Landscaping with Nature: Using Nature's Design to Plan Your Yard

I almost never recommend the internet over consulting a physical book, but I have to make an exception for this one. It is so easy to be steered wrong by this book. As a reference for building a rustic patio or other stonework it's decent, but that information is available for free online--and some hardscape advice is problematic. One of the diagrams shows dramatic grading around a tree to create a set of steps, without mentioning that it is possible to kill an established tree by disturbing the soil near its roots to that degree. As a collection of lush, color photos of gardens and sometimes of natural areas, it is extensive-but again, nothing that isn't available for free. The plant care advice and design process can be found in many standard garden references. What drops this book (plummets it, really) down to a single star is its lack of regard for native plants. The author gives short shrift to the most natural of all gardening practices-growing things that naturally occur in the region where you garden. I understand the book is meant to be a coast-to-coast guide; but I also think that it clearly demonstrates the argument AGAINST such a guide and in favor of natural gardening references specific to one's own region. The sample gardens by region are OK (as far as I can tell for the regions with which I am familiar) but it would have been nice to use photos of actual native plant gardens in the corresponding region instead of rough sketches. (Such gardens do exist!) The lists of of natives by region (especially the wildflower lists) are misleading, for it groups plants that CAN grow in an area as if they SHOULD be grown there. His map of 'Eco-Regions' that is meant to help you find 'appropriate' plants for your region based on the corresponding list is a combination of absurd and appalling. Just because a plant is native to a country, doesn't mean it is a good idea to plant it in all parts of the country--unless your country is the size of Monaco. There is some interesting advice on creating natural effects in your home garden, but it boils down to: observe a natural setting you like, write down details about the environment (I would take a good photo as well) and then find plants and details (rock, etc.) that can be used to evoke that environment. Bottom line: if you want a natural garden, look for a gardening book specific to your location. If you are really interested in interacting with nature, your local birds and pollinators will thank you.

Landscaping With Nature: Using Nature's Designs to Plan Your Yard As a landscape designer,Jeff Cox's book is one that I use for continual reference. He has a poets' eye, married to a practical approach to creating landscapes that mirror and echo the natural.

Book arrived quickly and safely. Lots of useful information that I can refer back to again and again.

Landscaping with nature is a nicely organized book that helps you create a plan for a natural landscape. It recommends plants and designs based on your area. The plans are not too elaborate and not too simple and the plant lists, both native and convergent species, are extensive. All in all, Landscaping with Nature was exactly the book I was looking for to slightly civilize the natural landscape of my property.

The key to this book isn't to go out and loot our state parks, roadsides, and private lands to swipe what's growing there and transplant it in our own yards. The key is to go to state parks, roadsides, and other natural places and swipe ideas and concepts and apply them to our own home landscape. The color photo section near the center shows many pictures with a scene from the wild and another showing how that can be interpreted on a home scale, or how the idea can be transplanted from one region to another with entirely different plants. I've read this book twice this year, cover to cover, as well as referred to small bits and pieces of it a number of other times. In a year or so, I will be implementing the fire pit. I have - and will - use the natural stairway project. And watch out for some melodic stone arrangements down by the meadow, and maybe more along Stone Stream, or on the back bank. In addition to projects and raw ideas, the book also serves as a source on various plants - I refer to it for supplemental information quite often. It's not intended to be an exhaustive list of plants that can be used, but it does provide nice collections of trees and shrubs with interesting bark or berries, as well as group plants by habitat and bloom color. If I could only have one book on gardening, this would be it.