Adam Frost Book How To Create Your Garden

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· 51 ratings · 6 reviews

Start your review of How to Create Your Garden: Ideas and Advice for Transforming Your Outdoor Space

With concepts similar to those found in other garden design books, this book pulls slightly away from the pack owing to its "tidy" approach. It discusses assessing the space, designing for people and purpose, and thinking about the style/mood/feel of the garden. It approaches a garden in layers; I was first introduced to this concept by Thomas Rainer, and it immediately made sense to me. A new approach, reinforced in Janet Macunovich's "Designing Your Gardens and Landscapes," is building a plant With concepts similar to those found in other garden design books, this book pulls slightly away from the pack owing to its "tidy" approach. It discusses assessing the space, designing for people and purpose, and thinking about the style/mood/feel of the garden. It approaches a garden in layers; I was first introduced to this concept by Thomas Rainer, and it immediately made sense to me. A new approach, reinforced in Janet Macunovich's "Designing Your Gardens and Landscapes," is building a plant list before laying out a design. Choose plants that fit the site and criteria for the garden. The golden nugget, or lightbulb moment, provided here by Adam Frost, came during the design process, BEFORE specific plants were chosen from the list. After the garden layout is finalized, think about planting in terms of shapes and spaces for each layer. This notion of temporarily forgetting the specific plants helped me gain clarity for my own design process — not focusing on existing or highly desired plants, and instead focusing on layers, balance, purpose, flow, and shapes within the space. THEN specific plants get assigned and plotted, using the plant lists, color, and contrast as guides to fit the shapes and spaces previously designed. ...more

Sep 24, 2021 Ligaya rated it it was ok

I'm sure this is a lovely book for some, but I could not get into it, despite it being on my bedside table for many weeks (and overdue from the library). In particular, the "Bring It All Together" design chapter fell flat. I had difficulty translating the author's sketches and thought the lack of photos of a finished landscape had a lot to do with it. I was unfamiliar with many of the plants, despite gardening for decades. Perhaps this is a UK focused book? There are tons of lovely photos here, I'm sure this is a lovely book for some, but I could not get into it, despite it being on my bedside table for many weeks (and overdue from the library). In particular, the "Bring It All Together" design chapter fell flat. I had difficulty translating the author's sketches and thought the lack of photos of a finished landscape had a lot to do with it. I was unfamiliar with many of the plants, despite gardening for decades. Perhaps this is a UK focused book? There are tons of lovely photos here, often of gardens stuffed full—also not my aesthetic. The chapters on building structures in and for your garden were good. But, ultimately, on the whole this book was not helpful for me. ...more

May 30, 2021 romney rated it really liked it

The book focusses much more on the design process than specific themes or planting styles. Very different from the sort of "coffee table" or plant-focussed garden books I usually read. It's useful for a new garden, if you're thinking of overhauling what you have or have a particular problem to solve. There are detailed instructions and plans throughout and an excellent section about how to build your own hard landscaping - various types of paths, walls, steps etc. Above all, the separation of de The book focusses much more on the design process than specific themes or planting styles. Very different from the sort of "coffee table" or plant-focussed garden books I usually read. It's useful for a new garden, if you're thinking of overhauling what you have or have a particular problem to solve. There are detailed instructions and plans throughout and an excellent section about how to build your own hard landscaping - various types of paths, walls, steps etc. Above all, the separation of design from choosing individual plants takes a big barrier out of starting a garden and there is a lot of practical knowledge here that could take you many years and gardens to learn otherwise. ...more

Sep 26, 2020 Taylor rated it really liked it

I didn't read every single page, as some of it didn't apply for what I'm hoping for in my own backyard garden. But This was a fun introduction into the gardening world, and I can't wait to read more.
This book is great if you're wanting to create a stunning space for gardening, entertaining, and enjoying. There are so many great tips on creating a beautiful and functional space. I didn't read every single page, as some of it didn't apply for what I'm hoping for in my own backyard garden. But This was a fun introduction into the gardening world, and I can't wait to read more.
This book is great if you're wanting to create a stunning space for gardening, entertaining, and enjoying. There are so many great tips on creating a beautiful and functional space. ...more

Mar 22, 2020 Jenny K rated it it was ok

This book is for people who have lots of money to spend on their yard. It's not very approachable for the home gardener. It's also more for showy gardens and outdoor living spaces, not vegetable gardens.

"Adam Frost was born in Epping and grew up in Buckhurst Hill, Essex. He attended Buckhurst Hill County High School. He earned a BA in English Literature from the University of Oxford and a PhD from the University of Cambridge. His dissertation was on the short stories of H.H. Munro."

"Adam Frost published his first book Ralph the Magic Rabbit in 2006. It was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children

"Adam Frost published his first book Ralph the Magic Rabbit in 2006. It was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize."

"Frost also designs information graphics for The Guardian and other publications. His graphic with Zhenia Vasiliev, 'The 39 Stats', was awarded a Silver Medal in the 2013 Information is Beautiful Awards. Other graphics have focussed on the Gothic novel, entomophagy, and the election of Pope Francis."

~Excerpts from Wikipedia.org - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Fro...

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