Paradise on Earth : The Gardens of Western Europe.by
Gabrielle Van Zuylen, I. Mark Paris, Sarah Burns (Harry N. Abrams
Inc). This small, keenly-priced book is an essential purchase
for the newcomer to garden history - mainly for the richness of
its illustrations. Most come from the galleries and libraries of
Europe and if one were able to buy them as postcards the cost
would be much more than the cost of the book. The quotations are
equally good but the text is a little disappointing.
Icons of Garden Design edited by Caroline Holmes
Prestel Publishing Ltd. Illustrations and discussion of a really
well-chosen set of gardens reaching from ancient times to
modern times.
Garden Mania Philip de Bay, James Bolton, Monty Don Paperback
Thames and Hudson. An excellent set of illustrations from old
books and paintings.
A Glossary of Garden History, by Michael Symes (Shire
Publications). A small and really useful book for anyone whose
wants to become familiar with the terminology of garden
historians.
An Illustrated History of Gardeningby Anthony Huxley
(Lyons Press). As the title states, this is a book about the
activity of gardening with fork and blade. It is not a book about
the design and layout of gardens. The text is authoritative and
well-illustrated. For those of us who garden with their own hands,
the book provides a sense kinship with our predecessors.
The History of Garden Design:, edited by Monique Mosser and
Georges Teyssot (Thames and Hudson). Don't be misled by the
title. It is really a collection of scholarly essays on aspects of
garden design history from the 15th century to the 20th century.
The essays are rather heavy-going but it is a good book if
your brain welcomes a challenge.
The Garden : A History in Landscape and Art by Filippo
Pizzoni, (Rizzoli) Treats the history of western gardens in a
larger context than many books - and some readers might find the
context too broad. It includes art, as culture, man's relationship
with nature etc. The author is an Italian landscape architect who
studied in London.
Plants in Garden History, by Penelope Hobhouse. (Pavilion
Books) An interesting and very-well illustrated book on a
comparatively neglected aspect of garden history.
The Flowering of the Landscape Garden by Mark Laird
(University of Pennsylvania Press). A specialised and scholarly
book which has assembled an amazing volume of evidence about the
use of flowers in eighteenth century English gardens. One's
amazement results from the fact that an earlier generation of
garden historians thought that flowers were hardly used in the
heyday of 'the style of Mr Brown'.
The Garden at Chatsworth by the Duchess of Devonshire (Viking
books) An owner's account of one of the greatest gardens in
England, important in the Renaissance, Landscape and Victorian
periods. The Duchess has played an important role in transforming
Chatsworth into a modern commercial enterprise. Our online history
of garden design has information on
Brown and on
Chatsworth.
Arts and Crafts Gardens by Wendy Hitchmough, Martin
Charles (Rizzoli). Well-illustrated account of garden design in
the 'best period' in the history of British gardens, including the
work of Gertrude Jekyll, Edwin Lutyens and Reginald Blomfield.
The Renaissance Garden in England by Roy Strong (Thames and
Hudson). An authoritative historical account of the subject, but
not an easy read for those who unfamiliar with the art of the
period.
For the Friends of Nature and Art by Maria Platte (Editor),
Thomas Weiss, Ursula Bode (Hatje Cantz) About a vast landscape
park 'The Garden Kingdom of Prince Franz Von Anhalt-Dessau' made
on the German-Polish border in Age of Enlightenment.
American Gardens in the Eighteenth Century, by Ann Leighton
(University of Massachusetts Press). A book on American
gardens - at a time when American was a much smaller country than
it is today.
The Golden Age of American Gardens: by Mac Griswold,
Eleanor Weller (Harry N. Abrams Inc) About the proud owners
who made great gardens on their private estates between 1890-1940
Fletcher Steele, Landscape Architect: an account of the
gardenmaker's life by Robin Karson (Harry N Abrams Inc).
A comprehensive biography of the designer's work with not as much
information on other aspects of his life as one might wish. Steele
was a talented designer and the key figure in the development of
the twentieth century American garden.
Ancient
Roman Gardens by Linda Farrar (Sutton Publishing) A book on
the development of Roman gardens by an archaeologist. It deals
with design, literature, plants, sculpture, and horticultural
techniques.
Gardens for the Future : Gestures against the wild by
Guy Cooper, Gordon Taylor (Monacelli). Interesting text, by 2
British designers, and an international collection of photographs.
The illustrated projects include work by Charles Jencks , Jacques
Wirtz, and Jack Lenor Larsen.
Autocad is an excellent programme for production drawings of
all kinds. But for dramatic landform representations we recommend
Bryce 5.0. Now part of the Corel suite, this 3-D landform and
animation programme produces dramatic results with a minimum of
effort. One can import landform models from Autocad or 3-D Studio.
Corel Draw 10 is, for 2-d work cheaper, faster and better a
traditional drawing office CAD package. From a creative point of
view there is much to be said for an image-editing programme (like
Photoshop 6.0). It facilitates the use of montage as a design
approach and encourages design with colour and materials.
Drawing the Landscape.by Chip Sullivan John Wiley &
Sons 1997 A classic guide to landscape drawing.
Landscape Graphics.by Grant W. Reid Whitney Library of
Design 1987 A useful handbook on the production of the types of
landscape drawing required by professional offices.
From Concept to Form: In Landscape Design.by Grant W.
Reid, R. K. Lochner (Editor) John Wiley & Sons 1993 This book
helps you learn to draw but, more important, helps you to produce
the types of drawing which help you develop a landscape or garden
design.
Great City Parks.by Alan Tate Routledge 2001 A very
useful survey, analysis and appriasal of 'twenty significant
public parks in fourteen major cities across Western Europe and
North America. Alan Tate has been assiduous in visiting the parks,
reading about their origin and talking to those who are now
responsible for them. This approach enables the book to me much
more than a design survey. It reviews the contribution which the
parks make to the lives of their citizens.
Landscape Architecture : A Manual of Site Planning and Design.by John Ormsbee Simonds McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing
1997 This is a classic reference on the modernist
survey-analysis-design approach to landscape architecture. The
author's tendency to write as though this were the only method can
be excused because, for the greater part of the twentieth century,
it was the only method.
Changes in Scenery : Contemporary Landscape Architecture in
Europe.by Thies Schroder, Christophe Girot Birkhauser
Architectura 2001 During the twentieth century Europe lost its
ancient prowess in garden and landscape design. This book
demonstrates that the art has revived and is reviving. Watch this
space.
Pioneers of American Landscape Design.by Charles A.
Birnbaum (Editor), Robin S. Karson (Editor) McGraw-Hill
Professional Publishing 2000 A useful book in which the history of
American landscape architecture is told through biographies of 160
key people.
The Landscape of Man : Shaping the Environment from Prehistory to
the Present Day.by Geoffrey Jellicoe, Susan Jellicoe
Thames & Hudson 1995 This should be the choice, if you buying only
one book on landscape architecture. It surveys the art on a
world-historical scale and is superbly illustrated with Susan
Jellicoe's black and white photographs. The text is enticing and
enlightening. Strongly recommended.
Elysium Britannicum, or the Royal Gardens (Penn Studies in
Landscape Architecture).by John E. Ingram (Editor),
John Evelyn University of Pennsylvania Press 2000 In the
seventeenth century, John Evelyn was the learing English scholar
of renaissance gardens. He had travelled in Italy and seen the
amazing new gardens of the renaissance. This book was thought lost
and was long unpublished.
The Penguin Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture.by John Fleming, Hugh Honour, Nikolaus Pevsner Penguin 2000
An inexpensive and useful reference book. For people who are new
to the design disciplines, unfamiliarity with terminology and
concepts can prove a major obstacle. This book helps you to
overcome the obstacle as speedily as possible.
Alexander Pope : The Poet and the Landscape.by Mavis
Batey Barn Elms Pub 2000 A perceptive analysis of the relationship
between Alexander Pope's poetry and his attutude to landscape
design, written by a former President of the Garden History
Society.
The Persian Garden : Echoes of Paradise.by Mehdi
Khansari (Photographer), M. Reza Moghtader, Minouch Yavari Mage
Pub 1998 A major work of scholarship, full of illustrations
unobtainable elsewhere.
Design on the Land : The Development of Landscape Architecture.by Norman T. Newton Harvard Univ Pr 1971 A history of
design on the land from ancient times until the start of the
modern era. No one explains the transition from garden design to
landscape architecture better than Newton. Students may read the
book from cover to cover and then keep it as a valuable reference
for their professional lives. One must have a knowledge of history
in order to modify older designs and one must understand history
in order to move forwards.
Design With Natureby Ian L. McHarg This is the classic
work on the subject. All landscape planners should have a copy on
their bookshelves. The choice of title, like the text and
illustrations, was brilliant but the book is in fact more about
planning than design.
Landscape Planning and Environmental Designby Tom
Turner UCL Press (June 1998). Has chapters on planning for parks,
reservoirs, mineral working, agriculture, forestry, rivers,
transport and urbanisation.
Frederick Law Olmsted : Designing the American Landscape.
by Charles E. Beveridge, Paul Rocheleau, David Larkin
(Editor), Rochleau Universe Pub; 1998 Olmsted is the
farther-figure of American landscape architecture. He started as a
farmer and journalist, went on to win the design competition for
Central Park New York, with Calvert Vaux, and went on to plan park
and open space systems for American cities.
Dan Kiley : The Complete Works of America's Master Landscape
Architect.by Dan Kiley, Jane Amidon Bulfinch Press
1999 Dan Kiley is indeed a 'master landscape architect'. He held
to the modernist aesthetic through a long and productive career
producing designs of the highest quality. Each century produces
only a few individuals who can design to this standard.
Luis Barragan's Gardens of El Pedregal.by Keith L.
Eggener Princeton Architectural 2001 Barragan was a brilliant
landscape and garden designer, translating the cubist vision into
designed landscape more successfully than any European designer.
The Complete Landscape Designs and Gardens of Geoffrey Jellicoe.by Michael Spens, Hugh Palmer (Photographer), Geoffrey Alan
Jellicoe Thames & Hudson 1994 As the title suggests, this is the
most complete reference source for Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe's design
projects. Most of the projects are illustrated and other works are
listed.
Roberto Burle Marx: Landscapes Reflected, Landscape Views 3.by Rossana Vaccarino (Editor) Princeton Architectural Pr
2000 Burle Marx is the leading example of a modernist landscape
architect. He was trained as an abstract painter and as an
ecologist before making a highly original contribution to
twentieth century landscape architecture.
Yves Brunier : Landscape Architect.by Rem Koolhaas,
Odile Fillion (Contributor), Hubert Tonka (Contributor) Birkhauser
(Architectural) 1996 An inspiring book, demonstrating the creative
role of colour and collage in creative landscape design.
Introduction to Stormwater : Concept, Purpose, Design.by
Bruce K. Ferguson John Wiley & Sons 1998 It used to be thought
that a knowledge of plants and planting was the essential
technical requirement for a career in landscape architecture.
After reading this excellent book one might conclude that a
knowledge of how to manage water is even more important. Every
landscape architect should be familiar with principles of
designing and managing rainwater.
Guidelines for Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment.by
Sue Wilson (Editor) E & F N Spon 2001 Landscape and visual impact
assessment have become a major part of the landscape profession's
workload in the UK. This book, written with the backing of the UK
Landscape Institute, provides an authoritative view of aims and
methods.
The Landscape Approach (Penn Studies in Landscape Architecture).by Bernard Lassus, Peter Jacobs (Introduction), Robert B.
Riley (Introduction), st Bann University of Pennsylvania Press
1998 A useful account of the work of Bernard Lassus, one of
France's leading landscape designers.
The Poetics of Gardens.by Charles W. Moore, William J.
Mitchell (Contributor), William Turnbull (Contributor) MIT Press
1993 Aristotle's poetics were concerned with the principles of
poetry. This book is concerned with the aesthetic principles of
garden design. It is an original and exciting book.
Geoffrey Jellicoe : The Studies of a Landscape Designer over 80
Years.. by Geoffrey Jellicoe
Antique Collectors Club 1996 Much as I admire Jellicoe's Landscape
of Man, I believe that his Studies in Landscape Design make a more
important contribution to the art of landscape design. Each study
deals with one of Jellicoe's projects and each demonstrates that a
landscape design can and should be a great deal more than a
functional exercise. He draws on the visual and literary arts,
while always retaining a keen sensitivity to client needs. The
studies were originally published in 3 volumes by Oxford
University Press. They were re-published by the Antique Collectors
Club.
Geoffrey Jellicoe : The Studies of a Landscape Designer over 80
Years.. by Geoffrey Jellicoe Antique Collectors Club
1993 Much as I admire Jellicoe's Landscape of Man, I believe that
his Studies in Landscape Design make a more important contribution
to the art of landscape design. Each study deals with one of
Jellicoe's projects and each demonstrates that a landscape design
can and should be a great deal more than a functional exercise. He
draws on the visual and literary arts, while always retaining a
keen sensitivity to client needs. The studies were originally
published in 3 volumes by Oxford University Press. They were
re-published by the Antique Collectors Club.
Geoffrey Jellicoe : The Studies of a Landscape Designer over 80
Years.. : Gardens & Design Gardens of Europe by
Geoffrey Jellicoe Antique Collectors Club 1995 The Gardens &
Design Gardens of Europe was Jellicoe's second book, after Italian
Gardens. It provides an interesting history of garden design but
lacks the profundity of some of Jellicoe's other books.
Ecology, Community and Delight : An Inquiry into Values in
Landscape Architecture.by Ian H. Thompson E & F N Spon
2000 The oldest book on western architecture, by Vitruvius Pollio,
gives the principles of design as Commodity Firmness and Delight.
In a carefully argued and well-researched book, Thomson
reinterprets these principles for landscape architecture as as
Ecology, Community and Delight. It is a valuable contribution to
the theory of landscape architecture.
Landscape and Sustainability.by John F. Benson
(Editor), Maggie H. Roe (Editor) E & F N Spon 2001 A valuable
collection of essays on the theory and practice of planning and
designing more sustainable landscapes. This must be one of the
directions in which the art and profession will change.
Landscape Narratives : Design Practices for Telling Stories.by Matthew Potteiger, Jamie Purinton John Wiley & Sons 1998
Modernists excluded narrative and literary considerations from
landscape architecture. This book shows how they can be restored
to their proper place in the design process. It is a clearly
written and enlightening book.
Gardens of the Mind : The Genius of Geoffrey Jellicoe.by
Michael Spens Antique Collectors Club 1992 An overview of
Jellicoes work as an author and as a designer. Well-written and
well-illustrated. Maybe a little more cautious than it might have
been because, like an authorised biography, it was written with
Jellicoe's help.
With People in Mind : Design and Management for Everyday Nature.by Rachel Kaplan, Stephen Kaplan, Robert L. Ryan Island
Press 1998 Two environmental psychologists and a landscape
architect have produced a most interesting book on one aspect of
how to marry the two disciplines. Drawing on Christopher
Alexander's Pattern Language approach, it explains how designers
can learn from natural landscapes.
Landscape London: A Guide to Gardens and Urban Spaces.by
Charlotte Hare Ellipsis London Pr Ltd 2001 A useful pocket guide
to designed outdoor space in London. Good value and very useful
for visitors to Britain's capital city.
Although any camera can, of course, be used for garden
photography there are some features which make the results simpler
and better. The choice is between digital and film camera. This is
easier than you might think:
If you want digital pictures - use a digital camera.
For a massive zoom range, long battery life and convenient
picture storage for long trips we recommend the
Sony Mavica and the
Nikon Coolpix 995 Digital Camera.
If you want traditional prints or slides - use a film
camera. For light weight, good value and all-round
reliability we recommend the
Canon EOS. It has a good zoom range but should be used on a
monopod or tripod to avoid camera shake.
Because the technology is older, film cameras are better value
than digital cameras at the present time. One can also be
confident that film and prints will have a long life. Ink-jet
prints are much less stable and storing a large number of digital
images on a disc requires time and effort. One notable advantage
of digital images is that you can take a large number of record
photographs of a garden and store them in a conveniently named
directory (eg August 2001).
You might as well purchase standard items from your local
garden store. But there are some specialist items which are so
good that its worth purchasing them by mail order. They also make
good presents, which Amazon.com will send to your friends. We
recommend:
Fiskars 79366935 PowerGear Pruner The gearing on these
cutters is ingenious and effective. It works for flowers and it
works for surprisingly thick woody material.
