This work provides readers with the necessary information to change the look of their gardens with minimum effort and maximum effect. The book takes the reader through the whole design process in a simple way, avoiding confusing jargon and complex diagrams. It opens with details of how to make lists of what you want and what you need, followed by advice on assessing your site and drawing up a budget. Next, the book shows how to create a design by introducing the garden features of your own choice, adding the details and, finally, how to plant your garden. There is also the problem solver for those difficult sites.

Diarmuid Gavin, the UK's most innovative garden designer and host of the BBC's "Home Front" and "Home Front in the Garden," shows readers how to take a fresh look at how they use their garden spaces. Ten easy-to-follow stages explain the basics of good design--from assessing the plot and considering its shape and situation to using plants to achieve particular styles and effects.

This new paperback edition of Ann Lovejoy's spectacular organic gardening book brings a lifetime's worth of experience and knowledge from one of this country's leading gardening experts. In it she shows readers how to apply her organic design principles to any site, large or small, to create healthy, self-sufficient gardens that are easy to care for, ecologically sound, and enduringly beautiful.

The Essential Garden Design Workbook guides the reader through every stage of planning a garden — how to survey a site, how to choose landscaping materials, and how to develop planting schemes. This fully revised and updated second edition features new U.S. case studies and new photographs. Valuable tips on green gardening are new to this edition, and include how to harvest rainwater, how to design a green roof, tips on sustainable planting, and a guide to composting. Tailor-made for hands-on gardeners, the workbook approach is accessible, practical, and can be used to create a garden from scratch and to redesign an existing garden. Gardeners will find easy ways to measure large spaces, estimate the height of a tree, and find the right proportions for a deck. They'll also find tips on space, light, and color. Includes hundreds of easy-to-follow line drawings and diagrams.

In this eloquent plea for compassion and respect for all species, journalist and gardener Nancy Lawson describes why and how to welcome wildlife to our backyards. Through engaging anecdotes and inspired advice, profiles of home gardeners throughout the country, and interviews with scientists and horticulturalists, Lawson applies the broader lessons of ecology to our own outdoor spaces. Detailed chapters address planting for wildlife by choosing native species; providing habitats that shelter baby animals, as well as birds, bees, and butterflies; creating safe zones in the garden; cohabiting with creatures often regarded as pests; letting nature be your garden designer; and encouraging natural processes and evolution in the garden. The Humane Gardener fills a unique niche in describing simple principles for both attracting wildlife and peacefully resolving conflicts with all the creatures that share our world.

This useful book instructs gardeners in all aspects of designing with perennials, from color schemes to matching different styles of gardens. Full color.

First published in 1986, this classic is back in print by popular demand. It is the authoritative text on edible landscaping, featuring a step-by-step guide to designing a productive environment using vegetables, fruits, flowers, and herbs for a combination of ornamental and culinary purposes. It includes descriptions of plants for all temperate habitats, methods for improving soil, tree pruning styles, and gourmet recipes using low-maintenance plants. There are sections on attracting beneficial insects with companion plants and using planting to shelter your home from erosion, heat, wind, and cold.