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Books: Gardens for Outdoor Living

 Gardens to remember are those that integrate the essential character of the inside residence with the landscape outdoors. And landscape architect Edmund Hollander is an award-winning expert who always finds the perfect relationship between interiors and exteriors, whether it's a small space, a rooftop in an urban setting, a country retreat, or a home with stunning seaside views.

In "The Landscape of Home," (Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., 2024),  23 of Hollander's recent projects are profiled, with essays, photographs, and landscape plans for each one. As designer Bunny Williams says in the Foreword to the book, Hollander's choices of hard surfaces are "always sensitive to the materials used on the house, and the details of the landscape design are always totally compatible with the architecture.  Ed paints with the palette of the plants and sculpts with the forms of trees and shrubs.  Whether it is a meadow with mown paths or a formal parterre, the gardens he creates seem in total harmony with the house and the land." 

Hollander leaves nothing to chance when designing.  He consults with the homeowners, the architects, and the interior designers so that, in his words, "the landscape feels as if it grows directly out of the architecture and the site."  He adds, "The more seamless the interaction between interior and exterior living spaces, the more the ground and the house feel like two hands attached to one head, as if sprung from the same creative source, the more welcoming the landscape of home will be, and the greater its gifts of well-being, refuge, and comfort."

The book is divided into three parts: Home in the Country; Home by the Sea; Home in the City.  And a final addition is his own home in Sag Harbor, New York. 

For one country property, the primary mission was to preserve the site's existing ancient trees.   Hollander calls them "a library of botanical wonders:  magnificent copper beeches, majestic old maple and plane trees, one-hundred-fifty-year-old Japanese maples, fabulous Japanese cypresses, towering cryptomerias -- all old-growth stalwarts, so full of soul and so unexpected on a property that is inland, but still comparatively near the coast." The house was moved to another location and other elements, including roads, pool, tennis court -- were placed to preserve and celebrate views of the trees.

For a rooftop with views of the Statue of Liberty, Hollander created patio and plantings inspired by English country gardens. And for a modern Florida residence with views of the sea, a series of separate gardens connect with each other, and the living areas -- the walks, fences, and terraces, all feature lush tropical plantings that feel both soft and inviting.

Any designer or homeowner will find inspiration and lessons in this book that will encourage the kind of thoughtfulness that can make any garden a place of refuge and joy.

 

Books: Outdoor Living

Fashion can take on many forms, but it often involves color, texture, shapes.  So it's no wonder that a former fashion designer can make the transfer to garden design.

In Your Outdoor Room, How to Design a Garden You Can Live In, (Frances Lincoln, 2024), designer Manoj Malde showcases his vibrant style and love of color ... and demonstrates how to create unique, sustainable, beautiful gardens that transition beautifully from inside to outside.

As he says in the introduction, "...this book will not only help you to overcome your fears, but offer guidance and give you the skills to turn your garden into a beautiful, healthy, thriving, outdoor living space that will bring you joy for years to come."

The book is essentially a guide to design, and Malde walks you through the entire process, from considerations about how you want to use the space, garden themes that reflect the owner's personality, where to find inspiration, how to plan social spaces, the plantings, the materials, and much more.

In a section on designing steps, he says, "A level change in a flat space can add depth and character while making a small garden feel bigger.  A step up can lead to a private seating area made cozy with beautiful metal screens or planting.  A step down could lead you to sunken, secluded garden."

He outlines ways to use screening in garden to make the garden feel bigger, to hide unwanted views, to create seating and garden hideaways. He covers the full vocabulary used by professional designers and brings their ideas down to a homeowner's level. Finally, Malde makes creative suggestions for planting, for using pots and other containers, and how to bring the garden to life.

It's an indispensable book for anyone who's a garden novice, or anyone who wants to transform their outdoor space with verve and harmony into a sanctuary for years to come.

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Books: English Gardens through the Centuries

This new book is a celebration of more than 600 years of England's most spectacular gardens.  In "The English Gardener's Garden," (Phaidon, 2023) authors Tania Compton and Dr. Toby Musgrave profile more than 60 gardens from the 16th to the 21 century.  Readers will likely be familiar with Sissinghurst, Hidcote Manor, Blenheim Palace, Stourhead and others, but they may not know The Barn by Tom Stuart Smith, the restored South Wood Farm by Arne Maynard, or Levens Hall, dating back to the 16th century.

In the introduction to the book, author Tania Compton notes that in Britain, "gardens, gardeners and gardening are recognized as a vital contribution to national artistic expression...". She adds that the gardens featured in the book constitute "not just a dialogue between art and nature but an entire conversation between the spirits of the creators past and present."

Many of the older gardens were restored or reinterpreted by more modern landscape architects or designer.  Thus, Sir Charles Barry redesigned the garden in the 1830s for the Duke of Sutherland, but by the early 20th century, the gardens were in ruin. They were restored in this century by a trio of celebrated landscape designers: Tom Stuart-Smith, Piet Oudolf and Nigel Dunnett and now include a stunning array of perennials, naturalistic plantings, wildflower meadows and woodlands.

This is a book that any designer or passionate gardener will come to again and. again to study the evolution of these gardens and draw inspiration from the beautiful photos that illustrate the magic of each landscape.

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Books: The "New" New American Garden

If there is one book you want to gift this holiday season to a designer or a dedicated gardener, this is the book.  As most of you know, a revolution in garden design occurred in the mid 1970's, when James van Sweden and Wolfgang Oehme teamed up and established a garden design firm in Washington DC.  It was dubbed the New American Garden style and featured broad, bold sweeps of perennials and ornamental grasses, along with keen attention to architectural details.

Although both partners have died, they ensured that the Oehme van Sweden firm, OvS, would live on with the three landscape architects who joined the business in the mid 1980's:  Sheila Brady, Lisa DelPlace, and Eric Groft.  Beyond Bold (Pointed Leaf Press, 2022) is the 6th book about OvS gardens, and it showcases the work that carries on in the Oehme-van Sweden tradition.

The book features 23 gardens, from residential landscapes across the United States, to The American Museum & Gardens in Bath, UK, to the Native Plant Garden at the New York Botanical Garden, to the Tippet Rise Art Center in Fishtail, Montana.  There's a written description of each garden, along with plans and gorgeous, stunning photographs by some of the country's leading landscape photographers.

In the introduction to the book, Charles Birnbaum, president and CEO of The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF), says Lisa Delplace "believes that 'an OvS garden is really about placemaking.' " He quotes her as saying that "Jim saw to it that we would all see and experience what being in a garden at sunrise was like; what the job of physically planting bulbs in December teaches; and how to see and design for what a garden looks like in all four seasons." 

Brady's opinion, he says, is that the OvS secret lies in its "mastery of taking it from ecological to artistic," where the plants have a distinct function: color, texture, and pattern-making. Groft, says Birnbaum, believes it's a "balance of landscape and architecture that really makes our gardens special."

I've never been able to decide which of the OvS books is my favorite, so what I'd say is that you need to have all of them.  This new book takes you back to the beginning, and through the evolution of one of the country's leading landscape architecture firms. All of the books, and particularly this new one, are a guide, a lesson, and an inspiration explaining the importance of art and nature, and why gardens are so necessary to the human experience.

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Books: American Designers at Home

 It's not very often, unless you're on a garden tour, that you might get to visit the home garden of a professional designer. But now, you can visit them from home in this new book, American Roots (Timber Press, 2022) by Nick McCullough, Allison Mccullough and Teresa Woodard. 

It's divided into four chapters -- Midwest, East Coast, South, and West, and in all, the authors take you to 20 gardens. As Nick McCullough says in the introduction, "A garden is so much more than the soil, plants, and furnishings -- it is the personal touch of each and every individual who helped create it....The American gardening spirit is one of the most creative and diverse I have experienced in all my travels.  I hope you find the same."

From the McCullough design team's garden in Columbus, Ohio to the Rhode Island garden of nurseryman and designer Sean Conway, to that of garden photographer Caitlin Atkinson in Nevada City, California, you'll be inspired by the 21st century designs, the plants, and the people who put their design dreams to the test.

The book is a reference that every designer, or would-be designer will want on their bookshelf.

Commission earned.

 

Books: Kitchen Gardens with Style

Vegetable gardens can look pretty messy, especially when not designed by a professional.  So if that's not your style, you might want to take a look at The Elegant & Edible Garden (Cool Springs Press, 2022) by Linda Vater.  She's a self-taught designer, but you wouldn't guess that from this beautiful and very useful book. 

As she says in the introduction, "This isn't a book about soil pH, insect and fungal issues, or double-digging .... This is a book about capturing the romance, the artistry, and the experiential nature of a garden and garden living.  It is a book about designing a garden that is distinctly yours, using edibles as ornamentals, with lots of pictures for inspiration and emulation."

In the UK, Vater takes you to kitchen gardens in the Cotswolds and to Rosemary Verey's garden in Gloucestershire, and she tells how to adapt elements in those gardens to your own.  She tells you what factors to consider when planning your garden, such as soil type, sun exposure, and most importantly, lifestyle; and how to formulate a plan for the design. I liked her "takeouts" on Plants for Tightly Pruned Hedges, and particularly her Fundamentals for enclosures, focal points, garden structures, color, and tips for garden composition.

If you want something a little special for your herbs and vegetables, as well as lovely blooms, this is the book for you.

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Christmas Books II

 You have to hope that Sleepy Cat Farm in southwestern Connecticut will remain on the Open Days list of the Garden Conservancy from time to time, as it's a must-see garden created over 20 some years by owner Fred Landman and landscape architect Charles J. Stick of Charlottesville, VA. 

But if you can't visit the garden in person, you can certainly enjoy its beauty and special characteristics in this lovely new book, Sleepy Cat Farm: A Gardener's Journey (Monacelli Press, 2021). 

Landman, a former businessman, acquired the property in 1994 and set about to create a garden "of which the house could be proud," he said.  He worked with landscape architect Charles Stick to bring his vision of a European-style garden to fruition, a garden that would echo some of the historic gardens he had visited in Asia and Europe.  Now, the 13-acre property includes a pool and flower garden, a boxwood parterre, an elegant brick Celestial Pavilion, statuary throughout, a woodland garden, follies, and much, much more.  There's even a working organic farm that supplies the local community -- a project of Landman's wife, Seen Lippert, who worked with chef Alice Waters in California before moving East. 

And of course the site is named after a number of cats who moved in over the years (and whose portraits appear in the book).

As Landman says in an afterword, "Sleepy Cat Farm represents more than two decades of travel and observation, many trials and a few errors, the creative efforts of a talented team and my personal expression of a truly unique garden ... There is no more gratifying experience than to build, in cooperation with others, a place of beauty that will last for generations to come."

Do not miss this garden if you ever find it open for visitors. And the book makes a perfect gift for anyone with a love of gardens and horticulture.

Books: Guerrilla Flowers, Edibles

New York City:

Yes! You walked by that ugly construction site at 9th Ave and West 14th St. every day ... but the next morning, it was bedecked with sunflowers, cattails, and lavender.  It was all the overnight work of florist Lewis Miller, who's been bringing life to trash cans, sculptures, construction sites, bus stops, subway entrances and more -- and much pleasure and happiness to New Yorkers.

Some of his work is now documented in Flower Flash (Monacelli Press, 2021). HIs first flash was at the John Lennon Memorial in Central Park, using more than two thousand flowers recycled from an event the night before. In the dead of night, Lewis creates stunning installations that have shown up in all parts of the city.  As Lewis says in the introduction, "Flower Flashes celebrate all the good that flowers embody and have to offer us mortals....Precious sweet peas share company with unloved carnations, chrysanthemums make nice with English garden roses."  Those are the kinds of recipes for success, he says, because NYC is built on the same principle. "Like a true Flower Flash, Gotham City is a glorious mash-up of all kinds of people and personalities."

Flowers have personalities, too, and you can enjoy them in all their glory in this book, documenting 90 of his inspiring installations.

 

I've never seen an okra flower, and I certainly have never tasted one. But in Edible Flowers: How, Why, and When We Eat Flowers (Monacelli Press, 2021), author Monica Nelson lets us know that the petals can accent dishes that incorporate okra, or can be lightly sauteed and eaten.

Nelson profiles 100 flowers that can be used in cuisine, from acacia to zinnia.  The entries are organized alphabetically, with a short description of the plant and the parts that can easily be consumed.

There are recipes from famous chefs as well, and yes, a list of poisonous flowers that should be avoided at all costs.  Beautiful photos by Adrianna Glaviano accompany many of the entries.  The book itself is on the small side, and could easily be tucked into a backpack for reference by anyone who's into foraging.

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Books: Gems of the Pacific Northwest

If gardening is your life, you'd have to consider moving to the Pacific Northwest.  There is nothing like it for gardens and gardeners (although you have to wonder how this summer's unrelenting heat and the fires and smoke have affected the plants).

Still, there's a new book from Brian Coleman, with photos by William Wright, that perfectly captures the the art and natural beauty of this part of the country:  Private Gardens of the Pacific Northwest (Gibbs Smith, 2021).

Coleman profiles 20 private gardens from Puget Sound to Portland to Eastern Washington and everywhere in between.  And as the author says in the introduction, "Whether it's a Portland garden filled with hummingbirds and butterflies or a garden of ponds in rural Redmond, Washington, a good garden should be a nurturing oasis and a retreat, something to enjoy and share."  In this book, among the gardens you'll visit are a small city garden in Seattle, a workshop and lab for the owner's horticultural projects; a  heaven of hydrangeas on the Kitsap Peninsula; containers and garden beds filled with color by designer Cristina Salwitz; a stress-free retreat in Lake Oswego; and many more to contemplate.

You'll be inspired by the beauty and the striking designs, and you'll be tempted to try the gorgeous plant combinations in your own garden at home.  It's a book that belongs on every designer's bookshelf.

Books: Western Gardens

Living in the East, I've always coveted gardens in the West:  different landscapes, different styles, and of course all those wonderful plants that we can't grow a lot of places in the East. So the answer for designers like me is Under Western Skies: Visionary Gardens from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Coast. (Timber Press, 2021), by Jennifer Jewell with photos by Caitlin Atkinson.

Jewell profiles 36 gardens from the Southwest to the Pacific Northwest with a simple formula.  The description of each garden is divided into three parts:  the place, an outline of the general landscape; the person, which describes the professional background of the designer; and the plants, which paints a detailed picture of the garden space.

Some places and people will be familiar:  landscape architects Christy Ten Eyck, Mia Lehrer, Bernard Trainor; gardens, including the Desert and Idaho Botanical Gardens, Heronswood, Land's End Lookout at Golden Gate Park.

While the gardens and photos in this book are spectacular, I was particularly struck by the biographies of the designers.  It's not often you find out how designers came to their profession.  Some were enchanted by plants as children; others studied biology, soil science, cultural history and others came from many other disciplines.  But all of them ended up as terrific designers, and this book is a testament to their artistic sensibilities and their love of this land.