Customer Reviews

Paradise Found: Gardening in Unlikely Places

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My favorite thing about both of Rebecca Cole's books is that she does not make the art of gardening and design seem too precious or difficult for the average lay person. Both of her books inspire confidence in those of us who think we have a pretty good sense of style but never went to RISDE or a school for Botany. She tells lovely anecdotes about people like you and me who are inspired by her work and go back to their own cement rooftops or scraggly backyards and create paradise where once there was none. Her writing is lively, funny and informative. I can honestly say that I have never read a gardening book from cover to cover with the exception of this one and her previous book POTTED GARDENS.

Aside from the wonderful writing, this book is filled with beautiful images. The smoky style of photographer Helen Norman works perfectly with Rebecca's sophisticated and sometimes whimsical designs. I have given this book to a slew of friends and family. Without fail they tell me how the book inspired them to try gardening and design ideas that they had never before considered. I can't wait to see what Rebecca Cole will do next.

A dear gardening friend and I bought this book for each other and it is quite a treat. The book is a wonderful read and full of ideas and suggestions for creating our own bit of Paradise. Visually, the book is amazingly beautiful. The premise of the book may be for small, patio and container gardens but Rebecca Coles "eye" for Paradise may be used for any size garden. And everyone needs their own bit of Paradise to take the time to breath a bit more slowly, to bring the senses alive to fragrances, sights and sounds that we take for granted everyday. Every garden holds the potential for giving us a glimpse of Paradise - Thanks Rebecca!

Paradise found is not just a guidebook for gardening. It is an outstanding piece of art! Usually you get a lot of tips and howto's from ordinary gardening books. But this book totally changed my aspect in designing my balcony garden. It gives you various ideas for total cordination and concept of your garden design. Rebecca Cole's artistic sense is extraordinary and very inspiring. This book is a MUST OWN! Very beautiful photographs, too!

Although beautiful to look at, this book is tooManhattan-centric. Examples: "Every Saturday and Sunday, spoiledNew Yorkers are treated to the best flea markets in the world..." "The typical terrace in New York City measures about 40 square feet." "Nestled in the gardens of the Upper East Side... is one of my favorite gardens." Like a typical New Yorker, Cole seems unaware of life West of the Mississippi. (She keeps annoyingly refering to the Mason-Dixon line, something Westerners could give a hoot about.)

The "unlikely spaces" the book refers to in its title are the terraces of wealthy New Yorkers. So, unless you're rich and live in the tri-state area, you won't find much use for Cole's ideas (There's nothing dirt-cheap about the wonderful old urns or French cast-iron enameled wall sinks she favors as containers, or the 15 additional potted plants she suggests should accompany each potted tree).

If you're looking for real advice on how to make your garden as beautiful as Cole's, you won't find it here. This book is filled with either a.) vague ideas ("in each of your garden areas you will need some large elements') or b.) bizarre advice. ("The most important factor in choosing the right watering system for your garden is to have selected appropriate plants for your area") Huh?

Finally, Cole's egocentric tone throughout the book and her inclusion of full page spreads of herself on holiday in Italy are real turn-offs. She talks about herself insessantly: "Clearly, I have a weakness for old garden furniture" "When my friends come to my house in New Hampshire for the weekend, all they want to do is go to a country auction. I must admit, it is one of my favorite ways to spend a day." "I usually save for myself the fun job of placing the containers in the best spots around the terrace."

If you must buy this book, look at the pictures and don't bother reading the copy.

This book is so beautiful. After I received it I bought a copy for my best gardening buddy. I need to get one more for a couple who are apartment dwellers, but I found it very inspiring and useful and I garden on 3/4 of an acre. It's the best thing visually since "The Art of French Gardening". Thank you Rebecca Cole!

Rebecca Cole has done it again as she did with Potted Gardens. She has written a book on gardening that even a non-gardener can enjoy. As her brother, you might believe I am obligated to offer a favorable review. You are right. As a non-gardener, I can distance myself from this subject and thereby offer an objective opinion. Paradise Found--Gardening in Unlikely Spaces holds great interest for me. Rebecca's writing is clear, full of detail, and just fun to read. Helen Norman's photographs beautifully fill each page.

In this book Rebecca Cole wants you to consider how the garden will be enjoyed. Gardens are loved because of their inherent beauty, by their use as a place to entertain guests, and in just the joy of planning and maintaining. The vision of your garden becomes the take off point for finding a garden paradise. Ideas are offered to help your vision become a reality and to let the growing begin. Several sections of the book deal with the diagnosis of problems in some gardens. Solutions for these problems are ingenious and well illustrated. Tips on maintaining, planting, and furnishing your garden are all covered throughout this book.

Paradise Found looks great on the coffee table. It has substance inside the covers. Gardeners and book lovers can find their paradise in both likely and unlikely spaces in this book.

Some reviewers think that it is wrong for this book to be too Manhattan focused, but how can it be otherwise if she lives and works for clients in Manhattan? And forgive me, but it does make a wonderful case study, for most people who want plants in NY can only have them in containers in their terraces. And yes they are not dingy apartments, but PLEASE, who would want pictures of a dingy terrace in a book!!! She makes a point whith the title, for she creates little "paradises" that help people relax from their hectic city lives. The use of antiques or old suff is great and I truly believe that some of them are not that expensive. She provides invaluable advice as to landscaping with containers, which, to say the least, can be quite tricky. You might end up with a collection of containers and not good overall design. One example is placing them in trios or triangles to give structure to the design. Believe me, it has been a real eye-opener. I used to line up pots along walls and never knew why it wasn't working. Thank you Rebecca!

Also, I can't help but saying that she DOES NOT sound ego-centric at all, I find this book very personal, almost as if you were getting advice from a friend. The difference with this book is the personal tone, and of course it is personal, all are projects that se actually has done herself. She did not travel the country taking pictures of beautiful gardens. These are all her clients, and you really can detect her personal style (absolutely Manhattan shabby chic).

And last but not least she has finally put my mind at ease as to the conflict between designers who do drawings and designers who don't. She confesses she does very rough plans as to see the location of the plants, but she does not spend entire hours on a drawing. I have always thought that good garden designers and gardeners not always draw well (By the way, has anyone studied Gertrude Jekyll's planting plans? You know what I mean then). She is pretty confident in her skills. I think it all comes to experience in the end. And I was forgetting, this book is also pretty! So if you are not that much into gardening but want to buy a pretty book this is definately it. I also reccomend buying her book on flower arranging, FLOWER POWER.

I agree that Paradise Found is very New York-centric, but I guess I thought that was the point: If you can grow it in a bucket on a terrace in sooty old NYC, you ought to be able to grow it anywhere. I found plenty of great ideas to apply to my desert garden in New Mexico, and didn't feel a bit slighted, geographically. (On the other hand, that Mason-Dixon thing IS a problem.) All-in-all a beautiful book with plenty of great design ideas and a few glaring glitches. Isn't it nice it was discounted?