Designing With Plants

Based on New Wave planting, a spectacular naturalistic style of landscape design that values plants for form, texture, and year-round interest, this book will help you create original and captivating gardens.

Piet Oudolf's gardens excite the senses and stir the emotions. Representing a giant step forward from the conventional colour-themed border, this new approach to gardening gives just as much emphasis to form, texture, light and movement as it does to colour. Individual plants are used as harmonious elements in luxuriant and atmospheric plantings. Written in collaboration with Noël Kingsbury, Designing with Plants is an informative and visually breathtaking study of Piet Oudolf's planting theory and practice, and it provides all the advice necessary to create the same effects in your own garden.Beginning with the building blocks of planting design, a visual sourcebook of Planting Palettes illustrates some of the huge choice available in terms of form, texture and colour. The following chapter explains, with the use of planting plans and diagrams, how to combine these basic elements to create stunning and sculptural planting schemes. Theory is put into practice in Planting Moods in which stunning photography demonstrates how to create a particular feeling or atmosphere, and Year-Round Planting emphasizes the importance of choosing plants to give value throughout the seasons so that they contribute to the garden in death as well as in life. Rounding off with a detailed directory of key plants, Designing with Plants is destined to become an inspiration to all gardeners who wish to create, in Piet's words, 'an impression and an expression of nature'.

"The idea for Plants in Design emerged from Brad E. Davis' and David Nichols' love for plants and well-designed landscapes, and a frustration with the lack of concise information organized for those creating plant compositions. Most landscape and garden design texts focus either on design principles or on plant materials. The unique design of this book provides a palette of options organized by mature size and scale, covering many genres of plants from grasses to herbaceous perennials, woody shrubs and trees, and even annuals and interior plants. All of these genres are necessary for consideration when composing a well-designed landscape. Plants in Design combines two fundamental components of landscape and garden design: (1) principles and uses of plant material (color, line, texture, etc.) in design, and (2) resource information for analyzing and selecting a broad range of plant materials, from annuals and ground covers to shrubs and trees, for Southern landscapes (USDA hardiness zones 6 to 9). Introductory chapters will discuss plants and their uses in creating outdoor landscapes in settings ranging from small-scale applications (courtyards, walkways, etc.) to medium- and large-scale projects (streetscapes, parks etc.). The book includes many native species that should be used more in designs to benefit native wildlife and also points out the dangers of many non-native plants widely used in the past and now threatening natural ecosystems. A large audience of designers and homeowners will be interested in a well-organized book on designing with plants, without the confusing obscurities found in so many horticultural books that list cultivars and varieties impossible to locate in the nursery industry. The text features 500 Southern landscape plants organized into 13 categories, ranging from large trees to ferns and flowering annuals. Plant accounts include such things as scientific and common names, hardiness zones, flowers and fruit, growing conditions, and pests and diseases. Color photographs (approximately 1,750) will depict plant shape, form, characteristics, and landscape use, both for identification and to envisions how individual plants might appears in a composition. The book includes more than black-and-white drawings, a hardiness zone map, glossary, bibliography, index and design use table for quick reference"--

ÒIf you want to successfully add more bold fronds and a tropical style to your landscape,ÊDesigning With PalmsÊis the comprehensive book for you.Ó ÑGardenistaÊ Palms are a landscape staple in warm, temperate climates worldwide. But these stunning and statement-making plants are large, expensive, and difficult to install, resulting in unique design challenges.ÊIn Designing with Palms, palm expert Jason Dewees details every major aspect of designing and caring for palms. This definitive guide shares essential information on planting, irrigation, nutrition, pruning, and transplanting. A gallery of the most important species showcases the range of options available, and stunning photographs by Caitlin Atkinson spotlight examples of home and public landscapes that make excellent use of palms.

“Indispensable.” —The New York Times Book Review Piet Oudolf’s gardens—unique combinations of long-lived perennials and woody plants that are rich in texture and sophisticated in color—are breathtaking and have deep emotional resonance. With Planting, designers and home gardeners can recreate these plant-rich, beautiful gardens that support biodiversity and nourish the human spirit. An intimate knowledge of plants is essential to the success of modern landscape design, and Planting shares Oudolf’s considerable understanding of plant ecology, explaining how plants behave in different situations, what goes on underground, and which species make good neighbors. Extensive plant charts and planting plans will help you choose plants for their structure, color, and texture. A detailed directory shares details like each plant’s life expectancy, the persistence of its seedheads, and its propensity to self-seed.

With literally hundreds of choices, it can be overwhelming to decide which perennials to plant in your garden. Nancy J. Ondra takes the stressful guesswork out of perennial garden planning by offering 52 vibrant designs, each made up of only five plants. Ondra tailors each simple design to a specific set of growing conditions, with plenty of tips to help your planting mature. Enjoy gardens full of sun-drenched blooming flowers and shade-loving greenery for years to come.

In this eloquent plea for compassion and respect for all species, journalist and gardener Nancy Lawson describes why and how to welcome wildlife to our backyards. Through engaging anecdotes and inspired advice, profiles of home gardeners throughout the country, and interviews with scientists and horticulturalists, Lawson applies the broader lessons of ecology to our own outdoor spaces. Detailed chapters address planting for wildlife by choosing native species; providing habitats that shelter baby animals, as well as birds, bees, and butterflies; creating safe zones in the garden; cohabiting with creatures often regarded as pests; letting nature be your garden designer; and encouraging natural processes and evolution in the garden. The Humane Gardener fills a unique niche in describing simple principles for both attracting wildlife and peacefully resolving conflicts with all the creatures that share our world.

Plant Design and Operations provides practical guidance on the design, operation, and maintenance of process facilities. The book is based on years of hands-on experience gathered during the design and operation of a wide range of facilities in many different types of industry including chemicals, refining, offshore oil and gas, and pipelines. The book helps managers, engineers, operators, and maintenance specialists with advice and guidance that can be used right away in working situations. Each chapter provides information and guidance that can be used immediately. For example, the chapter on Energy Control Procedures describes seven levels of positive isolation — ranging from a closed block valve all the way to double block and bleed with line break. The Safety in Design chapter describes topics such as area classification, fire protection, stairways and platforms, fixed ladders, emergency showers, lighting, and alarms. Other areas covered in detail by the book include security, equipment, and transportation. A logical, practical guide to maintenance task organization is provided, from conducting a Job Hazards Analysis to the issue of a work permit, and to the shutdown and isolation of equipment. Common hazards are covered in detail, including flow problems, high pressure, corrosion, power failure, and many more. Provides information to managers, engineers, operators and maintenance personnel which is immediately applicable to their operations Supported by useful, real-world examples and experience from a wide range of facilities and industries Includes guidance on occupational health and safety, industrial hygiene and personal protective equipment