Price : $22.40

Product Description

From vegetable and succulent gardens to sculpture and rose gardens to mountain and waterfront gardens, New Garden Design covers a range of interpretations incorporating walls, fountains, pavilions, canals, pools, terraces and groves in unexpected ways. The resulting new garden is a pleasure garden vested with spiritual, symbolic and ecological intent. A modernist interpretation of Roman stone furniture and freestanding walls punctuate the space behind a 1970s ranch house. A home designed by Bernard Maybeck is accented with a freehand composition of urns, cement pipes and rusty objects, as well as over a thousand species of plants. A grove of olive trees underplanted with rosemary and lavender fields gives personality to two acres surrounding a house designed by modernist Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta.

Price : $13.25

Product Description

With their superbly shaped trees and shrubs, subtly colored foliage, and emphasis on nature in its pure state, Japanese Zen gardens are spaces of beauty and tranquility. Serene Gardens is an exquisitely illustrated introduction to the style and its traditionsand the only book that explains how to use western plants and materials to achieve the minimalist look beloved by Japanese garden designers. Gardeners will find plant lists; climate zone maps; instructions for selecting readily available flora, wood, bamboo, rocks, and pebbles; and gorgeous color photographs showcasing gardens from around the world.

Customer Reviews

Review date : 2008-12-06
In trying to find inspiration for a japanese-style garden, this book is incredible. It has varied ideas and helpful hints. It has the most information on moss than others I’ve used.

Review date : 2002-09-02
I have checked out many books on Japanese gardening in the past ten years and this is my favorite. Includes design details and plant lists and the photos are gorgeous. You won’t be sorry.

Review date : 2000-12-17
Kawaguchi captures the essential elements of serenity and beauty in near perfect balance with the `how-to’ hinted at in the subtitle.

The author succeeds in creating a book that is first and foremost a beautiful book, but also raises awareness as to the deeper consciousness of Japanese garden design. This is not a Readers Digest Gardening Guide, with silly pictures and numbered steps. Instead she takes you on journey, leading you to discover and to appreciate, as she unfolds the finer art with sensitivity. The book is beautifully illustrated, well designed and well constructed.

Serene Gardens first introduces the reader to the traditional Japanese garden, and then proceeds to demonstrate how plants, rocks, water and sand should be used in the garden. She discusses paths, bridges, and constructions like pergolas en fences - and provides clear instructions on how to construct these. In conclusion, the book ends with a brief plant directory, listing suitable plants, ranging from trees, grasses/bamboos, berries and aquatic plants. The list includes alternative, non-traditional plants.

‘Serene Gardens’ works on the coffee table as well as in the garden. It is a book that can be enjoyed, as the garden itself is enjoyed.
 

Here are 10 ways to transform a boring garden into a place of interest:

Attract Wildlife
Who doesn’t love to see birds and butterflies visit their garden? Try to mimic the natural landscape within your garden and you will have lots of little visitors that will delight the senses.

Add a Secret Area
An area that is not immediately visible to the eye when viewing a garden can prove a delightful surprise for visitors. Clever design can hide the entrance, i.e. camouflaging, illusion of depth.

Add a Garden Pond
A garden pond is virtually guaranteed to spark interest from all. Also if installed correctly little maintenance is required. Combine with a waterfall feature for extra novelty.

Add Garden Junk
Everyday objects can be used to create artistic and unique garden junk that will definitely make heads turn i.e. bowling balls, scrap metal, clay pots, anything really. Prepare to get messy and creative!

Add a Focal Point
Direct eyes to an area in your garden using a focal point. Try using simple additions like a birdbath or a large pot or add lighting to bring attention to an otherwise plain object.

Plant with Colours that Complement
Nobody likes to see a garden with one colour. On the flip side no-one wants their eyes to hurt when looking at a garden! So design your planting areas to contain plants whose colours complement each other. A colour chart will come in handy here.

Use Height Effectively
Adding plant sizes of various heights to your garden will entertain the eye. Add a peak here and there with a tree, go mid-size with a few shrubs and finally add some groundcovers to cater for the low points.

Add a Patio
Need some where to sit out on and view the fruits of your gardening labour? Look no further than a patio. It serves as the meeting place between your garden and your home. Make it a bit more of a mixture with a spot of patio gardening.

Plant for Scent
Scents can add a new dimension to your garden. Some plants give off a scent when brushed against and some give off scents as their flowers open. The sense of smell is said to be the best for memory recall so scents in your garden make sure that visitors remember it long after they visit.

Add a Garden Gnome (or Two)
A slightly controversial point seeing as though gnomes are viewed as tacky in some circles. But I say go for it, pick out a few entertaining gnomes and place them strategically around your garden. They may just lend a hand sometime.