Ever dreamed of having your very own garden retreat? Off-the-shelf sheds aren't always the answer - the cheap ones are badly made and freezing cold, and the better quality ones are really expensive. But what if you could build your own shed from scratch? How to Build a Shed is the ultimate practical guide. With its clear, easy-to-follow instructions, expert advice and specially commissioned illustrations, you'll be able to source the materials, choose the right tools and build your dream shed on a budget - even if you've never used a hammer.

Over the years, Japanese gardeners have fine-tuned a distinctive set of pruning techniques that coax out the essential characters of their garden trees, or niwaki. In this highly practical book, Western gardeners are encouraged to draw upon the techniques and sculpt their own garden trees to unique effect. After discussing the principles that underpin the techniques, the author offers in-depth guidelines for shaping pines, azaleas, conifers, broadleaved evergreens, bamboos, and deciduous trees. Complete with abundant photographs, personal anecdotes and a wealth of advice, this unprecedented resource will inspire gardeners everywhere to transform their own trees into niwaki.

Concrete and steel may weigh as much, but nothing can rival stone for its beauty and durability. Building With Stone is an introduction to the art and craft of creating stone structures and projects by a man who has made stonework his vocation.

Throughout the book is Charles McRaven's stonebuilding philosophy -- that careful craftsmanship and time well spent during construction will repay itself many times over. The physical challenges will be offset by tremendous satisfaction and the knowledge that long after the builder is gone, the structure will stand as a personal and historical monument.

Based on years of experience, this book will educate the novice and inspire the seasonal artisan. A stonebuilder at any level will learn how to evaluate each stone and undertake each step in the procedure with an eye toward aesthetics and useful permanence.

In addition to introductory material on acquiring stone and what tools will be necessary, there are chapters with step-by-step instructions on how to build:

-- walls

-- buttresses

-- stone fireplaces

-- a barbecue pit

-- a stone dam

-- a stone bridge

-- a spring house

-- even a home or barn

The final chapter is on proper restoration techniques for stone structures.

Not just a how-to book, but also a good read, Building With Stone is sure to be a reference book and constant companion for all manner of stone journeymen, and will prove to be as enduring a volume as the structures it recommends.

Summer can be a glorious time when a garden glows with continuous color, and this practical guide will show you the way. Planning and follow-through are clearly spelled out in simple instructions that cover every step to success. Ten varied garden styles are showcased in over 130 beautiful full-color photos and watercolor illustrations that demonstrate the ways to use different groups of plants. Detailed plant lists and timetables help create variety with trees to give height, shrubs to give structure, foliage to give breadth, and flowers to create flashes of color. And the flowers See how to highlight roses, the stars of the summer garden, as well as perennials, ornamental grasses, borders, herbs, and plants in containers, plus decorative features such as arches and pergolas. Get tips on adapting the plans to your climate, and turning problem-area eyesores into eye-catchers. It's just the kind of planning guide needed to bring sweet dreams on cold winter nights.

_______________ 'The Morville Hours is the most beautiful book I have read in years' - Nigel Slater 'A truly remarkable book that is both intimate and universal. We are left with a renewed sense of what it is to be human' - Daily Telegraph 'This is gardening writing at its best. Swift's prose brings the garden alive in all its details, scents and meaning ... Evocative, heartfelt and magical' - Guardian _______________ In 1988 Katherine Swift arrived at the Dower House at Morville to create a garden of her own. This beautifully written, utterly absorbing book is the history of the many people who have lived in the same Shropshire house, tending the same soil, passing down stories over the generations. Spanning thousands of years, The Morville Hours takes the form of a medieval Book of Hours. It is a meditative journey through the seasons, but also a journey of self-exploration. It is a book about finding one's place in the world and putting down roots.

This fascinating work presents the story of the growth of Japanese culture and philosophy as illustrated by gardens. The author identifies the importance of the garden in Japanese art throughout history, tracing its development from Ancient Chinese prototype, to early Japanese gardens, to the mansions of Muromachi, the Tea Gardens, and finally modern gardens. She relates the evolution of the garden to Oriental religion and philosophy, political and historical events, the arts in general, and the tea ceremony. The book's lively, interesting prose and handsome illustrations give it enduring appeal.

Although the integration of sculpture in gardens is part of a long tradition dating back at least to antiquity, the sculptures themselves are often overlooked, both in the history of art and in the history of the garden. This collection of essays considers the changing relationship between sculpture and gardens over the last three centuries, focusing on four British archetypes: the Georgian landscape garden, the Victorian urban park, the outdoor spaces of twentieth-century modernism and the late-twentieth-century sculpture park. Through a series of case studies exploring the contemporaneous audiences of gardens, the book uncovers the social, political and gendered messages revealed by sculpture's placement and suggests that the garden can itself be read as a sculptural landscape.

Contemplative landscape and contemplative space are familiar terms in the areas of design, landscape architecture and architecture. Krinke and her contributors, all highly regarded scholars and designers, set out to explore definitions, theories, and case studies of contemplative landscapes. The contributors, Marc Treib, John Beardsley, Michael Singer, Lance Neckar, Heinrich Herman, and Rebecca Krinke, have spent their careers researching, critiquing, and making landscapes. Here they investigate the role of contemplative space in a post-modern world and examine the impact of nature and culture on the design or interpretation of contemplative landscapes.
The authors investigate principles and strategies often used as guidance for creating contemplative landscapes, as well as the relationships and differences between contemplative and commemorative space. The essays, drawn from both scholarship and personal experience explore the links between spaces designed to provide health benefits and contemplative space.

Learn how to use statues, sculptures, fixed structures, water features, plants and more to add the finishing touch to your garden. Magnificent commissioned photographs taken in gardens throughout the country, with extended captions, show and tell you how to achieve the illustrated effect in your own garden. With loads of hints and tips throughout, the title not only inspires but has a solid, practical application. The contents include: paths and paving; containers; colour and its use; edging and finishing; statues and structures; original ideas; lights and lighting; plants as focal points.

In Six Thousand Years up the Garden Path, a seasoned horticulturalist takes others on a light-hearted and magical journey through the history of gardens. Ian Robertson has spent a lifetime working in the world of plants and design and relies on his experience as an international garden designer to narrate a fascinating history of gardening. Beginning with Sumerians learning to garden between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, Robertson transports others through the Fertile Crescent to western Europe, forward to the British Isles, and onward to the New World all while describing the beauty of the gardens of Andrew Jackson Downing, Wolfgang Oehme, Frederick Law Olmstead, and many others. Included in his story of the foliage and blossoms that surrounded kings, princes, queens, and mistresses, Robertson shares a timeline, glossary, and roadside stopovers that make the journey up the garden path even more delightful. Tailored for the enjoyment of either experienced or novice gardeners immersed in the second fastest growing hobby in America, Robertson provides insights into the people, events, and plants that have vibrantly colored the landscape of the world for thousands of years.

The content of this book originally appeared in The New Kitchen Garden, published in 2015. 'An endless selection of delicious produce you can plant, grow and then cook with.' Raymond Blanc OBE Now you can create your own delicious edible garden at home! More and more people are being inspired to grow a little of what they eat at home. But while starting your own kitchen garden may seem like a daunting task at first, Grow & Cook makes it easy. Award-winning author and gardener, Mark Diacono, has distilled years of knowledge into this pocket-sized book. Whether you are new to gardening and only have a small window box or you are much more experienced with the space to experiment, this user-friendly handbook will inspire and help you. Mark is here to show you that there are plenty of options for everyone and lots of exciting new varieties to discover. Each variety in the book includes a wealth of information on when to sow, growing tips, potential problems, harvesting and plenty more. There are hundreds of varieties to pick from that can be grown and then used in your kitchen. Mark separates the growing guides into three groups: * Vegetables * Fruit & Nuts * Herbs & Spices Whatever you choose to grow should suit your lifestyle. You might prefer something tough and sturdy that doesn't need too much love or time commitment, or you might get pleasure from the steady graft of looking after your veg patch. Whichever your circumstances, your kitchen garden should bring you joy both in the growing process and then in the kitchen. Grow & Cook is the essential pocket guide for modern gardeners.

The definitive reference guide to garden design, its rich history, and the creative art of gardening - a luxuriously illustrated A-Z compendium of more than 200 garden elements, styles, features, and ornaments for gardeners around the globe With its easy-to-use A-Z format, The Garden examines over 200 modern and historical garden styles, features, types and ornaments, with definitions and informative descriptions and more than 500 spectacular images. This accessible, inspirational book is perfect for both amateur gardeners and specialists alike. Its entries, written by garden expert and historian Toby Musgrave - author of Phaidon's bestselling book The Gardener's Garden - range from Allee, Borrowed Landscape and Coastal Garden, to Minimalism, New Perennial Planting, Pool, Vista and Xeriscape Garden and form a unique, illustrated 'glossary' for gardeners, featuring more than 400 gardens, both public and private, iconic and lesser known. Examples include spaces such as the Baroque gardens of Versailles and rarely published tropical courtyards from contemporary designers, alongside artist creations such as Frida Kahlo's courtyard in Mexico and Derek Jarman's coastal garden in Dungeness, England. Alongside the work of private garden owners and makers, the book also showcases the work of emerging and eminent designers, including Andrea Cochran, Emily Erlam, Raymond Jungles, Dan Pearson, and Piet Oudolf. Whether creating an English cottage garden or tending a Japanese Zen landscape, the range and beauty of The Garden will inspire gardeners and garden lovers everywhere as never before.

This work shows how to create enchanting outdoor spaces for all ages, combining the needs of children and pets with the adult desire to cultivate a beautiful garden. It is a quick reference on all aspects of planting and maintaining a garden, including advice on habitats and soil-types, co-ordinating colour and foliage, and identifying and dealing with pests. Practical tips and instructions are presented in topic-based spreads. The book offers a practical and realistic approach to organic alternatives as well as conventional gardening methods.

Create classic characters in wonderful Tilda style with this gathering of favourite friends. Garden angels keep watch over whimsical cats, a fishing frog, birds and their houses, and many more. Full size, easy to follow templates for stuffed figures and applique allow you to get started straight away. This title features rabbits, birds, frogs, cats and an array of other creatures. Clear artworks and pretty photography make sewing, papercrafting and painting a breeze. Full size sewing templates ensure easy making up.

Michael Littlewood's Landscape Detailing is now well established as a valuable source of reference for architects, landscape architects, other professionals and students designing external works. For this third edition it has been split into three volumes to give a greater depth of coverage than ever before.Volume 3 covers pergolas, arbours, arches, gazebos, summer houses, sheds, shelters, decks, footbridges, furniture and roofs. Each section begins with technical guidance notes on design and construction. This is followed by a set of drawn-to-scale detail sheets. These details can be traced for direct incorporation into the set of contract drawings. A list of relevant references, bibliography and a list of association and institutions indicate where further guidance can be obtained. A ready reference for landscape designers and an indispensable time-saving tool, Landscape Detailing is an essential for the design office.

The Netherlands is steeped in horticultural history and its gardens have long been a place for innovation and progressive thinking, exemplified by iconic figures such as the landscape architect Mien Ruys and naturalistic plant pioneer Piet Oudolf. In this book, Noel Kingsbury and Maayke de Ridder explore how the particularities of landscape, history and culture in the Netherlands have given rise to distinctive gardens and demonstrates how a new generation of Dutch designers are reimagining outdoor space in such a revolutionary way. At the heart of the story is a people intimately engaged with their surroundings, as proud of the feats of engineering used to reclaim their land from the sea as they are passionate about nature and biodiversity. This creative tension is played out in their parks and gardens: a clean, pared-back aesthetic contrasts with billowing planting; water is managed and made accessible with boardwalks; and meandering paths lead to inviting outbuildings for work and relaxation. These inspiring examples of sustainable, modern, liveable outdoor spaces will appeal to forward-looking garden makers wherever they live.

Fill your garden with flowers all-year round with inspiration, planting ideas and expert advice from Sarah Raven.

Colour and scent are the hallmarks of Sarah Raven's style – and they are simple luxuries that everyone can bring into their garden.

A Year Full of Flowers reveals the hundreds of hardworking varieties that make the garden sing each month, together with the practical tasks that ensure everything is planted, staked and pruned at just the right time.

Tracing the year from January to December at her home, Perch Hill, Sarah offers a complete and transporting account of a garden crafted over decades. Sharing the lessons learned from years of plant trials, she explains the methods that have worked for her, and shows you how to achieve a space that's full of life and colour.

Discover long-lasting, divinely scented tulips, roses that keep flowering through winter, the most magnificent dahlias and show-stopping alliums, as well as how to grow sweet peas up a teepee, take cuttings from chrysanthemums and stop mildew in its tracks.

This is passionate, life-enriching gardening; it's also simple, adaptable and can work for you. Sarah has made the garden central to her life – this book shows you how you can too.

Do you share your garden with a car? Worried that your neighbour's trees are blocking your light? Is your garden too big? Too small? An awkward shape? Or maybe you just don't know where to begin... Whether you are grappling with a particular dilemma or just need some inspiration, this guide leads the way forward with sharp design advice and beautiful images. Read this book and the prospect of tackling your own garden will seem suddenly less daunting and more fun.