a crusader of public art and the outsider's view and place within the landscape, beardsley once again publishes a magnificent chronicle of uniquely driven individuals and their art. highly recommended - excellent for anyone interested in art, landscape, theory, pop culture, sociology...incredibly well done!

This is a fabulous book. It is a comprehensive and respectful treatment of outsider artists from the US and abroad. The photos are exquisite and the text is well-written and informative. If you are at all interested in outsider art, this book will be a cherished addition to your library.

No words to describe this genius!.How as a landscape gardener,could I have taken ten years to discover his works!!.He is obviously and sadly unknown for his contribution to timeless gardening.This is the "Bible" of landscape gardening,and he is the Van Gogh of gardeners.How can such a valuble and essential book be unavailable!?

I hadn't even heard of Russell page until I perchanced upon this book in my local bookstore some 5 years ago. I was moved to tears by some of the photographs, and that doesn't happen easily to me. The man was a genius, clear and simple, and his designs reached out and spoke to me in a way very few designers ever have. In my own landscapes, I have been immensely influenced by Russell Page, both through this wonderful book, and his own 'Education of a gardener'. This book is superbly illustrated with colour photographs throughout. The photography is excellent, and the written descriptions are well penned, informative, decriptive but not too long-winded. My copy of this book would be on my list of my top ten material possessions.

Anyone who is about to become (or already is) "Older Than Dirt" should read this book. I enjoyed every page. Plus it gave me some usefull tips on how to deal with The IRS !!!!!

Grandpa was reading this book when he died...At least he went with a smile on his face. Some of my friends who read it weren't even offended. This will probably win a Pulitzer Prize, provided the Pulitzer people enjoy high quality booger humor. I am buying this book for all of my friends who are old and still having birthdays.

Loved this book. Great story, great graphics. A real winner!

The Giants Garden is an excellent book about the joys of giving. It is written so that every child can understand that it is better to give than to receive and when we shut people out, we often hurt ourselves in the process by shutting out love and happiness.

In an era of compromised writing and substandard visual accents in books, this one stands out as a gem not to be missed. Glorious Indoor Gardens is meticulously researched and beautifully written. It highlights gardens across the United States which are characterized by the fact that they are, well, indoors.

If you are not familiar with the author, Miclele Driscoll Alioto, she is the host of HGTV's "The Inside Dirt". I have also read several articles she has written for the San Francisco Chronicle Home and Garden section, where I believe she is a regular columnist.

Alioto structured the book creatively. She clearly spent time interviewing the subjects of the book and has written fascinating profiles of these gardeners (seriously, you want to meet each and every one of these people and have dinner with them!) and the diverse gardens they have developed (small spaces, large spaces, urban, country - one even features a floor made out of sand!)

Glorious Indoor Gardens also provides quality gardening information and tips. You can tell that the author is well-versed and educated about practical gardening, and presents these hints and suggestions in a clear manner.

In addition to the useful, culturally diverse and interesting content, Alioto's book is absolutely gorgeous. It is well presented and the photographs are stunning. Truly, one receives a glimpse into the lives of the gardeners and their gardens. This book is phenominal - I have never been so intuitively moved by a book on gardening. I think it is because so many of my gardening books are either too dry and factual, or they are too heavily reliant on the beauty of the photographs, and the text suffers.

This one really stands out. I have already purchased several copies for friends, gardeners and non-gardeners alike, as gifts. I brought one copy to cheer up a friend who is currently in the hospital recovering from a serious procedure, and who is slightly depressed. She called me bubbling with excitement - I hadn't heard a smile in her voice for a long time. Reading this book, and looking at the beautiful pictures, lifted her spirits and momentarily took her mind off of her pain. Now, she can't wait to get home and start gardening again!

I highly recommend this book to you, even if you are not an avid gardener. This is the first time I have ever posted a book review, and give it a HUGE thumbs-up, it is really not one to be missed and is one of a kind. I can't wait for her to write another!

I am always on the lookout for great books I can give as gifts. One I found recently is Glorious Indoor Gardens by Michele Driscoll Alioto. The book is exceptionally informative, and provides a wealth of practical ideas for anyone interested in gardening, regardless of level of expertise. On top of that, it has some great pictures of spectacular gardens! I put it on my coffee table and all of my guests have commented on how amazing the gardens are. It is a great addition to any household, both as a flip-through picture book and an informative reference guide. I highly recommend it to anyone who appreciates the beautiful things in life!

This book contains the brachas in Hebrew, English, and transliteration and beautiful illustrations. This is a book for every Jewish child.

My kids (from 5 through 12!) all love this, and ask for it repeatedly. The youngest love the poems and pictures, while the older appreciate this easy way to learn the blessings (in English, Hebrew and transliterated Hebrew).

Last year it was a jungle in my garden,the gourd plants had taken over and I was at a loss as to what to do. This book has helped me 100% on my cultivation of gourds. It covers trellising, pruning, common pests and problems. A great book for the novice or seasoned gardener who might need a reminder of a few things (like me).

This is an excellant book. It gives you very good explaination on growing gourds and what you should need and the different types of gourds. Also, prunning, types of fertilizers. Instruction on making arbors, trellis for the gourds. It's a wonderful book that every gourdhead must have.

A girl works with her Grandfather in his garden, learning about life & dreams, love & responsibility.

Shea Darian writes in her introduction that her Grandfather's garden was a place where she harvested the goodness of his humor & about life. That gardens are places where love & wisdom can grow alongside the vegetables, fruits, & flowers.

Karlyn Holman's illustrations are exuberant, colorfilled & rich in details & textures.

This is a keeper, to be read & re-read by all in the family.

On Saturdays Grandpa and his granddaughter work side by side in the garden. Among the radishes and lettuce they share their deepest feelings and wishes. They harvest love and wisdom along with peas and turnips. Through the garden they learn of life and death, growth and change. The garden's lessons give the granddaughter strength when illness strikes Grandpa, and a special joy when he can return for their Saturday gardening together again. Wonderfully illustrated by the lovely artistry of Karlyn Holman, Shea Darian's Grandpa's Garden is based upon her own grandfather and his garden when she was a young girl, and is a true joy to read. Highly recommended for ages 4 to 10.

Of the half-dozen books I bought in preparation for recycling some of the old stonewalls up through the woods on our farm into a new retaining wall, this is my clear favorite. It is more detailed than John Vivian's Building Stone Walls, particularly when it comes to retaining walls. Because it is not as glossy and illustrated as Haywards' Stone in the Garden or David Reed's Stonescaping (which are, by the way, both excellent in their own right), I'm not as wary about taking it out to the project with me.

The text is clear and concise, and includes a healthy dose of stone philosophy and the index is detailed enough to help the do-it-yourselfer find what he needs, but short enough so that he can find what he wants, even if he does not know the proper name for it.

However, the main reason I like this book so much is Gardner's assurance that anyone who puts his mind to it -- which includes me -- can build a stone wall. While his respect for old stone walls and the art of building them is obvious, he also has a healthy dose of practicality. "The notion that all, or even most, of the old stone-work we see around New England is the result of concentrated applicaion of arcane skill," he write, " is demonstrably false." Once that sacred cow was out of the way, my confidence level went up and anything seemed possible.

The black & white drawings that illustrate the text are clear and very helpful.

This is a wonderful book...it's about stone walls, and about building stone walls, and all the things stone walls have meant and done for 350 years, and what it feels like to live and work in a place where just past the urban sprawl every one of those 350 years blends with this one (and if you look out the corner of your eye there're older times than that hiding in the shadows.)

It's not a homeowner howto, though it's got everything you can learn from a book. It's a book for masons who love their craft, New Englanders who love their home place, and anyone who likes good work. Whatever that means to you.

This book, to say the least, was a welcome change in format from my everyday reference book. Broken down into three chapters, and then again from A-Z within those chapters makes this book easy to read and reference back to. After I tell you the names of the three chapters, you'll see why i was hooked from page one. Ready? Part one is titled "Around the Landscape and Into the Garden", Part two is "After the Harvest and Into the Kitchen" and last, but most important is Part three "Tending to the Gardener...Those Aches, Pains, and Stains". Doesn't sound like your normal reference book, does it? It's not! In the middle of each A-Z entry is something the author calls Garden Giggles or Garden Trivia. These were my favorite!

An A to Z guide to all things garden, this is a gem of a book to have around. My copy is already dog-eared and cherished! Did you know that that Amaryllis flower bulb you got for Christmas could very well produce blooms for 75 years? Not in my hands, but if you follow the tips in the book yours just might! Did you know that Zinnias were grown by the ancient Aztecs? I had no idea!

You may have already nourished your plants but are unsure how to go about harvesting those fruits of your labor. The second section of 'Green Things' is an abundance of tips on enjoying those rewards to the fullest. From Almonds to Zucchini, there is more to gathering the goods than sharing with neighbors. A bouquet of asparagus, complete with water and vase, will be a wonderful gift to yourself and will keep for several days. Boiling corn on the cob or even worse, boiling it in salted water, takes away most of its nutritional value and makes it tough to chew. Did you know that the strawberry is a member of the rose family, and is the only fruit to grow its seeds on the outside? Or that the watermelon is actually classified as a berry?

The final section of the book is right up my alley. Tending to the gardener is an imperative part of gardening! Here you will find tips on dealing with those muscle aches and back pains, stains on clothing, relaxing baths and the dreaded poison ivy'all with things from the garden.

Not forgetting the mind of the gardener, dispensed throughout the book are garden giggles that will turn your frustrated grub concerned frown upside down. Along with tidbits of trivia like the gross amount of insects we all consume by the year, the giggles will lighten your load. It helps to laugh about things like weeds growing at the precise rate of our pulling them out.

My advice is to buy two copies of this book, for once you show it to a friend, they will want to borrow it forever, and you'll want to keep one for yourself as a guide that you will return to time and time again. You never know when you'll want to know what sex your African violets are, or just what type of manure is perfect for your needs.