Customer Reviews

Water Gardens: Simple Projects, Contemporary Designs (Garden Design)

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I was delighted by this book. The lily pools in my garden are choked and leaky, and I've been tempted to give up and fill them in. (If only dirt wasn't so expensive.) Then along came this book to remind me why I built them in the first place and give me some ideas about how to revitalize them.

Ms White understands the balance of art and science in a garden. Her writing is joyful poetry, evoking the music of dripping, splashing, gurgling water and how it can soothe a tired spirit or simply cool you off on a hot day. But she's not just a garden dreamer; she knows how to get her hands dirty, too. Each water feature "recipe" includes a complete list of the tools and materials that you need for the project and clear, easy-to-follow directions.

Some gardening books (like the Sunset books) get the directions right but miss the romance (or confuse it with trendy hype). Others don't see the manure that the lilies grow in. Not this book. The author knows that a fountain must be level to make its music, and she tells you how to build it that way. She knows that even a tiny still pool can incubate a host of annoying mosquitoes, and she provides several control methods. For every poetic image, there's a piece of nitty-gritty advice. She has even rated the recipes by difficulty and cost.

Mr Plut's lovely photographs and Mr. Bullen's simple, elegant design make this book a treat just to look at. And on a tactile level, I enjoyed the creamy-feeling soft cover with its flaps that eliminate the need for bookmarks. The quality of this book belies its relatively low price.

I've spent three evenings dreaming and scheming my way through this book. Now I've got to roll up my sleeves and get to work. I think I'll start with that "Easy" bucket under the rosebush.

I was curious about what kind of garden publications Chronicle Books would be putting out so I bought three in the series; Water Gardens, Paths and Walkways, and Small Patios. I think if I had seen these in the bookstore I would've probably put them back. I was expecting something a little heavier on the visuals from Chronicle Books.

But the examples are interesting. Nice range of elements, and tending to favor the quirky in design. The author describes the garden element in question (depends on which book you have) and uses one overall photograph and two detail shots. The detail shots seem there mostly for atmosphere and to break up the page. She also includes a one-page, how-to discussion, and a list of tools and materials.

I'm not looking forward to all the reading.