Southeast Home Landscaping » (Second)

Roger Holmes is the founding editor of Fine Gardening magazine. He co-edited the monumental Taylor's Master Guide to Gardening and other highly regarded gardening books, and produced the seven-book regional landscaping series of which this book is part.

Rita Buchanan is a lifelong gardener with degrees in botany and an encyclopedic knowledge of plants. She worked with Roger Holmes to edit Fine Gardening magazine and co-edit several books, including Taylor's Master Guide to Gardening. She is the author of numerous award-winning books and is a contributor to many gardening magazines.

Southeast Home Landscaping

• Approximately 400 full-color photos and illustrations

• 54 designs covering the most common situations, such as front entries, foundation plantings, patios, and steep slopes.

• Detailed descriptions of more than 200 plants that will grow well in your region, plus all you need to know to select, plant, and care for them.

• Step-by-step instructions for building structures, such as paths, patios, ponds, walls, fences, arbors, and trellises.

Library Journal

Your yard is a blank canvas just waiting for inventive design and plantings. Enter Holmes (founding editor, Fine Gardening magazine), horticultural consultant and photographer Buchanan (A Weaver's Garden), and Walheim (Citrus), who offer a succession of possible landscaping designs in this neat and polished series. Simple projects such as fencing, arbors, and pathways are logically and clearly illustrated. Each volume is broken down into three parts-"Design Portfolio," "Guide to Installations," and "Plant Portraits"-and each features approximately 50 designs, 200 plants, and 430 photos and paintings. Selection and seasonal care are individualized for the region. These lovely volumes are revisions, with first editions published between 1998 and 2001. Highly recommended but purchase according to your location. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

SOUTHEAST HOMELANDSCAPING

Table of Contents

About This Book 8

As Your Landscape Grows 12

PORTFOLIO OF DESIGNS

Southern Hospitality  20

• Make a pleasant passage to your front door

A Foundation with Flair 24

• Flowers and foliage dress up a raised entry

Formal and Friendly 28

• Mix classic symmetry and comfortable plants

Angle of Repose 32

• Make a back-door garden for a sheltered niche

An Eye-Catching Corner 36

• Beautify a boundary with easy-care plants

Streetwise and Stylish 40

• Give your curbside strip a new look

Landscaping a Low Wall 44

• A colorful two-tier garden replaces a bland slope

“Around Back” 48

• Dress up the family’s day-to-day entrance

Make a Fresco of Flowers 52

• A vertical garden beautifies a blank wall

A Shady Hideaway 56

• Create a fragrant oasis in a corner of your backyard

Create a “Living” Room 60

• A patio garden provides privacy and pleasure

Splash Out 64

• Make a handsome water garden in a few weekends

Garden in the Round 68

• Create a planting with several attractive faces

A Beginning Border 72

• Flowers and a fence make a traditional design

Back to Nature 76

• Create a wooded retreat in your backyard

Make a No-Mow Slope 80

• A terraced planting transforms a steep site

Under the Old Shade Tree 84

• Create a cozy garden in a cool spot

A Pleasant Passage 88

• Reclaim a narrow side yard for a shade garden

Down to Earth 92

• Harmonize your deck with its surroundings

At Woods’ Edge 96

• Shrub border borrows a backdrop from nature

Gateway Garden 100

• Arbor and plantings make a handsome entry

A Postal Planting 104

• Make your daily mail run a perennial pleasure

Elegant Symmetry 108

• Make a formal garden for the backyard

Garden by the Pool 112

• Enhance your poolside pleasures

A Tropical Corner 116

• Showcase exotic foliage and flowers

Greeting Place 120

• Make the most of a small lot with an entry garden

Patio Oasis 124

• A free-standing patio offers open-air activities

GUIDE TO INSTALLATION

Organizing Your Project 130

• Introducing the tasks involved in a landscape installation. How to organize them for best results.

Clearing the Site 132

• Removing turf, weeds, and other unwanted material.

Making Paths and Walkways 134

• Choosing materials, preparing the base, installing edgings, laying the surface.

Laying a Patio 140

• Employing same materials and techniques as for walks and paths. Ensuring proper drainage.

Installing a Pond 142

• Siting, excavating, installing a flexible liner or fiberglass shell. Growing pond plants.

Building a Retaining Wall 146

• Laying out, excavating, and assembling a precast modular wall system and steps.

Fences, Arbors, and Trellises 150

• Selecting wood, layout, setting posts, basic construction. Plans for building the fences, trellises, and arbors shown in the Portfolio of Designs.

Preparing the Soil for Planting 166

• Digging and improving the soil. Edging for beds.

Buying Plants 170

• Where to go, what to look for, how to get the best quality and price.

The Planting Process 171

• When to plant, steps in the planting process, spacing. Annuals as fillers.

Planting Basics 173

• Plants in containers, balled-and-burlapped plants, bare-root plants, ground covers, and bulbs.

Basic Landscape Care 175

• Mulches and fertilizers. Controlling weeds. Watering.

Caring for Woody Plants 179

• Basic pruning for trees, shrubs, vines, and roses. Making a hedge.

Caring for Perennials 184

• Routine care, pruning, dividing.

Problem Solving 186

• Understanding common problems with animal and insect pests and diseases. Winter damage.

PLANT PROFILES

Descriptions of all the plants shown in the Portfolio of Designs, plus information on how to plant and care for them. 190

Glossary 230

Photo Credits 232

Index 232