Every time there's a new book from celebrated landscape designer Julie Moir Messervy, I tell myself and my readers that it's my favorite one. I truly didn't think she could top Outside the Not So Big House, but her new book is surely the one that every homeowner and would-be designer has to have on their bookshelf.
In Home Outside: Creating the Landscape You Love (Taunton Press, 2009), Messervy gives you all the tools you need to analyze your landscape and bring it to life. In the book, Messervy reveals how any property owner can create "a welcoming front yard, a backyard that feels like an oasis, a place outside to entertain, a contemplative area, and a way to 'flow' effortlessly throughout the house and landscape."
She outlines many of the techniques that landscape designers use to turn run-of-the-mill properties into magnificent outdoor havens, using plants for color, texture and impact, and selecting the right materials. She's even devised a design test to help you design a garden that fits your personality. (Something all designers try to do without talking about it explicitly).
The "before and after" photos in this book illustrate all of her main concepts very clearly, and the images themselves will give you tons of ideas to use and adapt in your own front or back yard, no matter where you live.
The final chapter is a case study of a small New Jersey garden that demonstrates the book's main ideas. Messervy walks you through all the methods used by landscape architect Nick Cavaliere to fashion an outdoor space that looks just like a cottage in the woods. As Messervy puts it, "the owner of this house was able -- over time -- to transform a nondescript landscape into his own true pleasure ground." With this book in hand, anyone will be able to do the same.
(click on text link to purchase book).
Parts of this review previously appeared in The American Gardener magazine.
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