Enormous disappoinment.......2007-05-15
I read the glowing reviews and purchased the book - it is a shame that no one mentioned the fact that 75% of the images used to illustrate the book are black and white photos. The book concerns gardens of the 20th century, and was published in the 21st century - someone needs to let the author know that photographic techniques have advanced quite a bit. At the very least it would have been nice to know that the book I was purchasing with over "200 superb photographs" were mostly low contrast black and white images. I suppose I should have paid more attention to the "printed on thick, glossy paper" part of the review as a warning.
A century of beautiful gardens.......2005-09-11
For over a century, Country Life magazine has been documenting the great houses and gardens in England. Their photographic library consists of over 10,000 images - this book presents 200 of them, beginning with the formal bedding gardens of Victorian England and progressing through the Arts and Crafts gardens of the Edwardian era as well as modernist gardens, artists gardens, wild gardens and cottage gardens. The emphasis is on the Arts and Crafts gardens and the influence that Gertrude Jeckyll and Edward Lutyens had on garden design. An entire chapter is devoted to Jeckyll - other chapters cover landscape architects who were influenced by Jeckyll and Lutyens, the popularity of borders, Sissinghurst and Hidcote, the Modernist Garden, Romance and Restraint (following World War II), From Smart to Art (Artist's Gardens) and the final chapter "Making it Over" which discusses how some of the major estate gardens have been saved and restored. The prose is very interesting and informative (although the author can be very opinionated) but the highlight of the book are the remarkable photographs. Most of them are black and white with the exception of a few duotones (of Jeckyll's gardens) and color photos in the last chapter. The book is beautiful, printed on heavy glossy paper and any garden lover will love it.
Book Description
How does a garden differ from other habitats, both natural and semi-natural? Is it true that the modern home garden is largely a collection of hybrids between exotic species? These and other questions are answered in this guide to plant fertilizing, watering, pest and disease control, pesticide usage, greenhouses, lawn mowing, digging, pruning, hedge clipping, protecting plants from wildlife and traps. It also points out the role of the gardener as a conservator and how the garden can be an inspiration for a naturalist.
Book Description
No devoted reader of Beverley Nichols will want to be without Garden Open Tomorrow. The sequel to his famous Garden Open Today (with its open invitation to readers everywhere to come see his garden for themselves), this is his final garden book and the summation of a long career spent enjoying and writing about gardens. Being Beverley Nichols, however, he cannot confine himself to a narrow discussion of gardening for long and provides entertaining asides on cats — including a hilarious critique of feline "ballet" performances — psychic phenomena, and the use of plants to commit murder.
Customer Reviews:
Top Cat Gardener Nichols.......2007-01-11
Beverley Nichols writes, as always, with gentle, dry humor in Garden Open Tomorrow. He provides a refreshing look at a bygone day and reminds the reader, by example, that a garden is, indeed, a place of constant renewal, even when it makes much work for the gardener. Among his several cat companions, he is tops!
Book Description
The gardens of the great Edwardian landscape designer, captured in all their glory in 200 color and duotone images from the archives of Country Life. Harold Peto (1854–1933) was one of the most celebrated landscape designers of the Edwardian era. A leading exponent of the ultra-romantic Italianate style so fashionable in the first two decades of the 20th century, he was also influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement. Much admired by the likes of Gertrude Jekyll and Edwin Lutyens, he was recognized as one of the most successful garden designers of his generation and enjoyed a formidable reputation both in England and the South of France. Here, garden historian Robin Whalley's illuminating commentary is brought to life by 200 ravishing photos depicting many of Peto's gardens in their heyday. A splendid volume for garden lovers, designers, and historians.
Book Description
Stroll through the pastoral English countryside, where lush, copious gardens abound. The perfect transport for the armchair traveler, those with a green thumb, or a fantasy for living with the world's greatest gardens. From Haddon Hall in Derbyshire to Pashly Manor in Sussex to Eye Abbey in Suffolk, the calendar features an extensive and popular array of important and spectacular gardens. Esteemed and award-winning photographer Clay Perry is the premier gardening photographer whose work has appeared in numerous gardening publications, including English Country Gardens, Traditional English Gardens, Old English Villages, The Glory of the English Garden, and most recently, Clay Perry's Fantastic Flowers.
Amazon.com
With a decided emphasis on cozy country charm, The English Country Cottage explores 25 delightful old cottages that have been updated with all the comforts of modern life and yet manage to retain much of their period flavor. Even the names ring with the unmistakable sound of the quaint English countryside: Smuggler's Haunt, Mustard Pot Hall, Wealden Close, Rose Cottage. Most are relatively traditional, though no less appealing, with lots of plump chintz cushions, botanical prints, nautical themes, pleasantly weathered furnishings, and hutches overflowing with crockery. But a few are refreshingly different, such as the vibrantly hued Cider-House Cottage, where the owner painted fanciful designs all over each room to warm the cold look of the stone walls, or Folly Cottage, with its bright red walls and many Gothic accents. The clear photographs display plenty of good ideas for mimicking the style, but by and large readers must extract these ideas themselves since the text focuses much more on examining these particular cottages (what renovations were needed to make the old structures livable today; descriptions of garden designs or color scheme choices) than on analyzing the key design elements or explaining how to re-create the specific effects. --Amy Handy
Customer Reviews:
cottages to die for.......2007-09-04
u can feel the charisma with each breathtaking picture of charming cottages and gardens.it makes u want to jump in and get warm and cozy.even from across the room this book relaxes u.a 100% certifiable coffee table legend.
epitome of English eccentricity, cosiness, and charm.......2001-08-01
This truly delightful book shows cottage interiors that reflect the pasttimes, habits, and way of living that one likes to believe are essentially "English". These homes look as if they are actually lived in and all exhibit that special British propensity for comfort blended with eccentricity. The ubiquitous Aga is featured in a number of the kitchens, but there are also enough 'jolts' in the form of colour use and collections to make this book memorable and somehow fresh. A book I refer to again and again and well worth adding to your collection - almost a reference on English cottage style. Very good value.
Book Description
A glorious record of some of England’s finest lost gardens, preserved in all their former splendor in 160 period photographs.
Customer Reviews:
The land of fantasy and fairy tale.......2006-08-01
Being such a splendid book, my only want is that it should be in colours. The book captures the spirit of each garden with pictures and words and it feels like reading a fairy tale.
It also captures an era lost to us now, of grand houses and parties, ladies in white dresses and men smoking cigars and the act of creating exactly the garden fantasy you want whatever the cost. Some are wild, some are amazing, some ar just beautiful but all very interesting and nostalgic to look upon.
Average customer rating:
- The Sublime & the Obscure
- Poetry
|
Le Désert de Retz
Diana Ketcham
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
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| Gardening & Horticulture
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ASIN: 0262111861 |
Book Description
The Désert de Retz, the supreme surviving example of the folly garden, is one of the most amply and beautifully documented of France's historic gardens. Since 1990, when the Arion Press published the first book on this garden outside of Paris, the Désert de Retz has been transformed by an ongoing restoration. That limited, fine-press edition is long out of print and much sought after. This new edition reproduces in a smaller oblong format the material in the original book. Diana Ketcham's text has been expanded and updated to reflect recent scholarship and physical changes to the site. There are also new photographs that show the restored landscape and the complete restoration of the folly known as the Broken Column to its original state as a false ruin.
The 100 illustrations consist of views of the construction of the park (1774-1789); models from antiquity and analogues in contemporary gardens; facsimiles of the 26 engravings of the garden that appeared in Georges Le Rouge's Détails de nouveaux jardins a la mode: Jardins anglo-chinois, the most important illustrated book on gardens of the eighteenth century; and photographs of the buildings and grounds taken by the British photographer Michael Kenna. These beautiful photographs, together with Diana Ketcham's carefully researched text, capture the haunting atmosphere of the place during its transition from the romantic, overgrown state of benign neglect, which so intrigued the Surrealists, to the clearing and building that today preserve a balance between the encroachments of unruly vegetation and disintegration.
Customer Reviews:
The Sublime & the Obscure.......2006-02-19
Ms. Ketcham has given full breath to the story of Le Desert de Retz, the fanstastic late 18th C. creation of Monsieur de Monville. The place and the book don't quite occupy the space they should in general conciousness, but it's interesting to note by whom Msr de Monville was inspired (Piranesi and others) and who he inspired (Thomas Jefferson's UVA Library). Ms. Ketcham reviews each of the estate's main buildings and follies and creates a picture of how Le Desert came to be, how it nearly came to destruction, and how it was thankfully saved.
The broken column at Desert de Retz is for me, a must see in my lifetime, largely as a result of this book. Do not mistake this for a coffe table book, but do take it for a work of beauty and insight...The reproductions of the vintage etching are very good, and the contemporary photographs by Michael Kenna are excquisite. The vintage photographs from the late 19th & early 20th century are an added bonus. It's easy to see why the surrealists were inspired by Le Desert, my only complaint is that I would have liked to know a bit more about any surrealist adventures (if any) at Le Desert...
Poetry.......2003-09-05
Intrigued by the cover I bought the book sight unseen online and was very surprised to find it as beautiful inside. Diana has done a remarkable job getting the message across. This book is a pleasure to pick up at any given moment and just fantasize.
Book Description
Based on the "capitation" method used in the health-care field, Dr. John Whitcomb's six-step program begins by giving kids control of the money parents would normally spend on them. Families design and sign a contract detailing their mutual responsibilities, and parents agree not to interfere with their children's fiscal choices. Teenagers need to know about money management, yet these skills are not taught in schools, but through real life experience-and here is a proven method to put your kids' financial heads on!
Humorous and realistic, this step-by-step plan explains:
* How to calculate the first budget
* When to start teaching children about money
* How many times to expect a child to lose his ATM card in the first year (three)
* And other invaluable lessons
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Advice.......2005-08-07
If I could apply everything I read, I would be a better parent and my kids would become much more responsible. Step-by-step the book gives advice on how to raise your kids to be responsible with their finances.
Book Description
"Capitation" is a financial term used in the health-care field to describe a contract in which doctors and hospitals are paid a fixed amount each month to care for a population of patients. Humorous and realistic, this innovative book applies the same concept to families, showing parents how to teach teens money management by giving them control of the money they would normally spend on them for school, fees, travel, clothing, and entertainment. Here is a step-by-step plan for guiding parents painlessly through the process of teaching their children financial responsibility: teens sign a contract detailing their responsibilities, and within the parameters of this contract, parents agree not to interfere with their fiscal choices.
Customer Reviews:
Kids 'n Money.......2002-11-03
Whitcomb's ideas are generally intelligent. He signs contracts with his kids to teach them the value of money and his concept is sound. Learning to be frugal (not wasteful) at an early age makes it much easier to become a successful handler of money in your adult years. My only beef is the author's frequent suggestion that charity comes first. It is much more reasonable to put away part of your earnings as savings first, then live within your means, and finally give to charity, if you are able.
I didn't like a lot of his ideas.......2001-12-14
Chapter 1: What Ideas Are We Working With Here?
Chapter 2: What Is the Right Age to Start and How Much?
Chapter 3: How Do You Calculate the First Budget?
Chapter 4: The First Clothing Contract: Getting "The Card"
Chapter 5: My ATM Card is Broken
Chapter 6: Stepping Up to the Next Level: A Global Budget
Chapter 7: Going to the Prom for a Buck
Chapter 8: Lunch Money
Chapter 9: Will You Cut My Hair. Dad?
Chapter 10: The Real Cost of a Trip to Walgreens
Chapter 11: What Do I Need a Checkbook For?
Chapter 12: Is There Any Extra Work Around Here?
Chapter 13: Be Kind
Chapter 14: Charity, Savings, IRAs, and College
Chapter 15: Insurance: Medical, Auto, Home, Life
Chapter 16: You Gotta Talk the Talk and Walk the Walk
Chapter 17: What's the Least I Can Do to Get the Most Effect?
One of the few things about the book I liked was the 4 sample contracts he has presented. The 4 contracts were basic clothing, budget, safe driving and car use.
Some of his ideas I didn't agree with were
He mentioned giving a 9th grader an ATM card
He doesn't say much on how you can teach young children/schoolage kids on how to save money
He mentioned giving a 6yr. old a $6.00 a wk. allowance
He mentioned giving a 11th grader a credit card
EXCELLENT CONCEPT - IF THE CONTRACT HOLDS!.......2001-04-07
Capitate in this book means a contractual arrangement whereby you pay to your child a specific sum of money each month to cover the cost of living that you would normally pay - clothes, food, entertainment, transportation, etc.
In mutual agreement, I actually tried this idea with one of my daughters many years ago, long before this concept was ever printed in a book. The "contract" was for four weeks. By week four, there were no new chic, trendy clothes coming from her favourite shop. While "all the other kids" spent Saturday night at the movies, she pumped up the volume on her stereo, had a stimulating conversation with her dog and the four walls (words which I shall never repeat) and drowned her sorrow in a pint of ice cream! She washed her hair with bubble bath because she ran out of shampoo. The charge to use the washer and dryer was $2, which she no longer had, so she washed her jeans and t-shirt by hand, also in bubble bath...and chipped a nail! About this time, she discovered fruit loops no longer look cute 'cause they float and cease to be comfort food after the the third meal of the day. I would have traded her for Oscar the Grouch in a heartbeat. One month was all it took to learn the value of money. Today, twenty years later, we can still sit down with coffee in hand and share a laugh over all that bubble bath we went through. Tough love, maybe, but a valuable life lesson was learned. Today, she is a married lady with her own personal finances, zero debt and can manage money like a pro.
While not all parents will agree with the approach in "Capitate Your Kids," it is an excellent book based on much the same principle I have just described. The book is a valuable tool in teaching children, especially teens, the value of a dollar and how to manage money - a realistic life lesson that, unfortunately, is not taught in schools.
Exceptionally well written, and superbly presented.......2001-01-12
Teaching children how to properly deal with money and financial planning is a fundamental parental responsibility. In Capitate Your Kids: Teaching Your Teens Financial Independence is an ideal blueprint for successfully caring out this parental fiscal/educational task. It also has the added benefit of helping to alleviate the financial burden of supporting an adolescent in today's consumer oriented society. "Capitation" mans to contract with a child for a fixed amount each month to care for their needs. Included in this written agreement are teen responsibilities for such things as shopping for the best price and keeping receipts. Parents agree not to interfere with teen choices. If the teen has money left over from the month, then he or she can keep it, saving it toward future purchases. If they run out of money before the end of the month, the must do without -- exactly as adults must in a similar situation. Capitate Your Kids is exceptionally well written, superbly presented, and highly recommended for children needing to acquire financial management skills and disciplines so necessary to succeed throughout life as an adult -- and eventually a parent with children of their own.
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