Lawn and Garden Books

This book is beautifully illustrated and very helpful. I have shared ideas from this with friends and family.

The book was about the author's experience, which is fine. But it seemed too specific to her yard. There wasn't enough generic info for the rest of us, in my opinion

Liz Primeau has written an inspiring guide that can help you transform that bland patch of lawn between street and house into a rich landscape. Front Yard Gardens tells the stories in words and beautiful photographs of dozens of front gardens in various styles. The gardeners behind these wonderful front yards have coped with budget and space constraints, although most have dedicated considerable time and energy to their projects. Almost all of the gardens are Canadian, a plus for those of us who live in colder zones: many books about front yards emphasize styles that can only be achieved in milder areas like Southern California, where gardens remain lush year-round. Ms. Primeau's book is refreshing because it deals with the strategic and emotional challenges of introducing a front garden into a neighborhood where front lawns are the norm. The book also discusses the evolution of these gardens over time, encouraging the reader to simply start somewhere and implicitly acknowledging that for an enthusiastic gardener, the garden is never "done." Liz Primeau has given us a terrific book, although she has omitted photos of front gardens in winter and as part of streetscapes.

So many gardening books focus on the high-end gardens of a few wealthy people. This book is practical, whimsical, and full of photographs and stories about real front-yard gardens. The owners have to contend with problems like streetlights, copycat neighbors, variances, etc., and many of them are redesigning and planting on a budget. This focus makes the book truly inspiring as well as useful. A great investment in getting rid of your boring lawn!

I love this book. Two years ago I was inspired by this book to rid my yard of lawn. I had a designer design a cottage style garden for my front and back yard. It took my kids 2 months to dig up all the grass and then we started working on the design. We were novice gardners, so along with this book and about 12 others we have completed our yard.
My neighbors who are lawn lovers, have been very interested in our progress.
We wave and smile at everyone who pass as we work in the yard, and this seemed to ease some of the neighbors anxiety about our odd doings.
The kids are now 18, 15, 13, 12, and 6, so seeing the whole family working together has been a big plus.
So far we are still the only family in our subdivision with no lawn, but We get nice comments,and see more people gardening.
I am asthmatic so no lawn mower fumes are great, and this is a great "green " project for the whole family, and the kids are so proud of themselves, and the positive feedback they get.
This is a very expensive investment in time and plants but worth it.

In the past, we have used all of the typical lawn and garden chemicals. We want to go organic to be safe with animals and the environment. This book is the answer. We also love the radio show on Sunday mornings. Jessica and Doug are very informative and friendly to the callers.

I love this book because it makes organic gardening seem so normal and accessible. Which, in fact, it is, but you'd never know that from some of the references out there. Do you chop up your orange peel before you put it in the compost? Me neither. This is the book for us.

If you have comtemplated changing your gardening protocol to a more earth friendly method, but have always thought it too confusing, than this is the book for you. Doug and Jess have taken an often confusing subject and simplified it for the beginner as well as the experienced gardener. It is packed full of practical and easy to follow procedures that will allow you to garden in a safer way. Their personal tips and experiences make you feel like they are right there with you each step of the way. They have provided lots of valuable information about soil, lawns, veggies, pests and beneficial insects. And what I like best, is that they give you their own tried and true resources to help you find many of the products that they have discussed in the book and use in their own gardens.

I have been using organic garden practices for years, but I found this book to be extremely refreshing and a good one to grab for a quick reference. I can say that it is one that I have been reaching for when I want to confirm something or look up information concernng a new problem that I might be experiencing.

As a master gardener, I can say that this book is not one that will sit on my shelf and collect dust, but will be one that I use for seasons to come. Thanks Doug and Jess for sharing your experiences and helping us realize that going organic does not mean sacrificing our beautiful and bountiful gardens.

I'm not a gardener, but a homeowner who was very impressed with Doug's appearance on a local Pittsburgh newsmagazine (OnQ). I got the book, and immediately liked it, particularly the section on composting and organic lawn care (which I cared most about).

The only reason it doesn't get 5 stars is because it seemed like just a collection of tips and tricks, without out enough structured how-tos. Maybe I just need it spelled out, or maybe I'm not hard-core enough of a gardener, but I can't give it the oh-my-god-this-is-the-best review. Though I still recommend it to anyone interested in gardening.

My wife and I listen to Doug and Jessica's program on Sirius and, when we heard about their book, we knew it would be a good resource to have on hand. I enjoyed the conversational tone of the book-- it's kind of like listening to them on the air and makes it easy to absorb the knowledge they present.

While we have gardened organically for years, we've learned that it is both a science and an art. Like any art, there is much to be learned from those with with experience-- those who have made the mistakes you want to avoid. This is the first book I've read where the authors actually admit they've made mistakes and they don't make you feel guilty about having made any of your own.

The chapter with the step-by-step guide to organic pest control is great. Nothing makes you want to reach for the quick fix in a can like seeing your hard work invaded, but the steps given here (and the gentle reminders to be patient in letting nature achieve her balance) help maintain a little sanity while reminding you that an intelligent, methodical approach can help you keep the upper hand.

The other important point to make about any reference is that the index is effective.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants to start getting the chemicals out of their gardens but don't know where begin. For those who have been doing this for a while but can still benefit from good advice, the writing style is light and terse making it easy to skim over the bits you already know.

I got this book from the library and was pleasantly surprised at the details and useful, practical advice on conceiving and executing a japanese garden. The book contains detailed instructions on how to lay out, build, select plans for, and maintain a Japanese-inspired garden. It talks about rocks, rock gardening, ponds, water plants and fish, paths, stepping stones, gates, and plants and plant selections. I found it really helpful in getting ideas to give to our landscape architect. I would recommend this book for anyone that is going to actually build (rather than just enjoy looking at pictures of) a japanese garden.

The book is easy to read and explains the whole concept of Japanese gardening. I learned with it and will be using it to plan my Japanese garden. Very pleased customer!

I bought serveral books about creating Japanese gardens. This book by far the best one that I had. I built a Japanese style Rock Garden so I don't have to mow my lawn. My back yard is built based on some of the pictures and tips I read from this book. The fun part is that you put in your hard work and built the garden you wanted which pays off when your guests give you thumb up. I spent about $5000 on the materials and hours of my own labor on the project. Now I can spent my weekend golfing instead of mowing my lawn. Ouch! My back still hurting from all the hardwork.

I've always wanted to have a Japanese Garden but never got around to doing it. I picked up this book at the library and, WOW, it has really inspired me! Not only am I now drafting up plans to turn a corner of my yard into a Japanese Garden but I showed it to a neighbor and he's thinking of making his backyard into something like the courtyard garden on page 20. I'll probably get a library of books on Japanese Gardening but this book will be the first one I'll buy.

This book is one of the best I ever buy about gardening and landscaping. The pictures alone worth the price.
They gives details to build your garden, makes pounds and falls and it seems so easy that I am starting my own right now.

They also list the kind of trees and plants to uses.

Buy this book with confidence.

Great book for those of us who want to dump the wasted space of a water hogging lawn and be creative. From simple to complex, a very nice collection of ideas and photos.

This is a great book for the gardener with little space. All of the gardens featured are pretty small by suburban standards. But none the less, the gardens and designs Keith Davitt covers are spectacular.
You will discover how to get rid of that same old boring lawn that everyone else has on the block. Davitt takes you through creating your very own unique garden with stone, brick, gravel, water and lots more. He covers why it works for the owner and the space given. It gives valuable insights for the gardener planning a new space.

This book is full of pictures of unusual and beautiful gardens all very different from one another. I especially enjoyed seeing the variety of what is possible. The text focuses mainly on design with discussion on style and analysis of what works and why. Although I think Keith Davitt's first book "Small Spaces Beautiful Gardens" was a superior book with more information on how each garden was created and before & after pictures, I still highly recommend this book for its many examples and design tips.

Written by gardening expert Keith Davitt (winner of the Herald Award for Excellence in Garden Communication), Beyond The Lawn: Unique Outdoor Spaces For Modern Living is a simply beautiful and exceptionally "user friendly" sourcebook of ideas for creating harmony with stone, brick gravel, rock, water, herbs, conifers, planted pots, native and wild plants. Lavishly illustrated with full-color photography, Beyond The Lawn is a treat to page through and recommended for gardeners everywhere looking to add a bit of originality to the grounds outside their home. Offering a vast panoply of materials for crafting a unique, personal, and relaxing atmosphere, Beyond The Lawn is a welcome and enthusiastically recommended addition to professional and personal gardening reference collections.

THIS IS A GOOD BASIC BOOK ABOUT GARDEN CREATION AND MAINTAINENCE. IT IS WELL ILLUSTRATED AND SIMPLIFIED SO THAT ANYONE CAN USE THE ADVICE. COUPLED WITH THE HELP OF A LOCAL NURSERY YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO CREATE THE KIND OF GARDEN YOU WANT FOR YOUR ZONE AN MICROCLIMATE.

Being new at gardening, I found this book to be a wonderful reference book. It lays flat for easy reference and contains great illustrations and information for the beginner and the more experienced. Contains information on lawns, trees, flowers, and more.

I'm brand new to gardening and was feeling completely overwhelmed and intimidated until discovering this group. It is exactly what I needed to give me the confidence to get started. I recommend it highly!

For a beginner gardener as I am it was a joy to have bought this book. Very well illustrated. In fact you see so well the gardens'ideas that reading the book is just a complement to help you plant your garden. Well written and very clear. True to its title: step-by-step. I am glad I bought it and I do recommend it. It makes possible to have a dream garden in your house.

This is a great book for those looking to replace high-maintenance sod-grass lawns with native or introduced plants. Many options are provided along with detailed planting instructions. (I chose white clover.)

This book is easy on the eyes for those who want to "get to the meat of it." Great pictures and easy to understand instructions on each type of lawn and for each region of the US. The price makes this knowledge available to more people who are interested in a beautiful lawn with less work and less money.

If you are considering putting in a low maintenance lawn or meadow suited to your local climate, this is the book for you. I have not found anything to compare with the information packed in this slim volume. The authors examine the requirments of each geographic region and each type of grass available in detail, and even give a list of sources. With the information I gleaned here, I'm ready to get started on my own project this year. Without this book, I wouldn't have know where to begin.

i love indigo animal. I picked this up at the Dia Center in Beacon, NY, in hopes that the 2hour car trip home wouldn't be as hellish as the ride up (thanks, infrequent-car-riding children!) While the six-year-old is especially lacking in the life experience to understand what it's like to feel a passionate attachment to something that the fashionable crowd has deemed laughable and pas-a-la-mode, even he could get behind Indigo's need for sanctuary, for something meaningful.

I'll bet Indigo is the sort who picks up broken shells. A tender hearted creature. Still waters, running deep, seldom visited. The antithesis of television, video games, and dare I say, the internet.

Indigo made me think of friends I haven't seen since college.

A lovely, shady book.

Aside from being the most visually charming "graphic novel"
ever produced, Indigo Animal is vital literature. Literature that conveys meaning through the power of feeling that it delivers to the reader. You could sit with your five year old and read it aloud, you could read it to your shrink or your clergyman or your grandparents, and each of them would respond to Indigo's joy of search and discovery.

What is to be done with a four-footed creature, apparently mammal, of an unknown age, of unspecified gender who reads Epictitus and the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius?

Before you read that next book of Dogen, Chodron, Tolle or Dr. Phil, do yourself a splendid favor and pick up a copy of Indigo Animal. It does not matter how many Sanskrit texts you have personally translated or how many Lotus Feet you have kissed, if you have not met Indigo you are at great risk of spiritual illiteracy.

The sequel to "Indigo Animal", Indigo Animal and the Lawn Statuary Research Institute is a delightful, full-color picturebook for all ages. Unlike most picturebooks, which tend to be very brief in length, Indigo Animal and the Lawn Statuary Research Institute is quite lengthy, though each page contains only a sentence or two at most of text. Following the wanderings of the "overly serious" indigo animal past works of great art, about a most unusual campus, Indigo Animal and the Lawn Statuary Research Institute blends an appreciation for artistic creations, good- natured humor, and the thirst for knowledge into an engaging and original read-aloud story. There is some mild nudity present in Indigo Animal and the Lawn Statuary Research Institute, in the illustration's portrayal of a classical work of female Greco-Roman sculpture, all quite tastefully done. Highly recommended.

I have checked the local sear's store for the book and eventually bought from amazon. Same quality but cheaper at amazon. Good value.

I actually ordered this book through a book club when we bought our house. It has been so useful to me that I have been buying it for others as a gift when they buy their first homes.

This book is excellent. It has everything you need to know about your lawn, from grass, weeds and plants to tools, stonework and sprinklers. I find myself referencing it all of the time. An indispensable book.

My bookshelves are full of gardening books with lots of beautiful photographs but little usable information - unless of course you can take 3 months off your job as a finishing carpenter, or your landscaping efforts consist of hitting the speed-dial button for your favorite Master Gardener. Otherwise, you might as well be satisfied for your landscaping to look like everyone else's. "The Garden Floor", though, offers refreshing design ideas for formal, Japanese, cottage-y, contemporary & woodsy gardens, involving a range of materials from your basic grass & concrete to scree, recycled materials, many kinds of stone & wood, brickwork, plant materials, even glass beads. For the not-so-design-oriented reader, the author covers designing your garden to look appropriate to the style of your home. The suitability and maintenance required for a vast array of materials is covered frankly, including the best information I have found in my search for lawn replacement plants. As the title says, the focus of the book is at ground level, but both the photos and the text give enough information & advice on adjacent plant materials (and alternatives) that the less experienced gardener won't feel unprepared to recreate the look in their own backyard. Instructions for the DIYer are thorough & include sketches, but thankfully don't take over the book. The end product: a book for the novice or advanced gardener, that is beautiful enough to buy for the photos and thorough enough to convince my husband I bought him a DIY book to save money!

This is a simply stunning book. Not only does Colborn discuss various garden floor options, but he provides lucid, approachable philosophy of garden design. You'll find yourself looking at the many pictures not only for groundcover options, but also for ideas that make your garden sing.

This is a very comprehensive book on landscaping here in NJ. We have many soils to deal with and many different creatures that like plants. It will be a great help to us this spring.

this book is wonderfully thought out and will be greatly infomative to me this upcomming spring. I thought the author was extremly clear on enviromently friendly landscaping in our garden state. I recomend this book to anybody.