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About The Essential Garden Design Workbook
Product Description The Essential Garden Design Workbook guides the reader through every stage of planning a garden ― how to survey a site, how to choose landscaping materials, and how to develop planting schemes. This fully revised and updated second edition features new U.S. case studies and new photographs. Valuable tips on green gardening are new to this edition, and include how to harvest rainwater, how to design a green roof, tips on sustainable planting, and a guide to composting. Tailor-made for hands-on gardeners, the workbook approach is accessible, practical, and can be used to create a garden from scratch and to redesign an existing garden. Gardeners will find easy ways to measure large spaces, estimate the height of a tree, and find the right proportions for a deck. They'll also find tips on space, light, and color. Includes hundreds of easy-to-follow line drawings and diagrams. Review “Alexander writes with a rare understanding for all of the living organisms—humans, plants and wild creatures—who will occupy and benefit from the garden that is under design.” —Milwaukee Journal Sentinel “I especially like the book's 400 line drawings. Most are helpful, some humorous.” —Virginian-Pilot About the Author Founder and principal of The English Gardening School at the Chelsea Physic Garden, London, Rosemary Alexander writes and lectures worldwide on garden design. She was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal by the Royal Horticultural Society and lived as a tenant of the National Trust property in Kent. Her current Hampshire garden has been featured in most major gardening magazines. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. If you would like a water feature in your garden, begin by considering the different types before deciding on the form it will take.Water has a seductive, elusive quality that can greatly enhance any setting and, when used effectively, is able to command more attention than any other garden feature. It has the attribute of reflecting light but also has, in the garden layout, a similar strength to a solid structure. If well designed and integrated, a water feature can be a great asset to a garden, but, if used badly, it can be a depressing mistake. Water should be used with discretion, becoming part of the structure of your design. In small gardens, water is best used formally, either in conjunction with a building or as a sculptural feature or fountain. Using water informally, in free-form shapes imitating natural ponds, requires more space. Decide early on which type of water feature you want, and then decide whether it should flow or be static. The safety aspect, particularly for children, is of prime concern — being caged in as a precaution does not enhance any water feature. Although perhaps the single most magical feature in a garden, water is also the most difficult subject to get right. Once you have decided on your concept, it may be advisable to call in a water specialist who should be able to foresee any potential problems. Water has been prized in the design of gardens since ancient times. It was used as an integral part of many early Mogul, Persian and Islamic gardens, cooling down the atmosphere, soothing the spirits and giving an additional dimension to a flat landscape. In Europe during the Renaissance a renewed interest in hydraulics led to a proliferation of water devices, particularly in Italian and French gardens. Fountains had huge jets of water that soared into the air; grottoes had trick water features, which, to the amusement of the host, soaked unsuspecting visitors; cascades tumbled down water staircases; and a series of spouts and rills emitted sounds that imitated music. It was the height of fashion to include an unusual water feature in a garden setting, and wealthy landowners who took pride in their gardens engaged designers with knowledge of modern hydraulics to turn their fantasies into reality. Although today we accept hydraulic systems, such
