Gardening with Shape, Line and texturereplacer

Nice collection of perennials 280 I owe Linden Hawthorne an apology as I have been negative about gardening books written by English authors for the North American audience This book for advanced gardeners is a gem While there are many book that address the use of texture in the garden this book primarily deals with shape and structure She has provided the necessary growing conditions and zone information to make this book of value to gardeners outside England If you are trying to take your perennial garden to the next level this is the book for you Plants are arranged by their structural presence in the garden for example horizontals verticals arcs clumps clouds I personally need clouds and transparents in my garden 280 It s that time of year The sun is mostly shining and things are turning green Time to think about your garden that has been buried under all that snow since December And no better place to get inspired about all the things you want to to do in your garden this year than at the Library I pulled a couple of books off the NEW book shelf on the second floor this week to start my thinking process One is Gardening with Shape Line and Texture a plant design sourcebook by Linden Hawthorne do you suppose her parents were gardeners The book is full of beautiful pictures most of them taken in Britain where the author is from and the chapters have self explanatory titles Painting with Plants Horizontals and Tiers Verticals and Diagonals Arcs and Fountains Clumps and Mounds Clouds and Transparents Designing and Planting Small Gardens by Peter McHoy focuses on smaller spaces with many examples of styles over 700 photographs and features on patios ponds rock gardens roof terraces and containers There are excellent step by step pages like the cook books that show pictures along the way not just of the finished projects My focus is perennials and flowers but there are books for all types of gardeners at the Library SusanFrom ICPL Staff Picks Blog 280 Gardening with Shape Line and Texture bridges the gap between garden design books and plant reference encyclopedias Leading landscaper Linden Hawthorne looks at plants from a designer s perspective where color is often a secondary consideration and emphasizes the important roles of plant shape Part One reviews fine art principles and shows how they can be successfully applied to plant compositions by grouping plants into three heights ground to knee knee to navel and navel to crown She identifies different plant shapes buns mounds tiers fountains uprights and shows how the use of them contributes to the success of the finished design Part Two is a plant sourcebook with plants listed alphabetically within their key plant shape categories This innovative plant reference delivers plant information in a form that neatly dovetails with the garden design process and will inspire gardeners to look beyond color and begin to appreciate the whole plant Gardening with Shape Line and Texture A Plant Design Sourcebook.