The Crafted Garden

The Crafted Gardenÿis the second book by exceptional new talent, Louise Curley, who shares her passion for natural garden craft with a wider audience. These fifty novel and attractive projects and techniques will give everyone a chance to feel clever about their creativity, as they transform twigs, sprigs, berries and stems into baubles, bunches, decorations and works of art.ÿ These are projects for indoors and out, arranged by the season, with galleries of projects to inspire, step by steps projects to copy and technique masterclasses to help readers develop their own skills. The Crafted Garden is about bringing the outdoors in and being inspired by nature. It's about recapturing the joy of making daisy chains, of nature tables of foraged finds as an antidote to modern life. This book relies on home-grown and foraged plant material to open up the imagination and capture seasonality, whether that's to add a touch of individuality to a dinner party or for making the perfect housewarming gift. Reuse, recycle recreate are the ideas behind each project. LOUISE CURLEYÿhas a growing audience through her widely read blog,ÿhttps://wellywoman.wordpress.comÿand features in Gardeners' World, Grow Your Own, Garden Answers and the Guardian. Her first book, The Cut Flower Patch, has received many plaudits, been translated across Europe, and this second combination of Louise's inspiration and Jason Ingram's photography makes a compelling and giftable package. Crafting projects using garden gatherings is an increasingly popular area of interest, as people extend from grow-your-own to make-your-own. The green credentials of this book, as with The Cut Flower Patch, will be self-evident.

“I want to put the mystery back into the heart of garden design, where it needs to be. It’s what lures you in through the gate, keeps you moving through the landscape, and fills you with excitement along the way. The sense of mystery is what turns a mere display of plants, paths, and ornaments into an adventure.” —James van Sweden Guided by world-renowned landscape architect James van Sweden and horticulture expert Tom Christopher, any gardener can learn the secrets of the gardener’s art and absorb the essence of inspired garden design. In their gifted hands, creating your own perfect garden, with its own alluring mysteries, turns out to be not only easy but a delight. Whether it’s a ten-foot-square city terrace or a ten-acre expanse, the same principles apply: the intelligent use of positive and negative space, of form and scale, of light and shadow, of rough and smooth textures. Do you want a garden you can immerse yourself in? A garden you can smell and listen to as well as observe? An exuberant garden or a contemplative garden? In this elegantly written and visually stunning book, van Sweden reveals the secrets of famous gardens around the world and encourages you to find inspiration in the arts—in painting (from America’s classic regional artists to the abstract expressionists), music (from classical to jazz), sculpture, even dance. He introduces you to famous artists who share how their art has influenced the design of their own gardens, and teaches you to think not in terms of borders and beds or even paths and meadows but of a tapestry woven from sky, trees, rocks, vines, flowers, grasses, and space. Richly illustrated throughout with magnificent photographs, The Artful Garden both tells and shows, sharing with beginning and experienced gardeners a wealth of inspiration and practical help. “What’s my message?” van Sweden asks in conclusion. The wise answer: “Don’t squander the potential for surprise and wonder.” This beautiful book guarantees everyone who reads it a priceless store of gardening wisdom.

The intimate Monk's Garden at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston embodies the design principles that inform the work of noted landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh. In Designing a Garden, Van Valkenburgh presents the design of the Monk's Garden at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, an intimate, walled garden that Laurie Olin has described as "a masterpiece, and not a minor one." The book documents the evolution of the garden's design, which is based on the concept of meandering paths through a dreamlike woodland to create a contemplative space. Sketches and models show how the idea was worked out, and lush photographs reveal the completed garden through the seasons. Van Valkenburgh's text explores the origins of his love of landscape and plants in his family farm in Upstate New York and how this has influenced his intuitions as a designer. He shares the full background story of the Monk's Garden, focusing on the experimental nature of design work as well as the challenges and satisfactions of the small scale and the historic and cultural context. Designing a Garden provides a unique first-person account of the design process from the most prominent landscape architects in the country.

An inspiring guide to transforming a small patch of ground, be it on an allotment or in a garden, into a cut flower patch which produces flowers from early spring to late autumn. Louise Curley looks at what makes a great cut flower, ideal conditions and soil and the tools you’ll need. There is advice on what to grow – from favourite hardy annuals, half hardies and biennials to spring and summer bulbs to adding foliage and fillers to balance arrangements – and advice on how and when to sow, how to support your plants and tips on weeding, deadheading, pests and feeding. Growing your own means greater choice, working with the seasons and super fresh flowers. Bought flowers can be expensive and the international flower trade often means dangerous chemicals, poor working conditions for growers, demands on water resources and the ‘flower miles’ of worldwide airfreight. This book will help you get the most from your patch with guidance on how to cut the flowers so that they keep producing more blooms and how to look after them once they have been picked. The Cut Flower Patch is completed by a selection of flower arranging tips and sample arrangements as well as tips on finding great containers, planting plans and a helpful year planner The Cut Flower Patch won the ‘Best Practical Book’ at the Garden Media Guild Awards, 2014 Jason Ingram won Photographer of the Year at the Garden Media Guild Awards, 2014

Your journey to a made-from-scratch outdoor space starts here. Transform your yard into a beautifully personalized retreat with 30 step-by-step projects! The finished pieces include creative pathways, unique support structures, DIY water features, clever containers, and special finishing touches that help bring your garden to life. With easy to follow instructions, lush color photography, and sidebars filled with helpful tips and additional ideas, Handmade Garden Projects is an inspiring step toward a more stylish space.

Outlines proven, sustainable methods for growing healthy food and plants that contribute to a healthy planet and a healthy you. Grow vigorous, more pest-resistant vegetables, flowers and ornamental plants by using complete and balanced nutrients -- far beyond the simplistic, imbalanced concept of NPK. Healthy soil doesn't happen just by composting, fertilizing or companion planting. It happens by using a holistic approach -- outlined in this book and crafted right in your garden.

Winner of the 2016 IPPY Award Gold Medal for Home & Garden 40 down-to-earth ideas for inspired garden crafts, including containers, handmade gifts, outdoor lighting, holiday decorations, and more. Blending the pleasures of gardening with the joys of crafting, Garden Made showcases over forty projects to adorn your garden, beautify your home, or give as gifts. Following the natural cycle of the garden in all its seasons—yes, even winter!—these garden-inspired projects, made by hand and finished with finesse, are the perfect way to express your love of the garden in fresh ways. With full step-by-step instructions, as well as gardening tips and advice, Garden Made will inspire seasoned and novice gardeners, and everyone in between.

A collection of seventy-five one-of-a-kind, affordable, and manageable DIY projects for the garden. The DIY craze has moved beyond the craft room and into the garden! Relying on easy-to-find, inexpensive, and repurposed materials, Handmade for the Garden is a treasure trove of original projects that not only make planting and growing efficient and successful but also add a personal touch to the gardenscape. Among the myriad projects in this hardworking book are mini hothouses; painted, stamped, and stenciled terracotta planters; hypertufa and cement pots and decorations; rustic and formal fencing and trellises; plant markers and stakes; and sieves and baskets. With Handmade for the Garden to inspire them, gardeners of all skill levels will be empowered to experiment with form and function to discover creative, artful ways to personalize and beautify their gardens with handmade objects. “This book is bursting with beautiful and creative ways of using everyday materials to liven up your outdoor spaces” ―Country Woman Magazine “This book adds new dimension to playing outside . . . if you love the garden, tinkering with tools and creating beautiful objects for out-of-doors, this is your book.” ―Examiner.com “Any person with a modicum of entry-level crafting skills can add individual flair to their garden following the descriptive step-by-step instructions. . . . Many illustrations depict precise details in the fabrication process. A source list, with website addresses, will prove useful to those who cannot find supplies at their local home improvement center.” ―Better Homes and Gardens / Country Gardens