Garden Design Details - book review by GardenAdvice

Often the first problem when designing any garden is finding the original
inspiration: the first founding idea; a theme. It's hard with any garden
design but, with gardens over an acre, it can seem an impossible task to get
started. Garden Design Details, written by Arne Maynard and Anne de
Verteuil, published by Conran Octopus, goes a long way to solving this
problem. Containing a wide range of examples of different garden styles and
ideas, the book provides a great starting place for anyone facing the
challenge of designing a larger garden. Well thought out, the book takes
you through a process of looking at a number of different garden styles and
explains how a number of different elements come together to form the
framework of a well designed garden.

One of the best parts of this book is the section dealing with 'focal
points' and the power of 'focal points' (called 'punctuation' by the
authors) to draw a garden viewer around the garden, install a garden with a
sense of purpose and create interest. This is not a book that is going to
tell you how to design a garden, what to plant in which position etc;
however, it is a book that will provide you with the initial spark of an
idea that you can run with and work on. Some of the ideas and results shown
might not be for you, but they will provide food for thought and this, in
itself, can provide inspiration to creating your own styles and solutions.

The final section contains eight case studies of different gardens, ranging
from a Californian garden to a town garden and shows how some of the detail
on focal points and garden structure in the book's earlier section has been
used in practice.

An ideal book for anyone with a larger garden looking for inspiration and
the spark of an idea to create a concept garden design of their own.

 

 

 5 free garden design books to give away

Garden Design Details is a visual sourcebook of inspiration for your garden. Arne Maynard is a successful garden designer, who offers useful and practical advice in the book for every type of garden, explaining the practicalities as well as the aesthetics of materials and structures.  It includes 350 detailed colour photographs, providing readers with inspiration and ideas for their own gardens.

To enter the competition simply email us at gardendesigndetails@gardenadvice.co.uk with Garden Design Details in the subject line. All entries will be entered into the draw shortly after the closing date 30th June 2008.