Why is it that on this forum in particular you always get two snotty answers for every helpful one? Or hardly any answers at all. I was about to start a post asking what the designers on this site consider an appropriate request and something they would respond to. I posted a request asking for feedback and only two people were so kind as to respond (they have my heartfelt appreciation!). PS: cdjr. I have been totally unsuccessful at getting the software you suggested to install - I tried it on my home computer and work computer and couldn't get it to work either time. Is there anything special you remember doing?

The closest to what you are looking for might be Judith McKeon's "Gardening With Roses: Designing With Easy-Care Climbers, Ramblers & Shrubs" does have specific patterns of landscape designs that you could probably expand or contract to fit the size you're working with. She has lots of photographs too, so I've mainly enjoyed the book that way. But how often have you seen somewhere in some other book a beautiful scene you might like to copy, at least in part, but the author doesn't tell every single plant in the photo? This book solves that problem in her focus on detailing the designs. It does some nifty little things like creating lists for specific design ideas, like which roses would work well together in a "white" plant border somewhere. Because the author's background is in growing many different roses, she tends to select plants that are suitable for no-spray gardens. And she tends to select plants that do well around the Philadelphia area where she has run a public garden, so her plant selection ought to fit pretty well in your neighborhood. That book is available in "like new" condition at Amazon for $2.05 plus shipping (which is approximately what I paid for my used copy too). The half of the book that contains general advice on growing roses is very useful too. (Example: You're into a design that calls for training a rose to grow up a tree, but you've never done that. You could flip to the five pages in this book that describe where to plant the rose in relation to the tree, how to train it, and how to prune it, along with some pictures.) Overall the Jeff Cox "Landscape with Roses" book is wonderful, wonderful, but the plant selections are a little more reliable for West Coast conditions than in the East, especially if you are into no-spray in the East. Still, I'd put that book into a "must have" category if you're trying to create a planned landscape design. I'd purchase this book again, even if the only one left was in barely acceptable used condition. In quickly flipping through the book I don't see any landscape design patterns, but it does go very far in helping you to absorb some basic ideas in creating your own design. It's a well-written book that you can read it in its entirety without losing interest or feeling that you already know all those ideas. If you're at all interested in a book that doesn't have garden designs or patterns and isn't directly a "how to" book, a book I'm really grateful to have is "House And Garden Book Of Country Gardens" by Charles Quest-Ritson. You might be able to find it in the library but otherwise will likely have to buy a used copy from a list that is currently fairly limited in condition/price (at Amazon). The reason I particularly like this book is that the way it groups its photos goes according to the style of a garden's design. It helped me to identify the styles I for sure like best and those I like the least. It's not strong on identifying each and every plant, but does identify some. The author, a rose lover, chose long-established beautiful gardens to show off each style at their stunning best, and the gardens in the book all (or almost all) feature roses. The book shows the value of using photographs in learning how to compose a garden's picture for the eye, an individual eye. The discussion tends to come as an overview from an extremely knowledgeable gardener who's interested in how and why the gardens' creators made the choices they made for their particular gardens. I haven't yet read every word of this one, but what I've read is very interesting, and the pictures are fabulous. Best wishes, Mary Here is a link that might be useful: BOOK: House And Garden Book Of Country Gardens

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Dave, what books have you found useful/invocative/thought provoking? I read Bringing Nature Home and Planting in a Post Wild World which were both enjoyable reads and had helpful takeaways. I've liked what I read by Michael Pollan also and there was a neat one about a guy doing a big but small organic tomato farm I cant remember the author or title of... I definitely agree with the local garden clubs and neighbors being an invaluable source of information, second only to experience. When I worked for the landscaping company the older customers who used to maintain everything themselves were all a wealth of knowledge. Once they realized I was interested and enthusiastic they happily would give advice and talk while I worked, or normally while they prevented me frlm working. I had lots of classes about bees from Mr. Quinn while he stood infront of my mower. When I realized that the older gardeners had all the experience I needed to learn from, and that the Master Gardener course was offered at the end of winter during the slow time of year, I got involved there. I have learned a ton, and been able to help other people figure things out as well which is great. Its like in person GardenWeb. Maybe the pallets are chipped up and bagged for sale at a lot of the big box stores, and if that is the case maybe I shouldnt be so taken aback at McGraths objections to it. Most mulch around here is from yard waste recycling, dropped off by municipal utility workers, tree companies, landscapers, and home owners. From what I have seen it breaks down pretty well and makes nice stuff over time. Maybe not quick enough, I am using arborist wood chips in some vegetable beds and compost as mulch like McGrath recommends in some this year to see which works out better.