Customer Reviews

Shocking Beauty

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The photographs in this book live up to the title from the cover photograph that brings out the hortisexual in all of us (uncontrolled lust for plants) to the plants and gardens selected and showcased. Plants of interest are well identified as are the gardens in which they grow. The text is clear and interesting and readable. Many "old" and easily attainable plants are shown in new combinations that will inspire gardeners to rearrange yet again. SHOCKING BEAUTY is a pleasure to read and makes a wonderful gift. Kudos to the photographers, too: Tom Hobbs, David McDonald, Jerry Harpur, Charles Price, Glenn Withey and Allan Mandell. Nice job!

Shocking Beauty" goes beyond gardening and straight to inspirational.
The unusual pairing of plants and color combinations give you the courage to think out of the box. Thomas Hobbs has a vision that can be a little intimidating at first but that quickly passes when you realize you can re-create this beauty if you keep your mind open and away from the home improvement store's plant shop. Quality gardens like these require quality plants that are rarely found outside of the small nurseries and catalogs. Don't skimp if you want anything that resembles what you'll find between these pages.
Both "Shocking Beauty" and Hobbs' "The Jewel Box Garden" are essential for any gardener.

Hobbes states on page 4 that "A total lack of inspiration is a sign of laziness" and "Lazy people should not garden because they end up demonstrating their nature publicly." A very harsh judgement indeed - and very sad for the experimental gardener. He continues to congratulate himself throughout the book, which is unnecessary because he designs beautiful gardens.

On the other hand, the photos are beautiful - albeit some with the obvious help of alterations made by a computer and not the gardener.

Hobbes does share lovely ideas that can easily be taken to your own garden and used no matter what your budget and size considerations. I particularly like the good descriptions of the plantings in the photos and the wide variety of settings. Solutions are simple in these gardens and they are beautiful at the same time. He challenges us to try new groupings of colors and shapes (I guess only in the framework of his idea of "vision").

If you love beautiful, expensive books of gardens that can give you good ideas, this book can be worth every penny. I am not sorry I bought it.

This is an exquisite, sophisticated and very accessible book. Some of the plant pairings are very subtle, yet these are the combinations which are shockingly beautiful. This book successfully illustrates the relationships and/or contrasts between relatively available plants that create a beautiful tension.
Of course, it doesn't hurt to have an artistic eye.
I have had this book for a few years and I pull it out every few weeks, always seeing something new or in a new way. A superb book for new gardeners.

I just absolutely love this book! The photos are stunning, and one of my favorite occupations last winter was to get this book out and page through it to help me cure spring fever. In other words, it makes a terrific coffee-table book, but it is much more than that.

If you are looking for inspiration as to how to come up with some dramatic combinations for your garden, I GUARANTEE you will come up with some good ideas from this book. You will also find some to-die-for plants that you will absolutely have to search out and buy as soon as the season is right to try them out.

. . . You will even seriously consider whether there is some legal way to track down and befriend some of the people whose gardens are featured in this book, just so that you could have a peek at stuff like this in real life!

Thomas Hobbs has the eye and the courage of a great artist. He paints and sculpts with living plants, and although he prefers the daring and innovative, it is always beautiful, never grotesque. He has forever changed the way I, for one, see the garden, because he is articulate as well as artistic. Bravo for a superb book!

Here's the book that encourages each of us to "flaunt it" in the garden, to allow our sensuous, perhaps slightly mischievous selves to really let go and have fun with unexpected plant combinations. I've read and re-read it several times, keep it by my bedside and refer to it often for inspiration. Having visited a number of the gardens photographed I can appreciate the effectiveness of this passionate approach to gardening.

A short disclaimer: I did not read through the text of this book, as the quality of the photography was so disturbing it rendered the writing irrelevent.

This book will be returned as soon as the post office opens tomorrow. I had purchased it as a gift and cannot, in good conscience, pass it on to the intended recipient.

The gardens pictured are exquisite and had the quality of the photos been equal to their composition, this book would be an inspiration to gardeners everywhere. Unfortunately, the photographs are grainy, soft (read 'blurry'), and lacking any depth-of-field whatsoever. Using these substandard images to represent years of dedication by talented gardeners is insulting both to the reader as well as the garden owners.

In a world full of lovely landscapes and brilliant photographers, this book does justice to neither.

The photo quality in this book is poor and the reading isn't any better.

The author tells us " A total lack of inspiration is a sign of laziness." and then goes on to state "Lazy people should not garden because they end up demonstrating their nature publicly."

I think lazy people should not write books. I found nothing new or original in this book, this book is very average at best. There are better books to spend your time and money on.

I first came across Thomas Hobbs in a Fine Gardening magainze article which mentioned also THE JEWEL BOX GARDEN. If you are an avid gardener and especially like succulents, this book will be a treasured addition to your library. I especially love going through the photos when the snow if piling up outside.