Garden
Rooms
by Fine Gardening
Softcover
225 x 275mm
95pp
Published by The Taunton Press, Connecticut, USA.
R.R.P.$39.90
ISBN 1-56158-138-0
As reviewed in House & HOME Issue 71
Rather than a space separate from the home, the outdoor garden can be thought of as a series of extended living rooms that provide both beauty and function.
Garden Rooms offers suggestions from 'expert home gardeners and landscape designers' for creating a range of outdoor living areas to suit a number of different sites, themes and styles. Included are examples of A Cozy Sitting Garden, Enclosing the Garden, A Front Yard Retreat, A Walled Garden and A Vine Sanctuary.
When designing A Cozy Sitting Garden for a small site, Jerry Glick wanted to incorporate aspects such as spaciousness, privacy, sanctuary and colour. He achieved these aims by building decks and patios bordered by flower beds to create a series of small, open areas which made the garden seem more expansive. A vertical sense of space was also simulated with the planting of tall plants and the use of hanging baskets to draw the gaze upwards. Privacy was attained by 'framing' the garden with a '6-ft tall wooden fence' to screen out neighbours. To complete the scene, small water features were added for an audio/visual sanctuary and clustered plantings provided an 'exuberant mix of colours and textures'.
Suzanne Edley's Enclosing the Garden offers design ideas for space and seclusion on an average-sized suburban block. She recommends the strategic siting of particular species of plants and trees to screen out neighbours, roads and footpaths. Flagstone paths provide entryways to secluded or 'secret' garden rooms which might include a water feature, transforming the area into a quiet haven for birds, local wildlife and the owner/gardener.
While the suggested design and plant species in Garden Rooms emanate from the northern hemisphere, Australian and New Zealand readers will be able to readily borrow the ideas and adapt their botanical selections to suit local conditions.
Photos & Illustrations: Colour
Units of Measurement: Imperial
Contents
Introduction
The
Enclosed Entry Garden
Three simple elements turn a public space into a
private haven
A
Cozy Sitting Garden
Colorful plants and imaginative design make the most
of a small area
An
Intimate Garden for Entertaining
Levels and nooks make a quiet haven
A
Home for Hot Colors
Red, yellow and orange flowers spice up a garden of
their own
A
Front-Yard Retreat
Artful design fashions a private patio
A
Classic Courtyard
Formal design brings the Italian Riviera to an urban
space
A
Small Townhouse Garden
Making the most of limited space means breaking
the rules
Landscaping
a Small City Backyard
A retreat from the madding crowd
A
Walled Garden
Outdoor rooms open to the sky
Enclosing
the Garden
How a landscape designer created privacy and interest on a
smalI lot
Landscape
as Living Space
Harmony and color for a Southwest garden
A
Vine Sanctuary
Gardener finds peace of mind in a leafy bower
A
Front-Yard Makeover
Good fences make good neighbors
A
Marriage of Garden Styles
Walks and waterways form the transition
A Shared Garden
Tenants reclaim an apartment courtyard
Shaping
a Garden with Illusion
Tropical effects in a small space
A
Miniature Mountain Landscape
Big boulders and smalI plants create an alpine
vista
Accents
Make a Garden
Patio, vista, pond and plantings transform a city lot
An
Illusion of Age
Unrestrained plantings and weathered masonry bring a timeworn
feel to a formal city garden
Index