The intimate garden Twenty years and four seasons in our garden

Talk about extreme makeovers! Twenty years ago, the Haywards had just moved into a ramshackle, 200-year-old Vermont farmhouse, and looked out onto one and a half acres of junk, debris, and brambles. But they also saw unlimited potential and the foundation of what could, and did, become one spectacular garden. The authors now share their personal -experiences of transforming a seemingly unmanageable wilderness into a magnificent paradise. Inspired by the itineraries used by intrepid travelers, the Haywards developed just such a plan for navigating their garden and accomplishing extensive renovations, a concept they espouse and explain in this rewarding guide designed to help readers manage their own gardening challenges. Filled with bits of wisdom, and supported by exceptionally detailed lists of plants, projects, schedules, and techniques, as well as dazzling photographs of the garden in every season, this look into the special world of two of gardening's most respected designers is a treat for every serious, or beginning, gardener. --Carol Haggas Copyright 2005 Booklist

Husband and wife Gordon and Mary Hayward invite readers to learn from their mistakes and triumphs throughout two decades of creating and tending to their home's one and a half acres of gardens. The land outside their old Vermont farmhouse was once overrun with brambles, buried beneath abandoned cars and hidden under rotted mulch. Together, the Haywards designed a set of connected yards and gardens-complete with sitting and dining areas, water features, topiaries and outdoor sculpture-that mixed the indigenous New England landscape with Mary's English upbringing. This is not a project-by-project how-to book but rather a detailed look at the techniques the Haywards used to create their own gorgeous garden. Their methods promise to help amateur landscape designers create spaces that are unique, personal and harmonious with the surroundings. Using their own garden as an example, the Haywards demonstrate the importance of controlling edges, lines, transitions and focal points. Two hundred color photographs, including seasonal shots and before-and-afters, offer proof of the effectiveness of the Haywards's intuitive design philosophy. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved