Dale Carnegie "How to win friends and influence people" or the theory of how not to pixx people off, start there.

Me-ooow!

I was just really interested in what everyone thinks are good books--but every time a discussion of useful books comes up, the thread gets hijacked!

Any good books on shelves out there?

IMO, most design theory books are just regurgitations of the same information - helpful to the beginning designer or novice in that they outline the principles involved in formats that are effective depending on the presentation and writing skills of the author, but unlikely to offer any "eureka" moments of startling insight. OTOH, those books that take the theory into more practical applications (like 'The Abundant Garden' of heated discussion in another thread) can offer value.

A couple that come to mind for me are Ann Lovejoy's "Organic School of Design" and "Naturalistic Gardening", as both delve into the more sustainable aspects of landscape design, an area I find of particular interest. It doesn't hurt also that she is a Northwest-based author, designer and gardener and that the opinions she has to impart are rather well-suited to the character and nature of gardening in this area, which I daresay is a bit distinct and unique from other locales.

You might find "Elements of Garden Design" by Joe Eck worthwhile. From the blurb on amazon.com:

""The great problem with rules," writes Joe Eck, "is that once they are laid down people tend to obey them." In this slender book of essays about gardening, Eck's goal is less to provide diagrams and formulas about how to build a garden than to share with the more experienced gardener his philosophy of why garden in the first place and what it is that can make a garden so pleasing to the eye and the soul."

"A Year At North Hill" (about Eck and Wayne Winterrowd's garden in Vermont) would make a good companion book.

Why is it that no one wants to hear about mediocre design books - just the good and bad ones? :)size>

My question is why do people find the time to cast aspersions but will not invest much less time to type one simple word ("books") into the search function for immediate answers to their query?

From the Department of Redundancy Department: See link below. (Hint... 454 hits)

IronBelly

Here is a link that might be useful: Forum search on

I once did a top ten books list on design theory for the APLD but I can't find it although it was something like this the education of a gardener russell page a timeless way of building christopher alexander the poetics of gardens moore mitchell & turnbull the meaning of gardens francis and hester gardens are for people thomas church landscape design with plants brian clouston what is a designer potter the enclosed garden aben & de wit gardens make me laugh james rose landscape design hubbard and kimmball. Only one full stop but hey, you have to do some work yourself.

We're used to it.

Thank you, gardengal48, eric_oh, and inkognito.
(Ink--do you read latin?)

Ironbelly, there have been other threads on books, but they always seem to get highjacked after only a couple relevant posts. I had hoped to start one that would be different.

Ok, BPÂ IÂll take you at your word.

In the book department, many good ones are mentioned on this forum with regularity.
Most of the landscape design books that I read/purchase were briefly mentioned in passing on this forum in some unrelated thread. After reading those books, I often give a little book review on this forum. Is there a central clearing house for this information? No. To date, I have only found that life is most bountiful to those who pay attention.

The most recent book that I personally found rewarding was Gardens of Illusion by Sara Maitland and Peter Matthews. If you will recall, I quoted this book rather extensively on InkÂs thread from about a month ago, "Which came first". However, it was Cady who first, very briefly, recommended this book back in early September in the thread, "Can a landscape be art?". This book would not fall squarely into your requested category of theory. However, it has been most helpful to me establishing a greater historical understanding. Thankfully, it has also given me some fresh insight into the world of design application. The only minor shortcoming I can find with this book is that it uses many references to sites in the United Kingdom that I can not relate to  which is really more my fault than the bookÂs fault. On the other hand, someone like Ink with his British background, or others who have traveled there, could probably relate to some of the referred sites instantly. All in all, Gardens of Illusion has been a good investment which approaches design from a paradigm rarely discussed.

IronBelly

I understand you completely , burntplants. In my last house, I had to start with new construction and no help. This is what I learned.:

- go to the library and take out any gardening books with lots of pictures along with relevant info. Peruse through and notice what you like.

- drive around and look at what other people do that you like or don't like

-go back to your books and find ones that are specific to shrubs, trees, etc. They will give you height, spread, color, and seasonal interest. Pick the ones you like.

- Very important: Check the sun and soil around your yard. What/when is sunny and shady ? Where is it mostly wet/dry/normal? What will grow in my zone?

- Visit Gardens or Arboretums. Just begin to NOTICE things. Like the way they put the coral rose next to the purple liatris.

My favorite was in a flower book. It showed a combo of blue/lime green/hot pink in a pot. I mixed the colors up with various colored coleus in my front foundation garden. It was awesome and I got lots of complements. From ther, my garden took on those "cool" tones. It became my theme, and allowed me to shorten my list of plants to a managable size so it didn't seem so overwhelming.

Now, I have to satrt over in a new house. The foundation plants now seem easy, but the 3 acre uphill pasture seems daunting. I can't seem to find a picture book about that yet.