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New Small Garden: Contemporary principles, planting and practice
Learn the secret to transforming a small space into a blooming array of verdant life in this indispensible and handy guide.
Small gardens are a challenge to design and to keep looking good but now help is on hand! This practical guide seeks to inspire and inform gardeners to make the most of their small spaces.
Featuring more than 50 contemporary and inspirational gardens , the handbook examines both how their designers created them and how their owners use and develop them.
This serious review of the perennial subject explains the theory and practice of planting a small garden, as well as design tricks, storage solutions and vertical planting to help small garden owners maximise their small spaces.
With advice for embracing sustainability , the use of recycled materials and the scope for bio-diversity , this is the go-to guide to ensure you are getting the most from your small garden.
Stunningly illustrated with photos by Dutch garden photographer and former fashion stylist Maayke de Ridder, this is a must for anyone looking to be creative with their small garden.
Small gardens are a challenge to design and to keep looking good but now help is on hand! This practical guide seeks to inspire and inform gardeners to make the most of their small spaces.
Featuring more than 50 contemporary and inspirational gardens , the handbook examines both how their designers created them and how their owners use and develop them.
This serious review of the perennial subject explains the theory and practice of planting a small garden, as well as design tricks, storage solutions and vertical planting to help small garden owners maximise their small spaces.
With advice for embracing sustainability , the use of recycled materials and the scope for bio-diversity , this is the go-to guide to ensure you are getting the most from your small garden.
Stunningly illustrated with photos by Dutch garden photographer and former fashion stylist Maayke de Ridder, this is a must for anyone looking to be creative with their small garden.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2016
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81 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 9, 2017
Practical ideas for people who are planting in small garden spaces. Most homes featured in the book are in the Netherlands.
Lots of good plant ideas, but I wish common names were used, too. I loved the section on container gardening. And the plant finder section in the back is comprehensive and surprisingly helpful.
Lots of good plant ideas, but I wish common names were used, too. I loved the section on container gardening. And the plant finder section in the back is comprehensive and surprisingly helpful.
March 13, 2019
Definitely the best of the "small garden" books I've looked at recently. This one goes far beyond simply listing dwarf varieties of plants to outline the design principles that make the most of small spaces. Definitely worth a look for those with a little garden they want to develop!
February 17, 2021
As to be expected by this master of gardening, a plethora of information for those of limited surfaces on which to lavish greenery. Everything thing you need to know (whether you thought you did or not) is here. Sub columns, as well as plentiful color photographs, add to the information. Plant placements, layering, trimming, and on are easily explained in an as you go pace. Quite useful for even the established gardener, as we can always pick up an extra tip or twelve.
Container and vegetable gardens are also expounded upon with much advice and ideas. My favorite chapter was Mini Wildlife Havens, by the by.
It ends with the Plant Selector chapter, from trees on down to grasses, with their sizes, location needs, and such all charted out in easy columns.
Quite the read, quite the viewing, quite the inspiration.
Container and vegetable gardens are also expounded upon with much advice and ideas. My favorite chapter was Mini Wildlife Havens, by the by.
It ends with the Plant Selector chapter, from trees on down to grasses, with their sizes, location needs, and such all charted out in easy columns.
Quite the read, quite the viewing, quite the inspiration.
June 14, 2022
Useful information and ideas, but I disliked the author's use of ONLY the scientific names for the plants, I'm never going to remember the long latin name, just call it a geranium please so I don't have to look up every plant name.
February 23, 2020
Mostly good for inspiration, but also some really practical tips as well that we'll utilize.
In general as a North American gardener, I find a lot of "general" gardening books not super helpful (too general to help with zone specifics), and this book had the same issues. I literally laughed out loud at a part in this book that recommended working with native plants and then had a list of 5 or so examples "for North America" lololol. We too big for small advice.
But in general, some helpful thinking about planning out our small space garden, and enough useful ideas to keep around.
In general as a North American gardener, I find a lot of "general" gardening books not super helpful (too general to help with zone specifics), and this book had the same issues. I literally laughed out loud at a part in this book that recommended working with native plants and then had a list of 5 or so examples "for North America" lololol. We too big for small advice.
But in general, some helpful thinking about planning out our small space garden, and enough useful ideas to keep around.
February 11, 2017
Like a plant lover jams as many plants into as small a space as possible, Noel Kingsbury has jammed as much wonderfully useful & practical info into this volume as any person could. It's well organised, practical advice w/tons of photos. This isn't a fancy coffee table book but a resource that'll get covered w/compost & smudges from use & overuse until it falls apart & you want to buy another copy. Great book.
October 7, 2022
3.5 stars
June 26, 2022
Very good book on small garden design. It is full of real world examples (chiefly from the UK and the Netherlands), with a focus on plant selection and designs propelled by their herbaceous border. I found the section on "layering with plants" particularly useful: it discusses general frameworks (three-level layering, naturalistic layering), the knitty-gritty details of plant selection, and many real-life examples.
While not as unapologetically scholarly as Creating Small Formal Gardens, the book is very thoroughly researched. Gardens by about a dozen designers are featured, often with commentary by them.
One weakness, from my Californian perspective, is that the book is clearly geared towards gardeners based in England and similar northern European climates. This somewhat limits the value of its copious advice on specific plant varieties.
While not as unapologetically scholarly as Creating Small Formal Gardens, the book is very thoroughly researched. Gardens by about a dozen designers are featured, often with commentary by them.
One weakness, from my Californian perspective, is that the book is clearly geared towards gardeners based in England and similar northern European climates. This somewhat limits the value of its copious advice on specific plant varieties.
June 24, 2018
Beautiful book, copious photographs, dense with informative text though this book seems to lean toward European gardeners. Nothing surprisingly new, but everything packed into a well organized reference. The only downside is very short and limited discussion on green roofs (author seems to favor only succulents there) and living walls (nothing I found).
December 20, 2022
Great pictures and practical information
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews