Architectural Plants and Planting - Tapa blanda

More than architectural plants, this book looks at architectural features such as sculpture, water features, design ideas such as topiary and standards, parterres, mass planting and specimens. Garden writer Sunniva Harte shares her views on the subject accompanied by attractive full colour photographs, offering inspiration and design advice throughout. From statuesque tropical plants such as phormiums and cannas planted to add a lush feel to a garden, textural plants such as the stately verbascums adorning gravel gardens, the beauty of a prairie planting adding a living, constantly moving aspect to a garden; punctuation marks such as trained box and cypresses are displayed, demonstrating the impact that can be made with evergreen forms when planted with thought to the overall design. Written for both beginners and more advanced gardeners, there is plenty of inspiration, good advice and planting ideas. Concluding on a helpful A-Z directory of architectural plants, this book offers far more than its title suggests. - Lucy Watson

It is now a widely accepted practice to treat the garden as another room, with carefully considered surfaces and special, large, structural plants, such as palms, topiarised boxes and exotic shrubs, to achieve volume, form and drama in the garden. This beautifully illustrated and authoritatively written new book assumes no prior knowledge of garden design or plant cultivation, and looks at a variety of different ways of bringing shape, style and life into the garden. Over 100 stunning photographs illustrate an informed text which covers both plants and sculptures. A useful plant directory gives care instructions and preferred growing conditions for all the plants mentioned in the text.