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Plant-Driven Design

Creating Gardens That Honor Plants, Place, and Spirit

Hardback , 284 pages  (also available in Electronic book text)
ISBN: 9780881928778 (0881928771)
Published by Timber Press
$34.95(US) $39.95(CAN)

Review Quote

“. . . gives plants room to flourish. . . the new book is packed with [Lauren Springer Ogden’s] lush photographs. . . .”

“The book pushes toward the sensual and involved part of gardening, toward pleasure and intimacy. Gardens ought to be places of change: hourly, daily, seasonally and over the years. It’s heartening to see a great big glossy design book championing our urges to get out and touch our plants.”

“[In] their fascinating book… the Ogdens explore how a garden can engage the senses, and seduce and enchant one with a sense of arrival and discovery.  Through it all, they aim to help gardeners create gardens that play to their plant’s strengths.”

"The must-have (old school) garden book of the season."

“A powerful argument for letting the plants lead the design.... Don’t try to digest this book all at once. It is meant to be dipped into, savored, consulted for advice and lived with, like an old friend.”

“This could be one of the best garden books of the first decade of the 21st century. Combining an ecological approach to plant selection with a strong sense of the aesthetic possibilities of plants, it adds an element that is all too rarely considered—that of how plant and gardens fit into and complement their surrounding landscape, and celebrate regional distinctiveness.”

"No matter what part of the country you (or the gardener on your gift list) may call home, this book is sure to offer plenty of inspiration.”

“An excellent book to add to your library…great advice for gardeners of all levels.”

Plant-Driven Design champions the “plant-it-instead-of-pave-it” point of view better than any book to date.”

“The first chapter sets out to secure a thought process that puts plants first in any approach to design. It then flows effortlessly into a gallery of gardens and plant portraits interspersed with useful listings of plants for every situation…a great source of inspiration for anyone serious about designing a garden.”

"A treasure trove of photographs and ideas for ecological and glorious home landscaping."

"What the opinionated authors think doesn’t work is described as fully as what they like, and they don’t pull punches. … [T]he strong point of view makes the book a better read than most of its coffee-table-worthy brethren."

"[The book] focuses on how to bridge the gap between designers who can’t garden and gardeners who can’t design."

"In ideas, scope and detail, Plant-Driven Design embraces and transcends regional differences.  By reclaiming gardens as a home to plants, this groundbreaking work will restore vitality to garden design and profoundly affect how we experience gardens."

"This book places plants at the heart of the garden instead as afterthoughts of the design."

"The Ogdens have produced a terrific book … one that is going to be a welcome addition to my library of well-used garden references."

"Brimming with more than 300 of Lauren's lush photographs, the thought behind this book is that landscapes are emotionally successful only when plants are given the respect they deserve."

"Lauren's photography, alone, will inspire readers to a healthier and more stimulating approach to garden-making, where plants and nature take the lead."

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