Garden Ideas: Creative Design Solutions (ISBN 1567994938)

If you like pictures, buy this book!:
This volume is divided into four main parts- window boxes, arbors and trellises,shade gardens and water gardens. The accompaning text is as easy to read as the photographs are on the eyes. If you're looking for ideas for your next garden project and don't feel like reading a lot of dry text this book is for you.

Colorful stunning garden vistas:
The pictures in this book make the price right. With big glossy colorful pictures on every page and a minimum of text this book serves the visual learner well. If ever the saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" were more fitting than to this book than let me see that book too. These pictures are of some of the most magnificent gardens you'll ever want to see. Of course the pictures make you imagine the same results are possible in your garden and to a certain extent this can be true. However, there really is no reference to garden zones so what looks like a good idea may not work in your garden. The sections are very beneficial for creating visually dazzling effects in your garden like the addition of trellises and arbors which I found particularly helpful. Also the rustic additions to the garden make for some very interesting results. Although no building plans are included enough of the structures are visble to get an idea on how to create your structure. There are however plans for laying out your plants so that they are arranged according to heights and seasonal blooms. My major complaint with the book is that the pictures feature mature gardens that obviously have years of growth and care already invested in the beautiful results. If you are interested in water gardens there are some fantastic examples of splashy habitats, including the water garden of Claude Monet. The special touches section seems to have been an afterthought when putting this book together because it is brief and not as elaborate as the other sections. With nearly three hundred pages/picutres you are sure to see some good ideas for your own garden. Highly recommended for the garden enthusiast.