Customer Reviews

American Horticultural Society Complete Guide to Water Gardening (American Horticultural Society Practical Guides)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The AHS's Complete Guide to Water Gardening is an excellent source of information on the history of water gardening as well as design elements. Looking to add a water element to my present garden I have found the Complete Guide to be indispensable. The most useful content in the book to me has been the number of design styles that are diagramed and critiqued. This has made my move towards what I am hoping to accomplish easier. You will find all sorts of information on building and maintaining as well.

If you want to build a pond/stream/waterfall, and you want the pleasure of doing it yourself, this is THE book to buy. There are several good ones available, and you should consider some of them to help yourself gain valuable knowledge about the subject.

However, of all the books in this field, this is the most comprehensive, best illistrated, and the most diverse guide of its kind.

The Hard cover edition (if available) will be a book you'll want to keep with your other favorites.

My husband and I found this book helpful as a general reference for building our pond. We were disappointed that there wasn't more detail in certain key areas. For example, when you look up pH in the index and turn to the selected page, they just show you a picture of a pH test kit. It would be nice to know why we need one!
The equipment section would have been enhanced with a greater variety of filtration/pump set-ups and the pros/cons of each configuration.
The section about plants is excellent; it is extensive, with detailed thumbnail descriptions, and helpfully separated into groups.
I would recommend this book, but not as a complete source of water garden info.

The book covers various methods of water techniques from waterfalls to quiet ponds and water plants. Covers the actual design and construction of water structures with good use of graphics and diagrams. Besides its bold, beautiful pictures, it delivers good advice to both novice and designer alike. Would show nicely in any home library.

This is a very good book on water gardening and does have some nice pictures. I must disagree with another reviewer; this is NOT the only book you'll ever need on the subject. It is very good and a valuable recourse, but has left me with many questions still unanswered.

This is a great little reference tool for building a pond. It does lack detail in construction or things like filtration and upkeep.

The outdoor plant and fish sections were informitive. It gives a lot more detail there but it's getting there certain chapters were a little vague. It's a good book for basic know-how and we be good to add to a group of books on the topic. However not stand alone one stop resource.

We have a giant hole in our backyard and it is a tribute to this excellent book. It describes the process of creating a water feature as well as or better than any other publication on the market. We will have a wildlife and bird resource thanks to the quality of this publication. My sincere thanks to the author/editor/writer.