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Preface
In my many years as a gardener and certified landscape designer, I have met very few people who are satisfied with their landscapes. I see so many frustrated homeowners who know they want to make changes but have no idea where to start or what questions to ask. And while there are hundreds of books that talk about various aspects of the landscape, few tie them all together in a way that gives you the confidence to embark on such a project. In this book, I hope to give you the knowledge you’ll need to begin that journey. The process will leave you with a garden that brings you endless joy and pleasure and a great sense of accomplishment for making a positive change to your surroundings.

This is a very personal book. The process of landscape reinvention can reveal a lot about yourself. You will need to think long and hard about who you are and what your tastes, needs, and wants are in relation to your property. If you fail to do this, your new landscape will not fulfill your aspirations. Landscaping can be just decorative or it can be substantive, a fulfilling extension of your home. Whether you call it renovation or reinvention, the key is acknowledging that you want change in your landscape, that you are no longer willing to accept the ordinary and the common. You want your landscape to make you feel good.

This process may seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be if you know which questions to ask. I’ll pose many of them for you. Your job, then, will be information gathering, and coming up with the answers. If you divide your landscape into sections and prioritize the order in which you want to change things, the task will not seem as daunting as you think. You will have a plan with a starting point and then successive phases.

We will begin where all successful projects begin: with a focus on your goals and budget. We can then concentrate on evaluating the components of your existing landscape, and suggest ways to enhance what you already have. Finally, we will take a hard look at the plants you have and think about new ones that can be added. As you move from kickoff to touchdown, you will come up with a strategy to balance out the demands of time and money, asking many important questions along the way. How much do you want to tackle yourself? Can you create impact inexpensively? Should you pay for expertise? What are the differences between a landscape designer and a landscape architect? How can you best make use of that expertise?

Writing this book has called on all of the knowledge and experience I’ve accumulated in my forty-eight years as an obsessed gardener and forty years as a landscape designer. I’m happy to share with you and hope that reading the book will help you achieve your goals. My gardening and design experience has mostly been gathered in zone 6 where I live, but the principles of landscape design are universal. Obviously, if you live in more extreme climates, you will have to substitute plant material that is suitable to your zone, but the basic forms, textures, colors, and sizes can almost always be found in plants that grow well in your region.

There is a wealth of information in other books and online about the many aspects of horticulture and landscape design upon which I have touched only lightly. Take advantage of the bibliography and resources to broaden your understanding of particular subjects in which you are interested. The principles of landscape design are a starting place but there are no design police who will arrest you if you do not always follow the rules or make up some of your own. Remember that what you create is yours and reflects who you are. So take your time, and have some fun along the way.