Book Description
Just as stylish accessories bring a room to life, gorgeous planted containers are the finishing touch for every garden home. With this book, America’s favorite gardener, P. Allen Smith, shows how to create a beautiful container garden in a matter of minutes, in an innovative recipe-style format complete with ingredients lists, step-by-step planting instructions, and advice on how to effectively display these colorful accents.
Beautiful and versatile, these container designs are the perfect solution for decks, porches, balconies, and gardens that need a focal point or a splash of color. Each container recipe fulfills one of the 12 Principles of Design that Allen established in his first bestselling book, P. Allen Smith’s Garden Home. As a result, the container will wonderfully frame the view from a window, offer a welcoming reception in an entryway, help to establish a sense of rhythm along a walkway, or extend your home’s color and décor into the garden. Allen shares the secrets he uses to make his eye-catching arrangements, as well as special planting and display tips for placement in your garden. The designs range from sophisticated to casual, yet the instructions are so easy to follow that you can assemble these containers in no time at all—even with little or no gardening experience. There are recipes for every season of the year, to ensure that you can enjoy lush container gardens year-round.
A special resource section includes a complete plant directory, tips on how to select the right container to complement your garden’s style, grooming and plant-care guidelines, and basic instructions for planting pots, window boxes, and hanging baskets. Lavishly illustrated with more than 150 photographs, this book is sure to inspire seasoned gardeners as well as beginners interested in enhancing the beauty of their Garden Home with P. Allen Smith’s signature container designs.
Book Description
This book features all-new projects aimed at the hottest trend in garden and yard decoration - rustic structures and accents made from green wood, soldered copper, weathered wood, rough cedar, unfinished iron, and other common materials. Rustic ornaments and structures now dominate most upscale landscape centers and arboretums - some structures sell for hundreds of dollars, using materials that can be acquired for a few dollars. Given the expense of these pieces of yard art, the cost savings offered by doing it yourself are enormous. The book opens with an idea section demonstrating how rustic structures and accents can transform the look of a landscape. This is followed by a section showing where to find green wood and other materials, and how to work with them. The heart of the book is 20 plans and step-by-step directions for a wide range of projects. Projects include: rustic bird houses and wildlife feeders made from weathered cedar; arbors and trellises made from rough willow branches; a garden bench made from bark-on branches shaped by an ax; a garden obelisk made from soldered copper allowed to weather; woven-twig garden edging. The projects are remarkably easy to build, and most can be completed in a single weekend. Dawn King has taught the art of building bark-on garden art pieces at the McLaughlin Woodworking Museum in Kingston, Ontario, and her work has been featured in magazines. She lives in Perth, Ontario.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent book.......2007-06-30
Great book. Has good instructions and lots of projects. I have already built a 2 trellises based on this book, and am getting ready to start on some chairs.
Alot of fun!.......2007-05-17
I just attended my 3rd course with Dawn King. If you can take a course with her it is well worth it! The book is easy to follow and the projects actually end up looking like the pictures in the book!! Dawn is a super teacher with a light hearted approach. 5 stars for her and her book.
Disappointing.......2006-08-09
This book has photos of some neat projects, however, there is one page of basic 'instructions' which is not helpful at all. There is no advice on selecting wood/branches, bending them, curing them, finishing/varnishing etc., nor is there instruction (except for screws and a very basic tenon on the aforementioned instruction page)on how to attach the pieces. The only 'directions' are simple illustrations of what order to put the pieces together in. A real disappointment.
Book Description
Jazz up your mailbox. Add flair to that old filing cabinet. Perk up your plant pots! With a brush, stencils, and a few colorful paints, you can breathe new life into even the most ordinary items.
• Choose from 30 step-by-step projects, including a watering can, bird feeder, serving tray, utensil holder, and lap desk
• Discover creative ways to use common household items, such as turning a flowerpot into a birdbath or transforming a lackluster bucket into a showpiece for storage
• Follow easy how-to instructions for painting on terra-cotta, metal, wood, glass, and tile, plus ideas for giving your projects a personal touch
Pick up a paintbrush and add some pizzazz to your indoor and outdoor spaces!
Customer Reviews:
Just as it says "Whimisical".......2007-02-19
I like this book and give the authors high marks for their thorough explanation at the beginning of supplies and their uses/applications. The projects are very lively and fun. Lots of color and dots. Most use the stencils also designed by the authors but one can duplicate them free hand or pick similar themes at a craftstore. Most of the projects I would do but the last few that had to do with modifying terra cotta plant pots into functional art I could do without. Overall its a good book.
Painted Whimsies.......2006-03-15
It was exactly what I was looking for. I had seen some of it on Carol Duvall Show so I know what I was getting.
Seattle Reader.......2003-04-19
I love, love, love the ideas in this book - all of the projects are very lighthearted and fun. I only wish they had given the measurements of the wood pieces they painted on - there are no specifics for the painted trays, etc. Also, many of the projects need additional purchases such as stencils, which are pretty expensive on the website info they furnish. But, the projects are cheerful and bright - and really cute. They give very detailed directions for painting on metal, wood, clay pots, etc. You'll be motivated..........
Product Description
Features over 40 how-to projects for home decor done in African textiles like mudcloth, kente, korhogo, kuba and adinkra. The first chapter explains the fabrics, how they are made and used traditionally, and each of the following chapters covers a room in the house. Projects are designed for various skill levels, utilizing a mix of sewing, glueing, fusing, staple gun and other easy techniques. Visit www.CulturedExpressions.com
Customer Reviews:
Love this book!.......2004-12-10
This was exactly what I was searching for...beautiful, inspiring photos of projects that you can easily do for yourself. If has great graphic designs you can copy and use for stenciling, stamping, etc. Loved the cardboard spear and the textiles.
I must have bought 10 other books on exotic decor, ethnic decor and this is the only one that really thrilled me.
Wonderful.......2003-03-25
Shephard created a book satiated with texture, woven in embroidery of dyes and rituals. In African Accents, the author shares with us her stories through textiles. She recreates African accents for readers who have formerly collected pieces of cultural tradition and for the newly converted. Scanning through the craft section of any bookstore, one could notice a scarcity of African crafts, house style, and decorating books. With this book, Shephard undertakes a worthy task. The author's time spent in Senegal piqued her already flourishing interest in African design. Shephard prefaces each chapter with anecdotes, the significance of fiber technique, and facts about the fabrics used for the easy to follow hand-made crafts she shares later in the book. The author separates the fabric regionally and explains the social and rich cultural aspects tied into the various designs and processes.
The first part of the book is devoted to recreating the essence of each separate style of fabric, (that is, if you choose to). Some fabric recreations are simple and others are intricate including embroidery and weaving. Shephard cautions that replicating the fabric does not replace the real thing, but could rather deepen one's appreciation for the years of apprenticeship. In reproducing the designs on the fabrics, the book includes actual sized symbols with their meaning. Some of the Ashanti designs on the fabrics, the author indicates, are the equivalent of the European family crest.
In part two of the book the chapters are devoted to each room of your home and the art of gift giving. Secrets and tricks are provided to lend your pillows, clocks and picture frames the professional touch. There is certainly no limitation of "how to" procedures. I tried a few myself and although the suggestion of the staple gun for the kente stool fell short of my expectation (probably the gun itself) I pulled out the old hammer and nail and my stool looked unfailingly as Shephard had promised. Some of the crafts, if you were not handy with a sewing machine would be better left to the local tailor. Yet, there was a time when a sewing machine was a staple in most family's homes. The art of sewing and the practicality of its uses have been forgotten. But if sewing seems impossible for you, Shephard happily offers other easy alternatives.
This is a consummate reason for a recommendation of this slim book to be on the shelves of all art leagues. The book makes it apparent that Spanish and French artists popular in the 19th and 20th centuries have gained much of their appeal with the use of African art infused with their own. Shephard's passion for the continent exudes throughout the book, aquatinting the reader with crafts and fabric otherwise inaccessible. It is a craft-book du nouveau, a comprehensive history lesson, and a full color tabletop book. It is a significant forefront of a happily growing movement. Through this thoughtful undertaking the beauty of the textiles, that have been admired and used for years, could now have intimate meanings and representations. Choosing that kente, Kuba or mudcloth after reading Shephard's book will add new substance to its use.
Yasmain Broady-Soya...
GOOD...............2001-09-28
I enjoyed lisa's book but I'm not much of a craftsperson. I love african style, and came away with some good ideas. Some of these projects require more than I am willing to give. I'm into simplistic projects that look like there was alot of effort. The projects range from easy to not so easy. The are some good internet sources but some of them are no longer avalible. I have not attempted any of the crafts in the book but I'm looking foreward to Lisa's next release (coming out in October). I think her next release may be what I'm looking for.
Lisa Shepard's African Accents Has Great Decorating Ideas!.......2000-09-13
Ms. Shepard's knowledge and appreciation for African textiles and crafts is shown with style throughout this book. The craft instructions are clear and easy to follow (even for a novice craftsperson like myself!) The photographs are terrific also, they act as real motivators to try some of these great decorating ideas. How refreshing to see a crafts and decorating book with culturally diverse appeal!
More Than "Just Another" Decorating Book.......2000-03-26
African Accents by Lisa Shepard is more than just another book with homey decorator projects for the Do-It-Yourselfer. As Shepard makes clear in her introduction, her passion for genuine African fabrics is based on admiration for their strong colors and designs coupled an educated appreciation for the craftsmanship that goes into their creation.
Since she recognizes that collection of these beautiful fabrics may well be beyond the reach of the average pocketbook, she sets out to teach us how to duplicate the look with affordable materials and then provides detailed instructions for sophisticated decorating projects that are reasonably easy to accomplish.
Make your own stamps with potatoes, compressed sponges or rubber stamps to get the look of Adinkra cloth. Shepard provides over 20 different Adinkra symbols to copy together with their African names and meanings.
Choose from over a dozen images to create unique Korhogo designs (and I dare you to resist trying the panels and floor cloth projects in the book). Try mudcloth, Kuba cloth or Kasaii velvet.
The instructions are clear and the power of the designs would enhance just about any room in your home or office.
They would also be fairly easy for a school group or Scout troop to teach children about the strength and beauty of the cultures they represent. I can easily imagine a group of kids having a good time creating Adinkra stamps at a children's birthday party.
Shepard expresses the hope that working on the projects will increase the readers appreciation for the real thing. A quick glance through this lovely book will convince you.
Book Description
Now available in paperbackTHE SOUTHERN GARDEN is an inspiring showcase of some of the most spectacular gardens of the South. Southerners have always gardened with great style. In the temperate climate of the region, the garden serves as an extension of a homes interior and holds a place of supremacy in the southern imagination. From a vast estate in the rolling hills of Virginia to a lush tropical garden in Florida to a working farm in Louisiana, THE SOUTHERN GARDEN features a range of garden styles, both grand and intimate, with breathtaking photography. This book shows how simple lawns have been transformed into flourishing landscapes using water, statuary, trees, and hedges. The author explores how different types of gardens prosper in the various southern climates, and offers essential guidance on designing with flowers. A helpful guide to flowers and plants is also included.
Customer Reviews:
The Garden as A Life Metaphor.......2002-05-21
Lydia Longshore's, The Southern Garden, is not the typical pretty picture book about gardens. Although it is lavishly photographed, and written by a true garden lover and gardener, Longshore unflinchingly describes the breakup of her marriage and her attempts to "bring order and beauty to the bleakest of domestic moments."
Her description of her childhood, her family, her own children, and her recovery after her divorce is haunting but without a trace of self pity.
Longshore takes the idea of the garden and illustrates how much human life is truly part of the natural life: planting, growth, pruning, death -- all these events happen both in a garden and in one's life.
As profound as any book of philosophy, as well as vastly informative, and lushly romantic.
Book Description
"Carefully styled photographs and plenty of good advice illustrate excellent ways to prettify and personalize your home outdoors."--Minneapolis Star Tribune
Country Living's experts know how to furnish a garden as beautifully as any indoor room-and these creative outdoor settings will enhance any backyard. Vintage textiles, ornate iron gates, colorful wheelbarrows, fanciful folk art sculptures: they all appear in magnificent photographs, offering design inspiration. The ideas can be as simple as tossing a few pillows on a garden bench or chair, or as elaborate as an entire garden room with a glass-topped stone capital for a dining table, medley of lanterns, canopy of tree limbs as a natural "roof," plus other appealing plants and accessories that add color and texture. Every exquisite page is a revelation.
Customer Reviews:
Slim pickin's.......2004-10-12
This book had few ideas, none of them noteworthy. I have been trying to find good infomation on landscaping and garden design and found this worthless.
Helpful book!.......2001-07-31
This book is very much like something Martha Stewert would put out. I liked that fact, being I'm a big fan of hers I just had to get this book. This book will help you out so much with your decorating problems. For example if your can't figure out how to set up your backyard for a wedding or a party this book will give you lots of helpful tips. I loved this book and you should too, so get this one if your having trouble decorating and even if your not you should still get it for some fresh ideas.
Book Description
-Covers a variety of categories of garden ornaments - including Terra-cotta fountains, planter boxes, bird houses, trellises and arbors.
Customer Reviews:
Warning! All parts may not be available.......2005-02-05
Frustrating to say the least. We needed half-inch cross or X fittings for the copper arbors. Sounds easy. I have even called long distance to a hardware that says they sell millions of products. They can't get the part. We are going to have to retrofit with PVC plastic fittings or perhaps brass. I wish this lack of needed parts had been checked out before the authors had written the book. I had no idea we would have this problem so we have 6 copper pipes sitting waiting to be used.
Book Description
-Shows how to create nearly two dozen exciting new projects at a very low cost.
Customer Reviews:
Depends on what you need..........2003-02-26
If you have a large (at least a half acre; preferably more) garden, the scale of many of the projects in this book will make sense to you and you would probably find rating this book any less than five stars to be a kind of joke. After all, the photographs (as expected from anything associated with Taunton) are superb and there are drawings clear enough to help you develop your own plans for arbors, paths, and other structures. If, like me, you have a very small garden (5-6000 square feet) onto which you struggle to impose some kind of order so that the whole thing does not devolve into a nursery-like display of perennials or a hardware store-like show of a picnic table and benches, you will probably not find much of use here -- one star, at best.
Managing scale so that things look neither too ditzy nor over-stuffed in our little space is what I have most trouble piecing together. In this book I really was not able to find any help. From the rolling lawns which provided setting for many of the photos, I inferred that the scale probably is not right for my back 4.5; these are projects for a back 40 or more. What I wanted was a book to help me develop a way of thinking about accents in my very small garden, a way of working creatively within limits.
What the book provides is a series of projects for gardeners who are working on a large scale -- although they, too, might wish for something in addition to the discrete articles to help them develop an overall vision, a way of assuring that these structural additions accent and not overwhelm.
Average customer rating:
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The Well-Decorated Garden: 50 Ornaments & Accents to Make Your Outdoor Room
Laura Dover Doran
Manufacturer: Sterling
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Decorating
| Crafts & Hobbies
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
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General
| Crafts & Hobbies
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Garden Design
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
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Garden Furnishings
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
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General
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
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Outdoor & Recreational Areas
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
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ASIN: 1579901069 |
Amazon.com
The Well-Decorated Garden is a do-it-yourself guide to making gewgaws for your garden. It's an ideal book for the gardener who has finished all the basic work and now wants to put some flourishes in place, signatures of the self in the blooming landscape. Reminiscent of Martha Stewart's crafty style, The Well-Decorated Garden takes readers step by step through various projects: building a "faux granite garden planter," pebble-covered flowerpots, butterfly boxes, tile plant markers, ladybug cottages. Highlights include a "sign bird feeder," made out of road signs and license plates, and a variety of elaborate outdoor torches. Projects range from simple, hour-long endeavors (a wire candle holder) to major construction projects that might take all summer to finish (a locust log arbor, for instance). The author draws on ideas from a variety of designers, with a wide range of styles and tastes. The Well-Decorated Garden is a good resource for the highly committed and resourceful gardener, the proud artiste who wants guests to "ooh" and "aah" as they discover the landscape's various handmade charms. --Emily White
Books:
- Pirone's Tree Maintenance
- Planting Green Roofs and Living Walls
- Pots in the Garden: Expert Design and Planting
- Pots in the Garden: Expert Design and Planting
- Professional Planting Design: An Architectural and Horticultural Approach for Creating Mixed Bed Plantings
- Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook: Recipes from Hunan Province
- Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook: Recipes from Hunan Province
- Scotts Lawns: Your Guide to a Beautiful Yard
- Secrets of the Vine: Breaking Through to Abundance
- Seedfolks (Joanna Colter Books)
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