I discovered "The Garden Planner"...It is a fun book, hardback (with a spiral bound flipbook inside.) The flip-pages are divided into 4 sections allowing you to mix and match varieties of plants, shrubs, and trees to your hearts content! Each selection is numbered and a description is given (with information on blooming period and planting guidelines.) It is just plain fun to do. It's an interesting format, and provides lots of information for the "plan-minded" gardener. Really a "fun" flower book!

This book is wonderful for all levels-- beginning gardeners to experts. I have an extensive gardening library and this is by far the most "user friendly". The pictures help to identify plants and they also suggest other plants to accompany your selection, so I always take it to the nursery with me as a resource. It's also durable and can be left in the dirt without damage. One warning, however, check your index because mine is a mis-print and the last page is missing, replaced by a duplicate first page. Despite this flaw, I plan to buy more as gifts.

This is the most amazing garden planning book, presented in a way so simple (and even "retro"). Each page is divided into four flip sections, and you can visually mix and match flowers and shrubs to see how they'd look next to each other in your garden. The back of each picture has full planting information which makes planning even easier. Buy this book for yourself, and then order more copies as gifts for your friends!

I first received Garden Psalms as a gift -- not being a gardener, I was somewhat mystified at why it had been chosen. But once I began to read and use the devotions, I knew. So many of us are frustrated by being so "city busy" that we never see, much less appreciate, the natural world around us. Garden Psalms let me have a time each day when I could smell a sprawl of honeysuckle or imagine a ladybug going to work in a backyard garden. I have since given to it friends who are passionate gardeners and those those can't tell a rose from a tulip; to friends who both religious and non-religious -- everyone has remarked on the great sense of peace this book brings them.

This is not your garden variety book. It is a potpourri of peaceful pictures, psalms and precious points of departure into a soft realm of contemplative reading. It hits you on all levels. It is a read, it is a devotional it is even an escape. There is so much to dwell upon that each time I pick it up my mood finds a place to go within its pages. The kind of book you can turn to when you need a lift or you need to let go. Like the Bible it is a book you can open to any page and find gems.

Garden Psalms uses the psalms of scripture as points of departure for moving meditations on the role of God and faith in one's life. I loved it and have bought several for gifts.

Both my husband and I really enjoyed this book. The projects are interesting and the pencil drawings are great.In one case, we used their project as a starting point and went from there.

Most of the projects are NOT simple DIY stuff, so make sure you want do do a project that is covered in the book. It is not a generalized building manual that is applicable to building in general.

To complete the projects, you will need a good table saw, radial saw, circular saw or compound mitre saw, a good jig saw or band saw, portable drill or drill press, and power sander such as a 5 or 6 inch orbital sander or belt sander, plus the usual standard hand tools.

This is one I'll keep going back to -- in fact some of these projects are really do-able! My only caveat is that the type face, although pretty, is difficult for old eyes to make out even with reading glasses. Fortunately the pictures are lovely enough to be worth the price, all by themselves.

I have almost finished building the summerhouse in Garden Retreats. It overlooks a bay where swan , ducks and other birds come over every day to watch my progress. This has been one of the most gratifying projects I have ever attempted. It has been time consuming, but worth it. I have even put in electric as suggested in the book. I highly recommend this book and this project. Once I got the summerhouse enclosed, I could trim out the interior and it was plenty warm inside the space. I can't wait until summer when I can sit inside the summerhouse and watch the sun go down.

I got it for a friend who loves gardening and she absolutely loved it. It is the perfect gift to give someone who has everything. The book inspired her so much that she started planting flowers the very next day after receiving the book.

This book is an excellent gift for anyone who enjoys gardening, and poetry. As you page through it your mind will wander off and bring back fond memories of a special garden you have visited. It will remind you of that special relative or friend and walking through their treasured garden exploring the intricate flowers and plants.

Worth the price for the photography alone, "Garden Thoughts" also includes a great selection of quotes and excerpts that make it perfect for a relaxing sunday read. Beautiful garden photograpy, wonderful layout.

The book has formulas that help plants. Such as, pest control and natural fertalizers. It also give you recipes for herbal shampoos and condtiononers. Great Book. :)

This is a great book, from cover to cover. It is full of handy hints. I am a first time gardener and this book helped me a great deal throughout the gardening season. There's also a great section on herbs!

This wonderful book is full of easy and useful ideas. It is pleasant to read, nicely illustrated, and oh so practical. I am buying a second copy to share!

This outstanding collection brought back fond memories of trips to New Jersey many years ago. Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down.

From Sinatra to Springsteen, Princeton to Pt. Pleasant and all 121 miles of Jersey Shore coastline this book rekindles long dormant memories for those who grew up in the Garden State or were clamdigger wanna-bees. Helen Chantal-Pike mixes insightful prose with picturesque views of the Great State of New Jersey. This is a must have for anyone who has salt water running through their veins. Excellent coffee table book that you can come back to again and again. Can't wait until Pike's next book, "Asbury Park: Glory Days 1890-1980" is published based on the quality of "Greetings from New Jersey. . ."

"Greetings from New Jersey, A Postcard Tour of the Garden State" is a hefty, gorgeous book that feels good to hold in your hands. New Jersey is one of the great postcard states, and author Helen Pike, between two covers, has made quite a handsome sandwich of it. From the diving horse of Atlantic City to the dining room of the State Reformatory in Rahway; from Thomas Edison at his West Orange office to the cute little Campbell's Kids, the tour is a colorful retro-joy that calms the nerves and sends the reader dreaming. Advertising, manufacturing, main streets, parades, disasters -- it's all there. And it's m'm! m'm! Good! With each card, Pike supplies an appealing bite-size commentary. As if the cards and comments aren't enough, Pike's essays are likewise terrific. The introduction to the book entertainingly deals with the advent of the picture postcard in general and its importance to New Jersey in particular. A closing chapter is titled "The Delights of Deltiology" (the study of postcards) and is a really useful introduction to the various categories of cards. It is perfect for people who wish to develop an interest in collecting. In short, "Greetings from New Jersey" is a book to keep close by and pick up again and again. It's really good enough to eat (which is why I bought two of them). It would make a great gift for almost anyone.

Charlie Dimmock is great. She has wonderful ideas and plans for the watergardens. I think if someone wants a lovely water feature in there yard this is the book to have....=o)

Admittedly, I am somewhat biased toward this author as I enjoy "Ground Force" more than any other home improvement show and have converted several friends from HGTV over to BBC America.

The plans and designs are honest. They clearly outline how much time it will take, the safety aspect and estimated costs (In british currency). I have noticed that her costs seem a bit low, but it may be the geographic differences. Mostly, I use this on a relativity scale. (This pond is more difficult/costly than that one)

She shows wisdom and experience in her discussion of the use of native plants and introduction of wildlife. Unfortunately, there is a bit of difference between Los Angeles and London native plants, but if you apply the general idea, you can't go wrong.

The practical ideas, like: "Don't put a fountain in a windy area" or "How to hide the pipes in a wall mounted fountain" are essential things to think about once you have it your head that you must have a water element in your yard.

My husband owns a landscape design company and he frequently uses her book to narrow down a client's broad vision. A great garden library addition for a professional or an amatuer!!

Out of all the Ground Force books, we used this one the most. It helped us put in a pond in our yard complete with a vase that bubbled water over and went down a chute to the pond. The book covers many different water features including a raised tank water garden, one with waterfalls, small ones like just a vase that bubbles over, and many others. The photos are very helpful and even more enjoyable if you get to see the episode on the BBC show that the water features were on.

I love this book! I picked it up at the library and had to buy a copy of my very own. Detailed, month-by-month directions for caring for the best southern plants. I highly suggest this for anyone in the south for easy to use, definitive directions for keeping your plants happy and healthy.
Go Will Rehder, Jr.!

Profusely illustrated with more than one hundred color photographs by Freda H. Wilkins, Henry Rehder's Growing A Beautiful Garden: A Landscape Guide For The Coastal Carolinas is an informatively written, superbly presented, "reader friendly" compendium of horticultural advice and insights for establishing a flourishing and esthetically pleasing regional garden landscape. Gardening expert Rehder offers a wealth of practical ideas and suggestions for choosing and maintaining plants that will thrive under coastal conditions and offers a step-by-step, month-by-month guide for more than a hundred ornamental shrubs, trees, perennials, and lawngrasses. Very highly recommended for personal and professional gardening, landscaping, and horticultural reference collections, Growing A Beautiful Garden also covers the mechanics of plant installation, weeds, insects, diseases, animal pests, and fertilizers.

I was excited to see a book published that was specific to the coastal area of the Carolinas. The book contains information on all of the most common landscape plants used in the area including a month by month guide to the care for each species. It has been very helpful to me in planning and caring for my "garden."

We bought this at a used book store a week ago, and have read it at least 50 times. If you have a very imaginative child, this is a great book. The illustrations are great, different from standard picture books. The main character, Mary, creates a darling "garden" project which she magically becomes a part of and plays in. She isn't quite sure how it is all happening, but she likes it. The unexplained magic is charming, thought provoking, and just plain fun. I love the idea that some of lifes surprises have no obvious explanation. If you have a child who seems to get lost in imaginary play, I am sure they will enjoy and relate to this book. This inspired us to create our own secret garden. Great project idea. We love our Martin Waddell books, and this is no exception. Can't say enough good about this book.

My five year old son and I enjoy this book. It's a keeper! The illustrations are very different and we found them so interesting.

I purchased the book in order to do a presentation on it for my Children's Literature class. The illistrations are in fact what orinally caught my eye. I was doing stock at work and came across it and thought it was so colorful and interesting and thought, what child wouldn't be fascinated by this book. I eventually read the book and came to find that the story is great as well. I think it would encourage any child to use their imagination as well as to explore different artistic mediums other than crayons and construction paper.

This book is a wonderful resource. The book is full of design ideas shown in site plans, 3-D renderings, and with great close up photos of the flowers, scrubs, and trees. Many designs are shown in each season and in a progression of how it will look in three to five years and then in ten to fifteen years. I found this book to be very helpful in designing flower beds, in picking plantings, and in knowing how to care for each planting.

I'm not under 13, but I didn't want to give my name and email.

This book is great. It takes advantage of some great underused native plants from the Mid Atlantic. It is very helpful because it provides plant spacing and maintenance. Most plants are low maintenance, all year interest.

I have used the landscape plans in my yard and will continue to use this book as my number one reference.

I am new to gardening and I am have cleared out my backyard, I had no idea what I was doing or what kind of plants to put where until I read this book. It also has good ideas for building patios... great illustrations too!