Customer Reviews

Water Features for Small Gardens: From Concept to Construction

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

 

 

Water Features for Small Gardens is a wonderful book.
Most books of this sort show incredible water features only for the very wealthy but this book not only shows beautiful, attainable water features but explains, with photos and diagrams, how to build them. Mr. Davitt includes virtually every type of water feature from tub gardens to streams and shows a wide range of styles, many of his own creations and many from other designers. For anyone wanting a comprehensive,
beautifully illustrated book on water features, this is a must.

Water Features For Small Gardens is the ultimate how-to book for every type of water garden from tub gardens to raised fountains. Not only is it filled with beautiful after pictures, it has in-progress photos, construction details and technical drawings for each of the eight types of water gardens covered (with several examples of each), which anyone can use to build her own water garden. It also has chapters on pumps, filtration and water plants, explaining what to use, what quantities and why.

The writing is clear, succinct and written with the obvious intent of guiding anyone through the entire process of creating any sort of water garden. It is probably not a book for professional builders doing large-scale construction but it is certainly the best of its kind I have found for the average homeowner.

This is a gorgeous book! The pictures (by the author) are luscious, the gardens are inspiring: it does the heart good just to look at them, even if you haven't got a garden, or have one but can't afford to remake it. He doesn't just rate his own gardens, he also commends other well-made water gardens, so the scope is wider than might be expected. The writing is clear, friendly, and concise. Even the book design is inviting and elegant. Very highly recommended for gardeners of all skill levels--and wistful nongardeners, too. I loved it!

Excellent book! I found a ton of great ideas to use on my new property. Well worth the price.

Keith Davitt takes water features to the next (natural)level with careful scrutiny of stone shapes, colors, sizes, placement. With the same attention to detail, he has an uncanny feel for scale (how large to make the feature given the amount of space there is to work with). I really like the photos that demonstrate his points. The ponds and growth really look like they belong there. Great work!!

This was mostly a book discussing what not to do and naturalizing your water feature. This is not a good how-to type book.

As with most books published by Timber Press the overall content and layout are above average. I like the way photos are in sync with the text, and the reader carried through the design process in an economical discussion of salient points. The major downfall in the book, and it is major, appears in the authors credits for the landscape designs highlighted for discussion. In every instance the authors own designs are found in the category of the right way to design, as might be expected. But in a petty or mindlessly inadventurous way, he sees fit to credit all the examples he uses as bad design, not his, with the actual designers name. No matter how good a book, I would not purchase a work that degrades another's reputation.