The Essential Garden Design Workbook
by Rosemary Alexander & Rachel Myers
The 3rd edition of The Essential Garden Design Workbook. Even if you have one of the 2 previous editions, you will find this a completely revised and expanded new version with many new plans and photographs, plus the latest technical information.
A well-designed garden provides pleasure to owner and visitor alike but often eludes even the most experienced gardener. The Essential Garden Design Workbook guides you through every stage of designing a garden, from site assessment to drawing up plans and selecting suitable materials. Here you will learn how to assess your site and experiment with design ideas that fit well with the garden’s surroundings. You will find easy ways to measure large spaces, estimate the height of a tree, and determine the right proportions for a deck, pathway, or steps.
The book includes clear instructions for drawing up plans - from initial concept diagram to final design. This book is tailor made for hands-on gardeners who want to rework their gardens to achieve that sought-after ‘designer finish’. Hundreds of explanatory drawings and quick-reference diagrams make this workbook a vital addition to the bookshelves of every gardener, design student, and professional. By working through this book from start to finish, a designer garden is within everyone’s reach.
Published 1987
Michael Joseph
ISBN 0-7181-2773-0
The English Gardening School
Written in 1987 by Rosemary Alexander and her late colleague Anthony du Gard Pasley, The English Gardening School is based on the courses held at that time by the English Gardening School, concentrating on the design, planting and maintenance of gardens. Combining planning with practice this teaching manual covers assessing the site, soil, and climatic conditions, making up a brief, designing with plants and garden ornaments. Now out of print, this book can occasionally be found in second-hand book shops and on Amazon.
Published 2005
Cassells
ISBN 1844033708
Available on Amazon
A Handbook for Garden Designers
by Rosemary Alexander with Karena Batstone
This handbook is a comprehensive, practical guide to garden design. From carrying out the initial survey to presenting a finished design to the client, it provides the expertise necessary to create gardens of all kinds and all sizes. Including over a hundred plans, drawings, diagrams and photographs this book is packed with practical advice, tips and techniques as well as detailed guidance on producing professional plans and graphics.
Published 2005
Conran Octopus
ISBN 088192704X
Available on Amazon
The Garden Makers Manual
by Rosemary Alexander & Richard Sneesby
This manual covers all aspects of hard landscaping and structures – from paving and paths to water features, lighting, shelter, walls, and fences. Those aspiring garden designers looking for an excellent introduction to the art of landscaping, but who are not ready for Rosemary’s more definitive Essential Garden Design Workbook, will want to have this book.
It is an accessible and practical approach to garden landscaping written by the experts at The English Gardening School. With 150 photographs and 150 drawings, this manual will be a timeless reference.
Published 2006
Timber Press
ISBN 9780881927832
Available on Amazon
The Essential Garden Maintenance Workbook
by Rosemary Alexander
This book takes over where Rosemary Alexander’s first book leaves off. With the newly designed garden in place how do you manage the work in a garden and keep it looking good year in and year out? How do you prune, look after your soil and keep spring bulb plantings looking good? Is it possible to move a plant and how do you cope with weeds, pests, and diseases? Which plants are top performers and which are best for particular functions like internal and external boundaries, focal points, disguising eyesores and providing year-round interest?
With its hand-holding, workbook approach The Essential Garden Maintenance Workbook is the next best thing to having a daily training session with expert gardener, Rosemary Alexander. It allows gardeners at all levels to confidently tackle garden maintenance jobs, develop new skills, and make a success of their gardens however stretched for time.
Published 2010
Timber Press
ISBN 1604692235
Available on Amazon
Dear Christo
In this intimate collection of written and photographic contributions, Christopher Lloyd’s wide circle of family and friends describe what Great Dixter means to them. Food, poetry, music and plants feature large, and house visitors remember the feel of the centuries – old floor boards under foot, the thrill of waking up early to peer out on topiary enshrouded in fog, and many contributors describe how in one way or another, Great Dixter changed their lives.