Synopses & Reviews
A beautiful landscape reflects well on your house, making it a welcome part of a neighborhood or native terrain. And it dramatically increases your home’s value. Landscaping also makes your house and yard more useful and better able to complement your family’s lifestyle. Trees shade your home to reduce energy use. Thorny shrubs deter prowlers. Lawns reduce dust from bare ground and give children the perfect play area. Patios and decks are great for entertaining. And a vegetable garden can yield fresh, delicious salads to eat on that patio or deck.
Landscaping for Dummies has everything you need to turn the little patch of earth you call your own into a personal paradise. Whether you’ve waited for the day to have property to landscape, you’d never given it a second thought until you had to, or you want to improve on an existing landscape, this book offers a clearly written wealth of knowledge on:
- Designs
- Fences, walls, gates, and paths
- Decks, patios, and outdoor rooms
- Trees
- Shrubs and vines
- Ground cover
From the basic principles of landscape design, to all the ins and outs of hillsides, balcony gardens, and water gardens, this book will show you how to:
- Think like a designer
- Dream up the right landscape for your family’s needs
- Increase your home’s resale value
- Conserve energy
- Deal with contractors, nurseries, and hardware suppliers
- Create an edible landscape
Full of helpful problem-solvers for all kinds of landscapes, Landscaping for Dummies also features sample plans, “theme” landscape ideas, and a brilliant color photo section to inspire the imagination. Accessible and informative to both beginner and expert landscapers, this is the complete guide to creating the yard you’ve always wanted.
Synopsis
Create the yard you have always yearned for A beautiful landscape reflects well on your house, making it a welcome part of a neighborhood or native terrain. And it dramatically increases your home's value. Landscaping also makes your house and yard more useful and better able to complement your family's lifestyle. Trees shade your home to reduce energy use. Thorny shrubs deter prowlers. Lawns reduce dust from bare ground and give children the perfect play area. Patios and decks are great for entertaining. And a vegetable garden can yield fresh, delicious salads to eat on that patio or deck.
Landscaping for Dummies has everything you need to turn the little patch of earth you call your own into a personal paradise. Whether you've waited for the day to have property to landscape, you'd never given it a second thought until you had to, or you want to improve on an existing landscape, this book offers a clearly written wealth of knowledge on:
- Designs
- Fences, walls, gates, and paths
- Decks, patios, and outdoor rooms
- Trees
- Shrubs and vines
- Ground cover
From the basic principles of landscape design, to all the ins and outs of hillsides, balcony gardens, and water gardens, this book will show you how to:
- Think like a designer
- Dream up the right landscape for your family's needs
- Increase your home's resale value
- Conserve energy
- Deal with contractors, nurseries, and hardware suppliers
- Create an edible landscape
Full of helpful problem-solvers for all kinds of landscapes, Landscaping for Dummies also features sample plans, "theme" landscape ideas, and a brilliant color photo section to inspire the imagination. Accessible and informative to both beginner and expert landscapers, this is the complete guide to creating the yard you've always wanted.
Synopsis
Praise for Landscaping For Dummies"Exceptionally complete…. A reference that will make both dummies and seasoned landscape practitioners much better at what they do…. A superlative job"
—Joel M. Lerner, Washington Post
"A lot of good, basic information…. This book will help you understand what a professional might do, from design to construction."
—Nick Harder, Orange County Register
Includes color photos and professional landscape plans
Turn your yard into a beautiful outdoor room Even if you don't know a perennial from a pergola, you can transform your yard into a picture-perfect landscape that's the envy of the neighborhood. This friendly illustrated guide walks you step-by-step through the entire process, from evaluating your needs and designing a plan to selecting plants and getting the work done.
Discover how to: Produce a landscaping game plan Build fences, patios, and other outdoor structures Choose shrubs, flowers, and other greenery Find solutions to landscape problems Create special "theme" landscapes
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Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [313]-315) and index.
About the Author
Phillip Giroux owns a landscape design firm.
Home improvement authority Bob Beckstrom and garden expert Lance Wallheim are veteran authors.
The National Gardening Association is America's largest nonprofit gardening organization.
Table of Contents
Introduction.
PART I: Designing Your Landscape.
Chapter 1: Plotting Your Landscape Design.
Chapter 2: Thinking Like a Designer.
Chapter 3: Getting Serious about Your Design.
PART II: Building Hardscape into Your Yard.
Chapter 4: Taming Your Site.
Chapter 5: Fences, Walls, Gates, and Paths.
Chapter 6: Building Decks and Patios.
Chapter 7: Creating an Outdoor Room.
PART III: The Planting o' the Green.
Chapter 8: Barking Up the Right Tree.
Chapter 9: Landscaping with Shrubs and Vines.
Chapter 10: Using Plants for Color and Texture.
Chapter 11: Covering Lots of Ground.
Chapter 12: Solutions for Your Landscape Problems.
PART IV: Putting It All Together.
Chapter 13: Plans for Your Whole Lot.
Chapter 14: Plans for Special Situations.
Chapter 15: Plans for "Theme" Landscapes.
PART V: The Part of Tens.
Chapter 16: Ten Ways to Make Your Surroundings Unique.
Chapter 17: Tens Ways to Conserve Energy.
Chapter 18: Ten Ways to Increase Your Home's Resale Value.
Appendix: Landscaping Resources.
Index.
Book Registration Information.