Elements of Garden Design [Paperback]

Joe Eck (Author), Lisa Brooks (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1997

Emphasizing the artistic dimension of gardening, a collection of short essays offers clear, easy-to-grasp definitions of key concepts in gardening and their application to garden design, aimed at the average--but serious--gardener. Reprint. NYT. PW.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"The great problem with rules," writes Joe Eck, "is that once they are laid down people tend to obey them." In this slender book of essays about gardening, Eck's goal is less to provide diagrams and formulas about how to build a garden than to share with the more experienced gardener his philosophy of why garden in the first place and what it is that can make a garden so pleasing to the eye and the soul. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Written for serious gardeners at any level of expertise, these thoughtful essays transcend the how-to genre and speak rather to the fine art of gardening as Eck defends his "argument" that "what defines a garden is less what is grown in it than how what grows is arranged." Drawn from a series of articles Eck wrote in the early 1990s for Horticulture magazine, the book is divided into two sections, "Theory" and "Practice," covering such principles as "Scale," "Structure" and "Symmetry," along with more concrete topics, e.g., "Lawns and Ground Covers," "Water in the Garden" and "Utility Areas." In the chapter entitled "Repose," for instance, Eck explores ways to achieve this quality in a garden, whether through a balance of mown grass against a border, the repetition of elements or the creation of a secluded corner. Eck, who coauthored A Year at North Hill with Wayne Winterrowd, writes a formal, elegant prose illuminated by wisdom gleaned from years of experience and sparked with flashes of dry wit. Inviting serious study as well as browsing, this volume deserves a spot on any dedicated gardener's shelf.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Owl Books (January 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805050329
• ISBN-13: 978-0805050325
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,617,365 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic on garden design basics, June 11, 2007

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Cares Enough to Write (Middletown, CT USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Elements of Garden Design (Paperback)

Of the hundred garden and gardening books I own, I always go back to this one (I have the 1995 ed.). It is fundamental and funny, a refreshing breath of (un)common sense when designing a garden, or trying to figure out what's lacking in your own garden, or understanding what it is that gives such satisfaction in other people's gardens. The few drawings convey exactly what the author is trying to say.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book on Garden Design, January 5, 2009

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Elements of Garden Design (Hardcover)

First published years ago as a series of article in Horticulture Magazine, this is a beautifully written work of both garden design theory and practice. The book title may sound like a rip off of Struck and White's "Elements of Style" but don't let that turn you off. This is a great book to be read as a novice and to return to years later.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic, February 18, 2009

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Lndscpr "lndscpr2009" (Norfolk, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Elements of Garden Design (Paperback)

I love the short chapters, fashioned from the Horticulture Magazine series that was the original purpose of the writings: you can easily read one and set it aside until you have time to pick it back up. The very heart of the artistic side of landscape design is presented in a very well-written & meaningful way. I purchased it as recommended reading for a Landscape Design class, and find it invaluable to go back and read certain sections over and over.