A successful garden is rewarding, stimulating, and environmentally friendly. Unfortunately, traditional gardening practices don’t often deliver on that promise. Not only are these outdated methods resource- and time-consuming, they result in gardens that are weedy, labor-intensive, and at odds with wildlife and local ecosystems.
For decades, Larry Weaner has been at the forefront of ecological landscape design. With horticulturist Thomas Christopher, he shows us how to garden in a way that is responsible, exciting, and revolutionary. By understanding the ecological processes of change in our native landscapes and incorporating them into our designs, we can create beautiful, dynamic landscapes that require less labor and are more aesthetically rewarding and environmentally sound.
The book abounds in practical advice. For example, instead of yanking weeds, cut them off at ground level so that more weed seeds aren’t brought to the surface. Rather than amending your soil, simply choose plants that are adapted to your site—they’ll thrive and keep invasive plants from gaining a foothold. Forget about dividing and replanting; just allow your plants to establish pleasing patterns that evolve over the years. The stunning landscapes and easy-to-follow techniques showcased in this book will forever change the way you think about what a garden should do and be. Forget about nonstop weeding, fertilizing, and watering. It’s time for a garden revolution.
About the Authors
Larry Weaner is a leading figure in North American landscape design and founder of the educational program series New Directions in the American Landscape. His firm Larry Weaner Landscape Associates is known for combining ecological restoration with traditions of fine garden design and has received the top three design awards from the Association of Professional Landscape Designers.
Thomas Christopher, a graduate of the New York Botanical Garden School of Professional Horticulture, has created gardens for clients for forty years. He is the author of many books, including 'Essential Perennials: The Complete Reference to 2700 Perennials for the Home Garden'.
Industry Reviews
This beautiful book shows us that guiding natural processes rather than fighting them is the key to creating healthier landscapes and happier gardeners. An essential addition to our knowledge of sustainable landscapes. -- Doug Tallamy, author of Bringing Nature Home
An essential reference for conservation-minded home gardeners and stewards of larger landscapes. -- Rick Darke, author of The Living Landscape and The American Woodland Garden
There's inspiration here, from the honesty with which the authors address climate change to the experiential wisdom they bring to every aspect of the complex process of creating a landscape. -- Booklist
What is marvellous about reading this book is the powerful sense of those lifetimes of knowledge and skill being shared, and so concisely there is hardly a spare sentence here. . . .Illustrations are plentiful, clear and enticing. . . .I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who wants to work with wild or ecological planting styles; we can all learn a lot from it. -- Gardens Illustrated
A guide to every aspect of a new kind of garden based on age-old laws nature s law. -- Country Gardens
There's a way to design and plant that s beneficial to the environment, that looks beautiful, and that saves you the homeowner from a lot of toil and trouble. . . . the principles he outlines can be adapted for almost any garden, so it s a book that you ll want on your bookshelf. . . .This is a book that s long, long overdue. -- Garden Design Online
This book is more about the hands-on, how-to specifics of getting the job done, such as attracting pollinators, figuring out what plants to use where (with a bent on natives) and how to keep the weed aspect of Mother Nature under control. -- Patriot-News
More than a discussion. . . . it is a handbook for studying how plants and wildlife associate in a natural state and basing our gardening on that. . . . The revolutionary path of Weaner s work is something we should all consider when designing our garden. -- The Designer