THE BEST OF EVERYTHING A GARDENER COULD WISH FOR

In more than forty years of travel, Stafford Cliff—designer and gardener—has gathered a planet’s worth of inspiration on elements to enhance a garden. The result is 1000 Garden Ideas, a visual encyclopedia bursting with just about every garden idea ever invented by man or inspired by nature, artfully presented in more than 1000 photographs.

Plantings may be the essence of the garden, whether it’s a tiny patch in the backyard or acres of land extending for as far as the eye can see. But elements worthy of the planting can take a garden to unique and exciting new heights.

With a designer’s eye and a gardener’s heart, Cliff has assembled an endless array of ideas, from all over the world, to make a garden more personal: fences and pools, paths and benches, statues and waterfalls, borders and bridges— even birdhouses and follies. Within each category are hundreds of illustrated examples, ranging from traditional to contemporary; from simple to complex; from homey and rustic to downright Byzantine. It’s all here, whatever your taste, your need, or your fantasy.

And if you’re breathless with so many choices, Stafford Cliff is there to help you arrive at the best decisions for your own particular space, through a series of questions:

•Do you want privacy or maximum light?
•Do you envision a contrast to the style of your home or neighborhood, or complete harmony?
•Do you prefer peace and quiet, or the soothing sounds of rustling leaves, bubbling water, and bird song? There’s glorious visual advice on plants and plantings: what kinds of containers to put them in; how to use them in your space; what to surround them with; and much more. In addition, an extensive list of suppliers makes it possible for you to turn inspiration into reality. If you’re a seasoned gardener, or even if you’re an aspiring one, this is a book for you, lush with ideas for the garden of your dreams.

Table of Contents

Introduction 10
Gates 12
Walls & Fences 20
Tiles, Paths & Paving 34
Edging 46
Steps 52
Pots 60
Chairs, Seats & Benches 80
Statues & Other Objects 104
Rocks 120
Water: Pools, Fountains & Bridges 128
Pergolas, Gazebos & Follies 148
Parterres, Hedges & Topiary 158
Vistas 168
Color 180
Useful Addresses 204
Acknowledgments 208

THE BEST OF EVERYTHING A GARDENER COULD WISH FOR

In more than forty years of travel, Stafford Cliff—designer and gardener—has gathered a planet’s worth of inspiration on elements to enhance a garden. The result is 1000 Garden Ideas, a visual encyclopedia bursting with just about every garden idea ever invented by man or inspired by nature, artfully presented in more than 1000 photographs.

Plantings may be the essence of the garden, whether it’s a tiny patch in the backyard or acres of land extending for as far as the eye can see. But elements worthy of the planting can take a garden to unique and exciting new heights.

With a designer’s eye and a gardener’s heart, Cliff has assembled an endless array of ideas, from all over the world, to make a garden more personal: fences and pools, paths and benches, statues and waterfalls, borders and bridges— even birdhouses and follies. Within each category are hundreds of illustrated examples, ranging from traditional to contemporary; from simple to complex; from homey and rustic to downright Byzantine. It’s all here, whatever your taste, your need, or your fantasy.

And if you’re breathless with so many choices, Stafford Cliff is there to help you arrive at the best decisions for your own particular space, through a series of questions:

•Do you want privacy or maximum light?
•Do you envision a contrast to the style of your home or neighborhood, or complete harmony?
•Do you prefer peace and quiet, or the soothing sounds of rustling leaves, bubbling water, and bird song? There’s glorious visual advice on plants and plantings: what kinds of containers to put them in; how to use them in your space; what to surround them with; and much more. In addition, an extensive list of suppliers makes it possible for you to turn inspiration into reality. If you’re a seasoned gardener, or even if you’re an aspiring one, this is a book for you, lush with ideas for the garden of your dreams.

Every country has its tradition of small garden structures—as a place to take tea or take in the view, play music, or write a great novel. A pavilion can provide shade in the summer or shelter from a storm, and the perfect focus for a garden party. It's a chance to set your architectural imagination free. A garden structure can be as simple as a poolside cabana, a rustic miniature English cottage, a sturdy Dutch gazebo, or a tranquil Japanese tea house. Such historic forms are inspiration for those who want a sylvan refuge in which to work, write, or entertain friends. Indeed, the garden structure is a building that brings you closer to nature. More practical are those garden structures that, while sometimes framing a view, serve primarily to support vines, roses, and other climbing plants. These are the arches, the pergolas, and the arbors, whose appeal lies not only in their appearance from a distance but in the experience of walking or sitting beneath them. Although a long pergola is suitable only for larger spaces, or to transform an awkward area along one side of a town house garden, an arch is ideal for creating a focal point, embracing a seat, or showcasing a spectacular flowering climber.

A complete sourcebook of inspiration and reference.

For over 40 years author and innovative designer Stafford Cliff has visited hundreds of gardens in the course of his travels around the world. With his unique designer's eye and his gardener's imagination, he has photographed the cleverest solutions, the most original choices—the best of everything a gardener could dream of.

This fascinating book brings together those images in kaleidoscopic juxtaposition, creating, for the first time, a complete sourcebook of inspiration and reference on all the best ideas for outdoor spaces—the plants, the paths, the ponds, and the pots are all shown. And if you've ever thought of a new front fence, an ornamental gate, a water feature in a container, a sundial, or a seat, they're here, too. A veritable visual scrapbook to delight the eye, with the quirky alongside the classic, the modern set against the rustic. And, as practical as it is inspiring, the book also includes a directory of suppliers so that readers can turn inspiration into reality.

• An unrivaled source of ideas for every possible element of the garden
• The quirky, the classic, the modern, the traditional, all brought together in this informational and inspirational collection
• A unique archive of photographs, taken all over the world.

Design consultant and art director Stafford Cliff has spent a lifetime designing catalogs and magazines relating to the home. Working with Sir Terence Conran he produced the very first Habitat catalogs and, in 1974, designed The House Book, one of the first truly design-led guides to interior furnishing, which became the biggest selling home book of all time. Since then he has produced dozens of books on aspects of design and the home— most recently The Way We Live, a remarkable 480-page survey of homes around the world, and two titles for Artisan: Home, a groundbreaking investigation into how we feel about our homes, and 1000 Garden Ideas, a visual sourcebook featuring garden and patio elements from around the world.

Publisher: Artisan
Distributor: Barnes and Noble
Publication Date: 02-04-2008
Pages: 208
Measurements: 12.13in X 9.31in X .88in X 3.06lb