Customer Reviews

Penelope Hobhouse's Natural Planting

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This book covers the use of native and other well-suited plant choices to match your local conditions and create beautiful, generally lower-maintenance, informal gardens. Beautiful photographs, tips for various cultural types (e.g., meadow gardens, shrub borders, woodland edges) and design theory, with a moderate emphasis on the temperate conditions one might find in England or New England. This book has no section arranged by species, but that's no loss for most garden readers, and Hobhouse shows a detailed knowledge of plants and gives plenty of tips on their specific use within the culturally arranged sections. (Hobhouse has a large number of books in print and out; all that I have read have been worth purchasing.)

http://www.woodedpaths.blogspot.com/

I've long been an admirer of Rosemary Hobhouse's garden design skills, but she displays here that she isn't only a writer who designs gardens, she is also an excellent plantswoman, and her gardens reflect an intimate knowledge and practical experience with all kinds of plants. This book is wonderfully informative on the history of using 'natural' plants in garden design, and I especially liked the way she uses various examples of real gardens of very different kinds. Whatever kind of garden you are interested in, there's bound to be something inspirational in this beautiful book.