A gifted teacher, Haywood (Stone in the Garden) begins with a deceptively simple idea: "Your house is the center of your garden." His exploration of what that means both as "an aesthetic notion" and a "practical tool" gives the reader a solid foundation in home garden design. In six chapters devoted to the main locations for the garden—front, side, back (including patios and terraces), ells or courtyards, between buildings and around outbuildings—readers learn how to create inviting outdoor spaces, solve common problems and establish a unifying flow. Hayward's examples from his work as a prominent garden designer illuminate principles that home gardeners can apply to their own circumstances. He prescriptively presents welcome solutions to eyesores such as "power lines and meter boxes, propane tanks, satellite dishes, mounded leach fields" and more. While the book includes many helpful planting suggestions and plant lists (as well as 200 helpful photos and drawings), this is not a what-to-plant-where guide. Hayward's approach is fundamentally architectural, and he warns not to "expect all the answers to rely solely on plants." For Hayward, a garden is "made up of paths and sitting areas among trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals in pots, furniture, and garden ornaments." Numerous detailed watercolors and color photographs show the interplay of plants with structural elements such as paths, steps, arbors, fences and stone walls. The reader who follows Hayward's advice to "bring your creative mind to our images" will be rewarded with "no end of springboards for your own garden designs." (June)
