The Bottom Line
Pros
- The This Old House folks provide excellent photos and illustrations of landscaping projects.
Cons
- This book on landscaping could profit from a glossary.
Description
- Handy lists of plants for various uses, e.g., the best trees for patios, best shrubs for dry sites.
- Photos and illustrations guide you through the text, making the ideas more concrete.
- Lawn tips from This Old House conclude the chapter on plants.
Guide Review - "Complete Landscaping" -- This Old House
Chapter 1 of "Complete Landscaping" by the people from This Old House is about planning. I especially like the section on how to draw landscape plans, which is informative without overpowering the reader (this stuff can be pretty intimidating for do-it-yourselfers!). We're instructed on how to progress from a base plan to a bubble diagram to a final plan. But planning is about much more than just drawing, so This Old House also informs us about the considerations behind a plan: factors such as drainage, marking utility lines and complying with codes.
This Old House titles Ch. 2, "Ideas," but I viewed it as an introductory piece to Ch. 4 (a hardscape chapter). We're given an overview here of decks, patios, paths, fences and gates, walls, landscape lighting, arbors and gazebos, pools and spas, ponds and fountains, kids' play spaces, outdoor kitchens and sheds. It's explained that such components form the backbone of a landscape design, supporting whatever plants will be added later.
Ch. 3, "Ground Work," addresses drainage problems, irrigation, walkways and lighting. Ch. 4 is the heart of the book. Building on the "ideas" of Ch.2, This Old House walks us through "11 projects -- some simple, some complex -- from paths to steps to walls to water features."
Ch. 5 finally gets to plants. This Old House describes this chapter as one in which "you'll learn more about the roles permanent plants play in the landscape and how to plant them and keep them healthy."
