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Encyclopedia of Landscape Design: Planning, Building, and Planting Your Perfect Outdoor Space
Transform your outdoor garden into a picturesque Garden of Eden with this comprehensive garden design encyclopedia!
The garden you’ve always wished for is achievable with this practical gardening bible for all your horticultural needs. Whether you are new to gardening or a seasoned expert, this design book filled with beautiful illustrations and guides will bring all your design ideas to life.
From planning to planting, find all the gardening ideas and advice you need to redesign and revamp your garden. Here’s what you’ll find
• Explains every stage of the design process, from assessing the space to drawing up detailed plans
• Showcases a wide range of landscape styles, identifying key elements needed to create the look
• Includes a quick-reference visual directory of plants and materials
• 32 new pages added, featuring 16 insightful case studies of RHS gold medal-winning landscapes, each analyzed through stunning photographs
This landscape design encyclopedia is packed with vital information needed to achieve a healthy, thriving garden. It has valuable advice to guide you from the initial stages of preparation such as choosing the correct materials for your structures and assessing your drainage, to laying patios, making ponds and planting perennials.
Discover a magnitude of inspirational portfolios including modernist, sustainable, Japanese, urban, family and cottage gardens to recreate your garden into a modern horticultural masterpiece. Understand the unique features of each garden style, create your own plan and marvel at case studies showcasing the gold standard of each garden type.
This stunning landscaping book comes with a visual dictionary and coverage of all the latest gardening trends, and effortlessly combines style with substance to guide you along the way as you plan and plant your perfect outdoor space. It’s perfect for beginner gardeners and those looking for a bit of inspiration.
The garden you’ve always wished for is achievable with this practical gardening bible for all your horticultural needs. Whether you are new to gardening or a seasoned expert, this design book filled with beautiful illustrations and guides will bring all your design ideas to life.
From planning to planting, find all the gardening ideas and advice you need to redesign and revamp your garden. Here’s what you’ll find
• Explains every stage of the design process, from assessing the space to drawing up detailed plans
• Showcases a wide range of landscape styles, identifying key elements needed to create the look
• Includes a quick-reference visual directory of plants and materials
• 32 new pages added, featuring 16 insightful case studies of RHS gold medal-winning landscapes, each analyzed through stunning photographs
This landscape design encyclopedia is packed with vital information needed to achieve a healthy, thriving garden. It has valuable advice to guide you from the initial stages of preparation such as choosing the correct materials for your structures and assessing your drainage, to laying patios, making ponds and planting perennials.
Discover a magnitude of inspirational portfolios including modernist, sustainable, Japanese, urban, family and cottage gardens to recreate your garden into a modern horticultural masterpiece. Understand the unique features of each garden style, create your own plan and marvel at case studies showcasing the gold standard of each garden type.
This stunning landscaping book comes with a visual dictionary and coverage of all the latest gardening trends, and effortlessly combines style with substance to guide you along the way as you plan and plant your perfect outdoor space. It’s perfect for beginner gardeners and those looking for a bit of inspiration.
392 pages, Hardcover
Published September 19, 2017
59 people are currently reading
240 people want to read
About the author
D.K. Publishing
9,121 books2,076 followersDorling Kindersley (DK) is a British multinational publishing company specializing in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 62 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a consumer publishing company jointly owned by Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA and Pearson PLC. Bertelsmann owns 53% of the company and Pearson owns 47%.
Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel (including Eyewitness Travel Guides), arts and crafts, business, history, cooking, gaming, gardening, health and fitness, natural history, parenting, science and reference. They also publish books for children, toddlers and babies, covering such topics as history, the human body, animals and activities, as well as licensed properties such as LEGO, Disney and DeLiSo, licensor of the toy Sophie la Girafe. DK has offices in New York, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto and Melbourne.
Source: Wikipedia.
Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel (including Eyewitness Travel Guides), arts and crafts, business, history, cooking, gaming, gardening, health and fitness, natural history, parenting, science and reference. They also publish books for children, toddlers and babies, covering such topics as history, the human body, animals and activities, as well as licensed properties such as LEGO, Disney and DeLiSo, licensor of the toy Sophie la Girafe. DK has offices in New York, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto and Melbourne.
Source: Wikipedia.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 12, 2018
This is not so much a book to read, but one to peruse and be inspired by. It is quite hefty with the content broken down into 1.)how to design, 2.)choosing a style, 3.) making a garden, 4.) plant and materials guide. I would definitely recommend this book to someone who wanted some guiding principles or good ideas for developing a part of the yard.
January 19, 2023
Nice coffee table book, showcasing many styles. Borrowed from the library, won’t be purchasing.
June 23, 2018
I was excited to get this book because I've been paying a professional gardener for years now but frankly I don't know that much about plans or gardens even though I approved the original plans and and I approve ongoing plans very spring. I was hoping this book would teach me a lot more so I I hired a gardener for our next garden, I can make it better.
From the beginning I have very high hopes for this book because it starts with very important questions that I wish I'd thought about. These questions were:
"What do you want to do in your garden?"
"How do you want to feel?"
"What will your garden look like?"
"How much do you want to do?"
However these questions weren't really followed up on. I expected a chart or something that would help me figure out what style of garden would work for me. There is a "Choosing a style" chapter with 13 general categories but none of the text helped me reconnect to the four initial questions. I'm still confused over what styles might work best for my ideal garden(s).
However, the book gave me a lot of information about plants, all types of plants, and the considerations of light and temperature for their best growth. It gave me a lot of interesting ideas through dozens and dozens of photos of gardens around the world. Every page, every point in the book is illustrated with photos or drawings. The images would be a reason just to borrow the book from the library while the information about the plants is a good reason to have one at home.
The book also included a lot of information about the non-living aspects of gardens that I hadn't thought much about. Our gardens at home are fairly simple in those regards. The same care was given to the materials and design aspects here as it was with the living parts of gardens. Ample drawings and photos also graced those pages.
From the beginning I have very high hopes for this book because it starts with very important questions that I wish I'd thought about. These questions were:
"What do you want to do in your garden?"
"How do you want to feel?"
"What will your garden look like?"
"How much do you want to do?"
However these questions weren't really followed up on. I expected a chart or something that would help me figure out what style of garden would work for me. There is a "Choosing a style" chapter with 13 general categories but none of the text helped me reconnect to the four initial questions. I'm still confused over what styles might work best for my ideal garden(s).
However, the book gave me a lot of information about plants, all types of plants, and the considerations of light and temperature for their best growth. It gave me a lot of interesting ideas through dozens and dozens of photos of gardens around the world. Every page, every point in the book is illustrated with photos or drawings. The images would be a reason just to borrow the book from the library while the information about the plants is a good reason to have one at home.
The book also included a lot of information about the non-living aspects of gardens that I hadn't thought much about. Our gardens at home are fairly simple in those regards. The same care was given to the materials and design aspects here as it was with the living parts of gardens. Ample drawings and photos also graced those pages.
July 24, 2020
Asked great prompts and provided a range of probable answers along with photos.
What do you want to do in your garden? Get Involved end of spectrum includes “Enjoy the plants and wildlife”
What do you want to feel? Middle of spectrum includes “Rejuvenated” and “A sense of well-being”
What will your garden look like? Traditional end of spectrum includes “Filled with flowers”
How much do you want to do? High Maintenance end of spectrum starts with “Three times a week” then drops to “Once a week”
What do you want to do in your garden? Get Involved end of spectrum includes “Enjoy the plants and wildlife”
What do you want to feel? Middle of spectrum includes “Rejuvenated” and “A sense of well-being”
What will your garden look like? Traditional end of spectrum includes “Filled with flowers”
How much do you want to do? High Maintenance end of spectrum starts with “Three times a week” then drops to “Once a week”
April 20, 2023
This book is a wonderful resource for anyone in need of a redesign for their yard. It gives a great overview of style concepts, as well as materials and plants.
I bought it since I plan to redesign an existing backyard and it offered an easy to follow overview of where to begin and how to create an overall concept. The book also details how to draw accurate plans and even gives real life advice on how to best take measurements of an irregular shaped plot. I definitely would recommend this book to anyone looking for a reference book with solid step by step advice from the very first sketch to the execution of those plans.
I bought it since I plan to redesign an existing backyard and it offered an easy to follow overview of where to begin and how to create an overall concept. The book also details how to draw accurate plans and even gives real life advice on how to best take measurements of an irregular shaped plot. I definitely would recommend this book to anyone looking for a reference book with solid step by step advice from the very first sketch to the execution of those plans.
January 30, 2021
There are some very beautiful layouts for outdoor spaces--complete with plantings to go with them--which isn't altogether what we were looking to do, but some of the outdoor built in furniture gave me some good ideas of what we might do with our planned renovations.
January 11, 2022
Very large book with detailed information about landscaping. A good addition to any library if you are just starting to familiarize yourself with landscaping design. Also includes projects, definitively a good resource.
May 24, 2018
An excellent resource for the gardening bookshelf.
April 17, 2019
My new handbook as I work to recreate my backyard. So many awesome ideas, I'm keeping this close as I search for materials to use.
April 7, 2021
DK is always a favorite of mine. This book is pretty good, but the last garden book I read by Mary Palmer Dargen is better. DK always has excellent photography. An enjoyable book!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 12, 2021
So much information in here, will definitely continue to be an ongoing reference book and inspiration provider.
October 10, 2024
Easy to read and digest, great photos. A helpful resource for beginners with landscaping interest.
January 19, 2025
Great inspiration and beautiful photos. It's given me a lot of ideas.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews