gardening and horticulture

This is an excellent book for anyone interested in gardening or landscape design. The sub-title is "Creating a garden for everyday living" and the writer takes the concept of "garden rooms" a step further than most designers. Dividing a garden into so-called "rooms" is not a new concept and it's easy enough to see that a vast garden such as, say, Sissinghurst is much more manageable when divided into smaller units.

It's not as easy, though, to visualize an ordinary city garden in terms of rooms. The writer helps us make this transition by using his own city garden as an example. This spans two city lots, so it's wider than most, but he shows how he has taken each axis and divided it, yet allowed each room to flow into the next. In the first part of the book the writer explains how he went about planning them and how each of the rooms developed.

The second section of the book defines twelve principles of design and gives examples and illustrations of each. These clearly and simply presented principles - from color to shape and form and not forgetting whimsy and mystery - offer down-to-earth and practical ideas.

The third section, which for some reason is printed on different paper and has no illustrations other than sketches, offers more of the writer's thoughts on the application of the twelve design principles.

The content of this book is well thought out and well presented, and the color photographs in the first two sections are generous and relevant. My quibbles are - first, the strange presentation of the third section as if the book designer decided to make it as dull as possible so no-one would read it. Second, the fact that in the list of U. S. gardens to visit there isn't a single one listed from the Pacific Northwest.

Two other things bothered me. The first is the writer's glee at associating himself with Lord and Lady Ashbrook of Arley Hall in England (Local boy makes good!! Entertained by nobility!!) The second is having the writer's photograph prominent on the front cover. Yes, he's cute, and yes, I like eye candy as much as anyone else, but that was a bit much. Whatever sells books, I guess, but I felt it cheapened a very valuable addition to the gardener's library.

This is a beautiful book filled with eye candy but, better yet, full of practical advice for anyone ready to design a garden. Smith was smart and patient when he set out to design his own garden in Tennessee. Here he shows how the gardens of his childhood and most importantly, visits to the great gardens of Europe, helped influence and shape his design philosophy.

Smith uses the popular concept of "garden rooms" to illustrate twelve principles - Enclosure, Shape and Form, Framing, Entry, Focal Point, Structures, Color, Texture, Abundance, Whimsy, Mystery and Time. Each of these are illustrated with lush photos of Smith's own garden as well as his clients gardens.

The last section of the book discusses techniques and ideas on how to plan and construct your garden. Lists of plants are provided for specific situations.

Overall, a well designed, photographed and written book.

Wow! Allen definitely makes complicated gardening look easy and exciting in his new book. I love the way he compares rooms in a garden to those in a house. His suggestions on color are so inspiring. Allen's lifelong passion for gardening is so obvivous through his work. I am so ready for warm weather so my family and I can begin our outside rooms!