

Price : $11.26

Product Description

Discover the secrets of a naturally pest-proof vegetable garden with Great Garden Companions. Let master gardener Sally Jean Cunningham show you how to keep pests and diseases at bay with her unique companion-gardening system. By planting special combinations of vegetables, flowers, and herbs, you can minimize pest and disease problems and create a high-yielding, beautiful garden!

Customer Reviews

Review date : 2008-09-05
I’m an avid gardener, and I garden organically. My specialty has always been ornamentals, but recently I’ve become interested in vegetable gardening. This book has been a great resource to help me understand how to layout and manage a sustainable organic garden that is productive, beautiful, and fun to work in. Although there are not many color photos in this book, there are many illustrations that provide the nuts-and-bolts of laying out a garden. In addition, there are lists of vegetables and companions, along with information that specifies when to plant, basic plant requirements, and when/how to harvest. This book is fun to read and a great resource to refer to again and again.

Review date : 2008-07-08
i checked this book out from the library, and let my neighbor borrow it. she liked it so much didn’t want to give it back. as soon as i started reading it, i understood why. it’s very approachable, and has lots of crucial information for first-year and experienced gardeners alike. and it’s got nice pictures and clear diagrams. i really like the "top crops and how to grow them" section.
so i bought my own copy, and i’ve been showing it to everyone who stops by to see my veggies. i like her "messy-looking" technique of interplanting all different kinds of vegetables. altho i should have paid more attention to how far apart to plant seeds, i had a veritable tomato forest under my squashes.
i bought another copy for my stepmom, and she loved it. she’s a top notch gardener. she wrote to say this book had answered some of her longtime questions, and she had only owned it for a few hours. she said the book was "awesome" and she uses it frequently.
i have half a dozen gardening books, but this is the one i re-read most often.

Review date : 2008-06-14
I checked this book out through inter-library loan – had to return it last week & am really missing it! So needless to say will be buying my own copy soon. I had read some other books on companion planting but they weren’t as thorough or impressive as this one. Excellent resource, especially for beginners. The bulk of the book is about companion planting but she also discusses the marits of mulching, composting, beneficial bugs & more in an easy to read format. I personally have never been to fond of the separate "garden plot" – off, alone by itself (never mind that we don’t currantly have the space on our city lot for one anyway . Have already put some of companion planting to practice & so far am having success (you should see my leafy lettuce & spinach!). This is a great book for many reasons – it’s a budget friendly, green guide to gardening! Blessings…

Review date : 2008-06-06
I am findingg this book to be very interesting and helpful My goal is to not have to use any pesticides and garden in a very small space. This book is giving me many helpful ideas.

Review date : 2008-05-19
I love this book. It is filled with loads of useful information explained in a clear and concise manner. Not only is it a great book to own, but it is also a great book to give as a gift.

Price : $13.59

Product Description

Written by a 20-year veteran of landscape design and aimed at those with limited space for a garden, this guide features 18 profiles of gorgeous small garden paradises. Using step-by-step instructions, before-and-after photographs and detailed plans, landscape architect Keith Davitt offers tips and techniques for creating the illusion of space through terracing, enlarging through dividing and adding texture and colour.

Customer Reviews

Review date : 2008-11-12
I’ve searched in bookstores for appropriate books for a very small garden, to no avail. This book gives outstanding ideas for making a small space seem larger as well as more inviting. Of particular interest are the summaries (based upon the material reviewing each garden) as well as the "before" pictures that accompany the article (giving hope to those with bleak bare spaces). Also, there are drawings that show the overall concept for each garden, which provides a context for the individual photographs.

Highly recommended.

Review date : 2008-09-05
I was looking for a book to provide some inspiration. This just doesn’t cut it. All the ideas are basically the same theme of too much vegetation and old world stone work.

If you have a truly small space, you’ll want to use it efficiently. This book guides you to crowd it with stuff rather than open it up smartly.

Get John Brooks book instead.

Review date : 2007-12-23
Looking for ideas for some small gardens and outdoor spaces for some new homes I am building. This book offered very little support.

Review date : 2007-10-19
The title says it all. Amazing what you can do with such little space. Beautifully illustrated with before and after pictures, step by step explanations and level of complexity.

Review date : 2007-05-28
The author’s non-traditional approach to garden design produces exceptional results. Before and after photos beautifully portray his amazing transformations. The author clearly describes the challenges he faced with each garden project, provides an illustration of his solution and then takes you step by step through the transformation process discussing the elements of design he used and how he applied them. I’ve read several books on landscape design and this is the first one that has truly helped me apply the principles and elements of design to my own garden spaces. My husband and I recently bought a new construction home and we are both excited to begin the transformation of our blank slate yard into a wonderful suburban retreat.