I blame this book for my lack of sleep in the last 6 weeks.
I checked Fallscaping by Nancy J. Ondra and Stephanie Cohen, photography by Rob Cardillo (Storey, 2007) out of the library and plan to keep it the maximum allowed 9 weeks because I go through it every couple days and am completely dazzled. It's pictures are absolutely haunting - beautifully juxtaposed 'Hopi Red Dye' Amaranth with 'Lemon Queen' perennial sunflower sent me on a quest to try to find this particular species of Amaranth (John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds). It's enough to make your heart skip a beat.
Because I am a relative newcomer to gardening by most standards, I've had a limited number of years to learn about different plants and flowers. This book was one that exposed me to many I'd never heard of or just had a vague knowledge about. Plants I never really cared for one way or another like pink muhy grass. The authors brilliantly showed how this plant would work in my garden, and showed others that would work with it creating a multi-colored, layered effect.
If this was just a book of beautiful pictures of beautiful gardens, that would have been more than enough for me. However, the writing, advice, and techniques presented in the book are superb! The book is written in a very casual manner but is completely classy. The advice is easy enough for a beginner to understand, but technical enough that a master gardener/expert would be satisfied with the book as well. I also appreciate the 10" x 10" book format. I think it allows for larger pictures that make all the difference.
I could go on and on here, but if you are interested in the book, I would suggest you head over to Amazon and click on the book to look inside. There are plenty of pages to pique your interest, and if you're like me, you'll go gaga over the excellent pictures.
Feb 17, 2009
Book Review: Fallscaping
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10 comments:
I checked this book out of the library last week, and have also been going over it again and again - but I took out Nan Ondra's Foliage and Grasses at the same time, so I have a really bad case! I've been daydreaming about plant combinations non-stop for a week now. I think my thesis is suffering. :)
Isn't it just the best? I love this book and recommend it all the time!
For me - it's 'Digging for Victory' with Mr Middleton, all the way at the moment!!! It's a WW2 on how to grow our own food during the war years - brilliant.
by the way, the above comment was mine, not by hubby's as has come up. Darn us both using the same computer and liking the same blogs!
I love casual and classy books!
I really adore your book reviews and your tenacity to learn. Rock on. I'll definitely look into this book. Thanks.
I'm getting so many book ideas from you. It's hard to keep up!
Looks like there will be more rain this weekend.
ooohhh.... MUST HAVE THIS BOOK!
Just from the cover of the book I can see what you mean. It is so important to make sure the garden has colour in Fall and Winter.
Hi Katie,
Just read your comment on my post on micro-climates as fashion statements and loved that you stopped by as I was already a fan of your blog and have visited many times.
I'm disappointed I didn't see your post yesterday as I was ordering from Amazon and would certainly have added this book. I'm a huge fan of Nancy Ondra's Grasses, which is directly responsible for my obsession with combining grasses and roses. And Pink Muhly in boom is amazing. I was in Sacramento early January and drove by a house with a swath of it. It was late afternoon, and the site of the pink blooms lit up by the afternoon sun was stop your car camera worthy (except I didn't have a camera and wasn't driving).
I have wanted this book for quite some time now and as soon as I get a little extra money, I will have it! I'm not surprised you like it so well!
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