Beyond the garden Designing home landscapes with natural systems

Designer Davidsen follows debuts with a rewarding "glimpse into the creativity of some of today's most artful and innovative landscape designers." As journalist Timothy A. Schuler notes in his introduction, "each project takes the climate crisis as its backdrop" and finds creative ways of making gardens planet-friendly. A desert garden in Santa Fe, N.Mex., for instance, channels storm water to its greener areas. A spot in Santa Barbara, Calif., consists of "over two hundred cubic yards of sandstone" found under a city lot, while a lush 400-acre "anti-garden" in Sussex, England, uses rewilding methods yet is "neither unmanaged or passive." In Millersville, Pa., a meadow-inspired garden uses a seeding technique in which "each time the client pulls a weed... the new plant that emerges is more likely to be a native species rather than a weed." Also spotlighted are a New York City terrace that uses native wildflowers to give stopover opportunities to migratory birds and butterflies, and a rural plot in Girard, Ill., that features a variety of prairie grasses. Many of the gardens use similar techniques--taking pollinators into consideration, planting native species, and tending to soil health--but the most fascinating part of the book is seeing those methods at work in so many different ecosystems. Armchair gardeners will eat this up. (Oct.)

Landscape designer Davidsen shares widely diverse projects that highlight the importance of ecological landscape layouts. Beautiful photos showcase each project, with a variety of green style elements to complement each location without disrupting the environment. Each project is described in detail about the owner's vision for the land and how the design team incorporates those desires using ecological landscape design tailored to each individual property. This book is an inspiration from innovative designers who focus on restoration of the land, conservation, and rewilding the landscape with use of native plants and green roofs. VERDICT While these projects are unique to each location, thus making duplication of ideas not realistic for readers, it does provide good insight into creating within a natural environment and ideas for the advanced home landscaper.--Loni Wetherell