Customer Reviews

The Essential Garden Design Workbook: Second Edition

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am using this book as a textbook for a Garden Design class. I have several years of garden design experience and have many more years of gardening experience. This book explains the design process in an easy to understand and inspiring way. I have found that it addresses planting and design in subtley different ways that jog my mind to be more creative. It is well written, well designed and very informative.

The Essential Garden Design Workbook is a highly detailed design workbook especially intended for serious home gardeners, students of design, and professionals. Expertly written by Rosemary Alexander (the founder and principal of The English Gardening School), The Essential Garden Design Workbook is illustrated cover-to-cover with simple diagrams and sections of full color photographs. Individual chapters deftly cover necessary research and preparations, how to develop the initial design, what to take into account when finalizing the garden layout plan, creating a planting plan, visualizing and constructing the design, and a host of minor details. The Essential Garden Design Workbook is highly recommended as a detailed instructional for learning to blend individually creative instincts with practical necessities to create truly memorable gardens.

I moved into a new house and needed to do something with the landscaping. It is a mess. I cannot afford to hire a professional, so I bought this book hoping it would help me come up with a plan on my own. I haven't finished the book yet, but am finding it very helpful. It is more like a text book on how to draw up a garden plan, aimed at professionals, but it isn't overly technical and is fairly informative. I would have given it 5 five stars except that I am not very artistic, and I wish the book had more info to help me in that regard.

I have been looking for a garden design book for some time that would be heavy on how to lay out the design professionally on paper. This book goes through the progression of the design process and shows each step in the process. It has been extremely helpful in my designing of a three acre property.

I didn't want to give the book a bad review because it appears to be a great book. I checked this out at the library thinking I could use it to help me design my garden, but that isn't what this book is for. It was clearly designed for landscape professionals. It spent a lot of time on how to draw plants so that your clients could understand your plans better, etc. Helpful for someone, but probably not for your average homeowner designing their own yard.

Whether you're a landscape designer or hands-on gardener, this is an excellent step-by-step workbook. There are many such guidebooks on the market but this is the most comprehensive. It's packed with sketches to illustrate each point the author makes and offers a space-planning system for anyone suffering moments of 'writer's block.' Having worked as a landscape desginer for many years, I pick up this book regularly and rediscover something new each time.

Although the author refers to European landscaping, the design theory is still the same if applied in the US. This book is particularly useful for urban gardens as the examples given are, generally, for long, narrow lots. There are plenty of examples and drawings. A newly inspired invidividual wishing to further his knowledge about landscaping should start with this book.

This is a very detailed, very technical book on planning every conceivable aspect of garden design. From fences to pergolas to hedges to ponds, it's all in here. Normally I love detailed books but this was actually a bit more technical than I had hoped for. It's almost like a textbook for professionals (which certainly isn't a bad thing).

Very good book! This is a must have book for a beginner landscape design. A lot of examples to understand a process of garden design. I would most definitely recommend this book!!

I have not completed this book, but so far I find it to be very easly understood and full of information that I have been looking for. I have taken couarses on garden design and have not had a book that has so much information in it as this one has.. I, now up to this point understand each and every part of designing a garden from start to finish, and will know more when I finish this book and the work problems in the book. I am really enjoying learning all this book has to offer. Where it was a druge just to try to read some of the other books on garden design..This book makes it easy and fun. The step by step explantions of design are illestrated so well. I know that I will use this book for many years to come, as a reference. I may throw away my other books on garden design..