Garden Design ― A Book of Ideas

Author Marianne Majerus was one of three photographers for the seminal book by Prince Charles, HRH The Prince of Wales, Highgrove: A Garden Celebrated, published in 2014, which Camilla Swift of Gardens Illustrated praised for its photographs, "images so breathtaking I want to jump into them."

In Garden Design: A Book of Ideas, she and Heidi Howcroft have created a stunning guide to designing gardens of all types. Ideal for all gardeners and landscape architects this book inspires and encourages while giving practical advice and clear instruction for creating a beautiful garden in any setting.

Any experienced gardener knows there is no single way to design a garden. Personal style and creativity are what make gardening exciting and produce an enjoyable garden. In this outstanding reference the concise text, 600 inspirational photographs and 22 real-life case studies can help anyone create a dream garden.

Incisive advice takes the reader through the entire process: assessing the garden situation, developing a design, installing the components, and finally, dressing the space. The brilliant color photographs show an enormous variety of gardens and their elements in detail, varying from large and small, to urban and rural, covering a wide range of styles, including contemporary, modern, city, Mediterranean and natural. There are plant recommendations throughout the book.

Garden Design profiles existing gardens to illustrate important considerations that will factor into the final result, such as, Where is Your Garden? What Do You Want From Your Garden? and Knowing Your Soil.

Here is a brief sampling of the contents:

• Structure (e.g., Paths, Enclosures)
• Materials (e.g., Stone, Timber)
• Steps and Ramps (e.g., Outdoor Staircases)
• Enclosures and Barriers (e.g., Hedges, Gates)
• Shaping the Garden (e.g., Mounds, Slopes)
• Greenery and Flowers (e.g., Trees: Scene Stealers; Working with Color Stems, Berries, Foliage)
• Shade (e.g., Light up the Dark with White Flowers)
• Flowers (e.g., Paint with Plants, Borders For All Seasons)
• Vegetables (e.g., No-Dig and Raised Beds)
• Furnishings (e.g., Fountains, Loungers, Lighting)
• Difficult Plots and Tricks of the Trade (e.g., Tiny Spaces and Odd Proportions).

Creating a garden is part common sense and part instinct but almost everybody needs some help to achieve the garden of their dreams. Garden Design: A Book of Ideas inspires and motivates but it also provides practical guidance.

Heidi Howcroft is a landscape architect and the author of 20 gardening books. She lives in Somerset, England.

Marianne Majerus is one of the world's finest garden photographers. She is a regular contributor toHouse and Garden and The Wall Street Journal. She has illustrated more than 50 gardening books and won International Garden Photographer of the Year 2010.