Customer Reviews

English Country Gardens: 2005 Wall Calendar

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2 star:		(1)
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Not what I expected. As a homeowner, I purchased this book to gain ideas for landscaping my yard. I have several books that I reference periodically for gardening and landscaping ideas, however, this will not be one of them. One of my favorite books to reference is 'The Welcoming Garden' by Gordon Hayward.

I'll explain why I only give two stars:

Many of the illustrations are grainy, dark, faded looking, like photographs of photographs, the clarity isn't what I'd expect. There are shadows in the photographs making it difficult to see what you are looking at, and I found many photos typical of a scenic landscape in a morning haze of fog - something suitable for a post card, not a gardening magazine (one even shows Grandma and Grandpa standing in front of the house - cute and very picturesque, but doesn't belong here).

Also, the scenic photos are shown in post card size, literally, with captions next to each - for this reason, I assume the author took post cards and used that as "photography" for their book. The larger photos which are comprised of an entire page, consist in most cases of close-ups of flowers. This seems somewhat backwards to me - if anything, the scenic view should be given a full page. While admittedly the photos are pretty, it doesn't really give me a real perspective where to begin with the English Garden. Go to Grandma's house and look at her photo albums of great grandma and grandpa standing in their garden for the same effect.

If you want a book that looks like a collection of scenic post cards with little emphasis on the how-to regarding actual landscape or garden design, then this is for you. Otherwise, spend your money more wisely.