Better Homes and Gardens Trellises, Arbors and Pergolas: Ideas and Plans for Garden Structures (Better Homes & Gardens Do It Yourself) Review

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(More customer reviews)My husband and I had a landscape plan drawn up that included a pergola. Since my husband rebuilt part of our fence, he wanted to tackle the pergola himself. So, I bought him this book and he really loved it.
The beginning of the book shows a variety of ideas for trellises, arbors and pergolas. Even if you're not going to build it yourself, the photos, drawings, and descriptions of styles may help you select or design one that you like and fits your house/yard. My favorite idea from the book was a trellis that goes over the garage door - what a neat idea!
The next section of the book has all the necessary instructions and shows you how to build a number of these structures. This could come in handy if you decide to build it yourself.
Section three offers some suggestions for plants that will climb up structure.
The final portion of the book goes over the different types of tools you may need for your project. There are also drawings and descriptions to help the novice learn the basic building and wood-working skills needed for these projects.
Although we haven't started our pergola yet, I'm sure this book will come in handy. We've definitely been enjoying looking through it to see what kind we might want!

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Detailed, illustrated plans to build more than 50 garden structures, with construction drawings and lists of materials
Expert construction advice—how to use tools, prepare sites, buy lumber, and apply outdoor finishes
Tips for selecting plants that are compatible with the structures featured

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200 Years of Rochester Architecture And Gardens Review

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(More customer reviews)This book has many wonderful photographs of Rochester's buildings. If you love architecture, or Rochester, this book is worth a look.
As a previous critic commented, the book's primary weakness is a lack of insightful commentary. I suspect that the author is knowledgeable regarding Rochester's history, but for some reason was miserly when supplying text. (Perhaps the publisher argued for "fewer words and more pictures").
As a minimum I would have liked addresses of buildings to be supplied (permitting the book to serve as the basis of a self-guided tour). More on Rochester's history, particularly as it pertains to the types of buildings constructed, might have been helpful.
I was also disappointed that there were not even more photos - the Mt Hope section has so many interesting structures that were left out!
Summary: Worth the price - but it could have been so much more.
(And kudos to the preservation folks who have worked to maintain so much of this city's past!)

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A vibrant and comprehensive tour of the extraordinary architectural and botanical wonders that have survived and have been beautifully preserved in Rochester for over 200 years. The city is rare among American cities for the great variety and exceptional quality of architectural styles as well as the private and public gardens that have given Rochester the claim to "the Flower City."

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Earthly Delights: Gardening by the Seasons the Easy Way Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a book that fellow gardeners will enjoy. It is not however, a book that gives pictures and growing conditions of a hundred plants. It is more an easy conversational style that takes the reader through the stages of the garden year and how Ms. Rochester approaches her garden chores. Her nature, she admits, is to being a lazy gardener and thus tilling, or removing sod, to install a new garden is bypassed by laying down newspaper and mulch instead. Her attitude to her garden is summed up in one phrase, when describing her neighbor's garden:
"..her garden is much neater than mine and possesses a sense of order that mine lacks. But I say "Each to her own." I find rigidity and neatness stifling myself, but the beauty of a garden is in the eye of the gardener."
Many of us have garden friends who eagerly lead us to their garden to view the latest flowering horticultural wonder. This is a book to curl up with in the middle of winter and be led into the authors garden for a while.


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Down to Earth: Practical Thoughts for Passionate Gardeners Review

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(More customer reviews)Margot reminds us of things we had once known and forgotten along the way and surprises us with things we ought to have known. She never loses focus on the moral of her message: "Never work harder than absolutely necessary. Gardening should always be a labor of love." Each chapter ends with a dollop of sage advice for living well, seamlessly flowing from the smaller context of the garden. She tells us that gardeners see the world differently, through "a gardener's eye."
She does not mince words when she knows you need to change your ways: "When a plant is more trouble than it is worth, get rid of it. Life is short and replacements plentiful." She frees us with the admonition to ignore the rules and writes that it is okay to change our minds, over and over again. She quotes Eleanor Roosevelt, "Learn from the mistakes of others because you do not have time to make them all yourself."
Things all gardeners need to know:
*Shrubs are the new perennials.
*Consider the power of pots to fill holes in the garden.
*A daily garden amble is a powerful gardening tool.
*Keep a plastic trough of potting mix handy (two-thirds peat and one-third compost).
*Not hostas. Pulmonaria (deer resist them and slugs detest them).
*Gray and silver are as great in the garden as they can be on gardeners' heads
*Vision of an ideal garden, a personal Eden pp. 47-49 (a great place to start reading if you are ignoring the rules, which you should be doing).
You can only sort through seed catalogues and sit in front of the computer for so long before you find yourself yearning for something more substantial. It is winter, but gardeners are forward thinking optimists who have a good friend in Margot Rochester. She has presented us with the perfect anecdote to the wintertime blues.
You're going to love this book!


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Down to Earth is a book that speaks to the soul of the passionate gardener of any experience level, exploring and detailing all the pleasures that gardeners enjoy from this hobby. Rochester encourages readers to garden for self-gratification. No hoeing, no tilling, no turning of piles. No chemical insecticides or herbicides, either. The author's goal is to encourage and enable gardeners to simplify tasks, saving time and money, while making their gardens their own. Rochester's refreshing musings and advice invite the reader to take a break, pour a cup of tea, and forge a fine and friendly relationship with a kindred spirit of gardening.

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Living with Japanese Gardens Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm glad I found this book. The authors show an array of Japanese design motifs that can easily be recreated whether you have a large courtyard garden, or a narrow pathway available to landscape. There's a lot you can learn in this book just looking at the many photographs that are offered. For example, I learned that you can create a Japanese garden without a single plant and that even looking at a photograph of a Japanese garden can be a relaxing experience! I particularly recommend this book for anyone who is considering a Japanese Garden but doesn't know where to start.

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Living with Japanese Gardens shows how to capture and integrate an authentic Japanese aesthetic into any landscape plan. Japanese gardens affirm our connection with the natural world through the integration of the garden with the home, enriching the total living space. From the artistry with which the gardener places plants, rocks, and water with the viewer's perspective in mind, to the way in which a Japanese garden can make one feel safe and sheltered, their mystery and appeal are now wildly popular. From the hundreds of public Japanese gardens around the world, to common garden shops and nurseries that now regularly stock stone lanterns, bamboo plants, water basins, and koi pond accessories, its easy to see how a Japanese garden will inspire and nurture. Gong and Parramore show how anyone can create a beautiful Japanese garden, whether they have a flat suburban lot, a small balcony, a rolling hillside, or a few small pots. Chapters cover these topics and more: Creating a reflecting poolIkebana-inspired gardensInterior rooms that invite nature inside Creating a low-maintenance Japanese garden in a courtyardUsing the principle of wabi sabi in the landscapeA backyard that highlights the changing of the seasonsFront door gardens

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