5 Great Garden Design Books to give you inspiration.
Sitting on our Outdoor Nook, thumbing through a book full of beautiful garden designs, is one of favorite things to do at the weekend. Whether it's for inspiration or just for the sheer joy of daydreaming, we rounded up five of our favorite garden design books.
Take It Outside
A GUIDE TO DESIGNING BEAUTIFUL SPACES JUST BEYOND YOUR DOORBy MEL BRASIER, GARRETT MAGEE and JAMES DESANTIS
From the hosts of Bravo's Backyard Envy comes a beautifully photographed guide to converting your outdoor space into an enviable oasis, whether you have a backyard, brownstone patio, or three-season porch.
Dubbed the "plantfluencers" by the New York Times, Mel Brasier, Garrett Magee, and James DeSantis, owners of the Manscapers landscaping company, do more than plant, mulch, and manicure a garden; they look at the space just as interior designers do a room, considering the aesthetics and the way people live in it.
Their Instagram account is a thing of beauty and well worth a follow.
2. RHS Design Outdoors
Projects & Plans for a Stylish Garden Hardcover
Do you want your outdoor space to look as stylish and as well designed as your home? RHS Design Outdoors will give you the ideas and know-how you need to make that happen.
Award-winning designer Matt Keightley has curated a collection of 35 gardens, created either by him or by other leading contemporary designers, that will inspire you to transform your outdoor space. Gardeners features include award-winning designers Jo Thompson, Tom Stuart Smith, Tony Woods, Charlotte Rowe and Andrew Wilson.
There is a detailed plan for each case study, information on the plants and materials used, and a wealth of gorgeous photography by leading garden photographer Marianne Majerus. There are a wide array of garden styles, which means there is inspiration for all types of gardens and all kinds of gardeners.
3. Gardenista:
The Definitive Guide to Stylish Outdoor Spaces
Our homes' outdoor spaces can and should be as welcoming and carefully considered as our living rooms; when treated as extensions of our homes, these spaces enrich our lives immeasurably.
That was the guiding principle when, under the direction of editor in chief Michelle Slatalla (whose New York Times style columns were weekly must-reads for a decade), the team behind Remodelista.com launched sister site Gardenista.com.
This book contains lushly photographed tours of 12 enviable gardens; planting guides for various climates and colour palettes, in-depth case studies on more than a dozen outdoor structures (from yoga studios to chicken coops); do-it-yourself projects; easy-to-implement design ideas. Equal parts inspiration and expert intel, Gardenista is both a perfect starting point and an all-in-one manual when questions arise.
4. Garden Design Master Class
100 Lessons from The World's Finest Designers on the Art of the Garden
Edited by Carl Dellatore
A classic in the making, Garden Design Master Class, brings together 100 essays by some of the top garden designers working today, from acknowledged experts such as Nancy Goslee Power on sunlight and Arabella Lennox-Boyd on borders, to acclaimed tastemakers such as Carolyne Roehm on the pleasures of a vegetable garden.
Spanning styles and genres, principles and tenets, these essays and their accompanying images represent a comprehensive education for the reader, giving them the benefit of expert design advice and philosophy, from practical considerations such as seedlings and pathways to stylistic concerns such as asymmetry and rhythm. Each essay is paired with photographs of the designer's work that illustrate the discussed principles, adding a powerful visual component to the book.
5. Master the Art of Garden Design
Uncover the Tips for Enhancing Any Landscape
By Kate Molina
Landscaping your garden can transform the overall look of your home -- and, in effect, how you feel in it. Imagine a tranquil little nook where you can watch the leaves falling and listen to water flowing, calming you down in the most stressful times.
Envision a welcoming gathering area where your family and friends can get together and enjoy the sunshine. Whatever you want this outdoor space to be, you can make it happen. But imagining something in your mind and actually doing it are two separate things.
While it’s easy to appreciate the pristine and meticulously landscaped gardens you see on Pinterest, understanding how to apply the ideas to your own space is a totally different matter. How do you decide what to do in a space? How do you choose what plants to put in? Is there a logic behind how plants are arranged?
The answers to these questions -- and more -- can be found in this garden design handbook. It will help beginners understand what it takes to create a beautifully designed sanctuary -- and give them all the information they need to do it themselves.
If you have any questions on how the Outdoor Nook will fit in with your garden design, please reach out to us and we would be more than happy to give advice and assist with any queries you may have.