John Highstone

A great baisc guide to gardening principles used in the nineteenth entury, with an emphasis on adapting those ideas to contemporary gardens. Chapter 2 Lists 7 Premises for designing a Victorian-style garden, and I think that is the strongest part of the book.

1.An unbroken expanse of lawn.
2. Leave views and vistas in the plan.
3.Place shrubs and trees so they are away from the lawn and so the house, site and land beyond connect to the house.
4.Smaller sites require special consideration: namely, fewer trees.
5.Group like pants together-- shrubs together, trees together, etc. rather than scattering them.
6. Make the garden convenient: place vegatable gardens and flowers grown for cut flowers near the house.
7.Plan for paths and walkways from the beginning so they are attractive and integrated into the garden.

The rest of the book discusses the basics of gardening, well-presented, but much o fthe information available in countless other sources. The Appendix has some very basic site plan ideas for differnet kinds of lots to help get you started if you are totally stumped as to how to begin your planning.… (meer)