Customer Reviews:
A must for embroidery enthusiasts.......1999-06-22
A delightful well illustrated work, the embroidery is superb and the inclusion of thoughts on English country life is well worth the purchase alone. I recomend this book to all embroidery enthusiasts and ex Brits too!
Book Description
Called "the best single garden book in our language" by Henry Mitchell, this classic includes an encyclopedic listing of the best flowers, trees, and shrubs for the natural garden, illustrated with charming etchings. It presents Robinson's influential ideas on garden design and features. First published in 1883, it went through 15 printings during Robinson's lifetime. This edition represents the definitive 1933 version, with updating by Graham Stuart Thomas to current nomenclature.Published at $35.00 Our last copies available at $17.49
Customer Reviews:
Sacred Gardens............2000-12-31
THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN by William Robinson, was first published in 1883 and republished a number of times afterward. The current version available from Amazon is a reprint of the 15th Edition Robinson edited shortly before he died in the 1930s. This new reprint of the 15th Edition contains the "Botanical Revisions" prepared by Graham Stuart Thomas for the 1984 Edition, as well as a Forward by Henry Mitchell, and an introduction by Deborah Nevins.
The book is set in old style type and contains numerous black and white illustrations--etchings of photos and prints of sketches. Some of them are a bit grainy, but many are not, and even the grainy ones have their good points. The content of each photo is quite interesting, and the sketches provide the "personal" touch one seldom sees in text books these days.
In one print, taken at Gravetye Manor over 100 years ago, a climbing tea rose clings to a bamboo split-rail post fence surrounded by bush roses. The sunlight reflects from the walkway and warms the flowers and a huge clay pot sitting in a corner. In another photo, pots of 'Chimney Campanula' guard an old Jacobin chest sitting in a hall at Staunton Court. Sketches and photos are used to illustrate flowers all through the last half of the book--a flower dictionary with anectdotal and literary "blurbs" written by Robinson himself.
Mitchell says Robinson "for all practical purposes invented gardening as we know it." Robinson's garden, 'Gravetye Manor' is a hop, skip and a jump from Sissinghurst, but few know of it's existence. Yet, Robinson is the "grandfather" of Sissinghurst, because Gertrude Jekyll who helped Mrs. Nichols design Sissinghurst, was Robinson's disciple. She literally followed in his footsteps and emulated his style.
Robinson found most of the gardens of his day deplorable (19th Century Victorian). Those of the wealthy were modeled after the French and Italian formal plan, loaded with clipped Yews and bedded out every spring with ribbons of color provided by geraniums and marigolds. The walkways were lined with ornate scupture and surrounded by towering "imprisoned" evergreen shrubs and trees including clipped Yews which he loathed. He said these gardens reminded him of graveyards.
His ideal was the cottage garden. He considered the garden a sacred space. He said one had to visit the houses of the poor to find truly beautiful gardens. Henry Mitchell reflecting on this says, "The thing that separates the true gardener from the mere architect or designer (and there is something extremely suspicious in the airs they give themselves nowadays) is that the gardener stands in awe before his violets, while others think of them in terms of [sic] plant materials."
Robinson's ideas grew out of the Romantic movement of the late 18th and early 19th Century. His designs and thinking were reflected in the Arts and Crafts movement based on the importance of reconnecting to nature. His contemporaries in thinking were Ruskin, Morris, Stickly, Frank Lloyd Wright, and others we identify with this movement. If you're a Stickly, cantilevered, picturesque kind of person, you'll like this book.
Average customer rating:
- Pictures are suspect
- A keeper
- Very readable and the ruling passion exercize is excellent!
- This book is a pleasure to read as well as to look at.
- A book for passionate gardeners
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Pleasures of the Cottage Garden
Rand B. Lee
Manufacturer: Friedman/Fairfax Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
| Flowers
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
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Garden Design
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
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General
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
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Small Homes & Cottages
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
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Similar Items:
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Cottage Gardens
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Cottage Garden (DK Living)
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English Cottage Gardening: For American Gardeners, Revised Edition
ASIN: 1567996957 |
Customer Reviews:
Pictures are suspect.......2007-03-05
A lot of the pictures in this book appear to be digitally enhanced. Flower edges are blurred and blooms seem to float uniformly over masses of green. Where is the imagination in that? I can photoshop a garden and copy the same flower over and over too.
A keeper.......2001-02-18
My shelves groan from the weight of gardening books, most of which I never look at twice. But this book is one of the very few which never gathers dust.
First, there are dozens of exquisite photos of different styles of cottage gardens in a variety of locations. Individual plants are identified, as well as pictured within a larger garden context; a welcome change from the many books which provide relatively useless close-up, glamour shots or large landscapes with not a single plant identified. What is truly helpful is to see how the plant will look situated in an actual garden. I know what the flower of Sombreuil looks like: what I 'd like to see is this charming rose actually climbing the front of house. Fortunately, the photos in Pleasures of a Cottage Garden happily oblige.
Secondly, the writing is superb: authoritative, experienced and witty. Whereas many gardening books are either written like seed catalogs or as filler for coffee table photo albums, this book is more like spending a sunny afternoon reminiscing with a wise and witty old gardener. Mr. Rand weaves together a history of cottage gardening, memories of his mother's garden and his own experiences in four different zones, with a wealth of practical information on individual plants, not to mention such important topics as color, light, and fragrance. Not forgotten are the edibles without which a cottage garden would seem only half alive.
Thirdly, in addition to the glorious photos, expert writing, and historical research, this books offers a series of excercises which can help today's cottage gardener to discover what they truly want from their plot of earth, and how to achieve it. Almost a 12-step program for gardeners with creative block. The excercises were surprisingly effective...and delightfully revealing.
Like a cottage garden, this book will catch you unawares with its depth and variety, as it subtly charms you with its humble beauty.
A keeper.
Very readable and the ruling passion exercize is excellent!.......1999-09-05
A very enjoyable read. The pictures are lovely and the exercizes for determining your ruling passions for planning your garden are excellent. I highly recommend it for anyone who loves cottage gardens.
This book is a pleasure to read as well as to look at........1999-05-19
There are a lot of beautiful garden books available right now and this is one of them, but with some differences that make it well worth owning or giving. While it is filled with gorgeous color photos of flowers and gardens, it is the writing that makes it special. Rand Lee writes in an intimate, amusing style that feels like a letter from a friend - I was hooked immediately. His "Ruling Passion" exercises are a wonderful way to begin to envision your perfect garden or fine tune an already thriving one. Also of note are his sample collections of plants to create borders with various themes. My favorite chapter though is "Fragrance in the Cottage Garden". It was a delight to find a whole chapter devoted to a garden pleasure which doesn't get enough attention in either the literature or the breeding of new plants. Woven throughout the narrative is lots of information on specific plants and their cultivation. Some gardeners may be put off by the author's non-linear approach, but as with the cottage garden itself, I found that to be one of the book's charms.
A book for passionate gardeners.......1999-03-09
At last, a cottage gardening book for Americans! (Although many of the luscious photos appear to be English.) The most valuable chapter is early on, The Ruling Passion exercise. Please take time out from reading to answer the questions and think about what you really want and need from your garden. You might be surprised by what you discover. I attended a wonderful lecture Rand gave on this topic, which generated more enthusiasm than any talk I can remember. A couple of participants were shocked to discover that what they thought they wanted was, in fact, what their friends or neighbors expected, and not what truly gave them pleasure and satisfaction. The realization was shocking, but also exhilarating and energizing, renewing enthusiasm for the hard work of gardening. This is gardening from the heart and for the soul. It also makes for entertaining reading on a snowy day.
Average customer rating:
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Claude Monet Jigsaw Book
Manufacturer: The Five Mile Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Small Homes & Cottages
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1865036536 |
Product Description
Hardback book is comprised of 6 picture puzzles each with 63 pieces and representing lovely thatched roof and cottage garden artwork.
Average customer rating:
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Cottage Garden Flowers
Margery Fish
Manufacturer: B. T. Batsford Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Flowers
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Garden Design
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0713485396 |
Book Description
In Margery Fish's imaginative adaptation of the traditional cottage garden style that she saw disappearing around her, she brought together old-fashioned plants and contemporary plants in the same vein. Today's mixed borders are a direct descendant of the style Margery Fish created at East Lambrook Manor in Somerset - now once again open to the public. Cottage Garden Flowers covers plants that grow easily and naturally, including easy, adaptable bulbs, perennials and shrubs, such as Astrantia, columbines, daffodils, daisies, Dianthus, foxgloves, hollyhocks, Japonica, old roses, Phlox, Primula or Virburnum.
Customer Reviews:
Lovely.......1998-08-07
I borrowed this book from the library and would love a copy of it. Reading this book is like sitting with a favourite Aunt discussing gardening. Her descriptions of flowers are at times hilarious and always filled with useful information. She lists a lot of the "old" flowers. The ones to watch for and beg from any gardener who might be willing to part with them.
Average customer rating:
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A Cottage Garden Alphabet
Andrea Wisnewski
Manufacturer: David R Godine
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Alphabet
| Basic Concepts
| Baby-3
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Nonfiction
| Flowers & Plants
| Nature
| Science, Nature & How It Works
| Children's Books
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General
| Ages 4-8
| Children's Books
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Social Skills
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General
| Gardening & Horticulture
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Small Homes & Cottages
| Home & Garden
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ASIN: 1567922295 |
Product Description
This charming book of hand-colored papercuts is guaranteed to delight gardeners young and old, active and armchair. It is a delicious garden alphabet, a convention as old as the sixteenth century, but one that seems to lend itself especially well to the advantages of high relief, gaily-colored papercuts.
In this vivid garden, where A is for Arbor and Z is for Zucchini, artist Wisnewski brings her talents to bear not only on flowers, shrubs, herbs, and fruit, but also on the resident fauna: bees and cats, children, dogs, and rabbits. The result is no static florilegium, but a witty and whimsical beehive of various and charming activity.
Book Description
Create your own beautiful cottage garden. This practical book offers advice to help midwestern gardeners--whether novices or old pros--achieve beautiful, organic gardens drawing on age-old cottage garden traditions. Readers will learn how to plan and plant a bountiful cottage garden with ecology in mind, using a lively mixture of perennials, annuals, fruiting trees and shrubs, vegetables, and herbs.
Fran Manos provides the keys to successful gardening with a combination of experience and a lighthearted approach in bringing fun to gardening.
Customer Reviews:
A page turner.......2007-06-27
While I agree the book would have been even better with more "whole garden" photos, I just couldn't put it down. I've been gardening for a few years here in the Midwest, and I always had the feeling I was "doing it wrong." After reading several gardening books, "Midwest Cottage Gardening" was the first one to provide simple guidelines for gardening success in our crazy climate. Fran (I feel like she's a friend) has given me the know-how and peace of mind to carry on and enjoy the whole wild process of gardening.
One word: Disappointing! .......2007-01-23
On page one, the author asserts that "We've read too many magazines, watched too many gardening TV programs, seen gardening videos, and gone on too many garden walks to have the 'beginner's mind'..." Apparently, "too many books" are why she was totally clueless that variables like soil type and quantity of rain and sun would affect how well a plant would thrive in her yard.
She claims to have been perplexed when perennials hardy to zone 7 kicked the bucket during her zone 5 winters. She was shocked when the plant she bought at the nursery ("No one could tell me a thing about it.") was unhappy in her Chicago yard; it was native to California & Alaska!
There are lots of photos. Most of them are homogeneous photos of things like a clump of Hostas or a field of Black-Eyed Susans. I can see pictures of individual plants in any seed catalog; I want to see what they look like in a cottage garden!
All of the photos seem to have been taken in the author's own yard. There's not a single picture of someone else's garden. There are no descriptions of gardens outside her Chicago suburb, let alone her home state of Illinois. Perhaps the book should have been called "A Midwest Cottage Garden" or "Frances Manos's Garden". That's all that's in here. If you already know the basics of zones and what plants need to survive and you're looking for inspiration and ideas for creating your own cottage garden, I suggest looking elsewhere.
A beautifully presented softcover coffee-table book .......2004-12-09
Midwest Cottage Gardens is a beautifully presented softcover coffee-table book featuring full-color photographs and practical instructions for raising an organic garden in the Midwest climate. Author Frances Manos draws upon 20 years of gardening experience, lists some of the most popular garden plants that thrive here in the Midwest, while walking the reader through the basic elements of planting, and more. Midwest Cottage Gardens is a captivating delight simply to page through, as well as a useful resource resurce to work from.
A Great Advice Giver.......2004-12-07
Even though this book is classified as a how-to, it felt like more like a reader to me. It is almost as though Frances Manos was my neighbor, having her impart her garden experience over the fence or a cup of coffee.
This book gives advice on how to create beautiful cottage gardens. You will learn the secrets of using perennials, annuals, fruits and vegetables to make your garden unique and wonderful all at the same time.
Her writing style is easy to read and encouraging, not pushy or boastful. You can feel her enthusiasm for getting others to garden as you read this book. Although this book takes a while for you to get into, you need to read it from the beginning to end so that you don't miss out on anything.
If you like to garden you will love this book.......2004-11-08
I have only recently become interested in gardening and I'm telling you, this book is by far the most interesting and best-written book I have seen. This is not just a book about gardening it is a book about what is important in life. Really, you should check this out for its superb combination of practical gardening advice and wise thoughts about the environment.
Average customer rating:
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Cottage Flowers Photograph Album
Joy Scherger
Manufacturer: Friedman/Fairfax Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Stationery
Blank Books
| Journals
| Accessories
| Formats
| Books
ASIN: 1567994040 |
Average customer rating:
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Cottage Flowers
Marie Angel
Manufacturer: Michael Joseph
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Nature & Ecology
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0720712599 |
Average customer rating:
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Cottage Flowers Jigsaw Book: With six 63-piece jigsaws
Shirley Barber
Manufacturer: The Five Mile Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Board book
Activity Books
| Sports & Activities
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
| Coloring Books
| Cut & Assemble
| Diaries
| Dot to Dot
| General
| Hidden Picture
| Mazes
ASIN: 1865036552 |
Book Description
The first English-language guide to Burkina Faso, the Bradt guide brings to life the many attractions of this stable country which offers a thriving culture, laid-back cities, and wildlife encounters. The authors help visitors discover dramatic mask festivals, Fulani horse-dancing, and both the pan-African film festival in Siao and the craft fair in Fespaco, two of the largest events of their kind on the continent. The romance of the Sahel desert can also be explored and information on desert markets, camel safaris, and secret dune encampments is covered for the intrepid traveler.
Features include:
>Africa's most exciting cultural celebrations
>Best wildlife experiences--from lion-tracking in Arly to close encounters with crocodiles in Bazolé
>Varied history, architecture, and stunning artisanship
>Visiting villages: animist rituals, millet beer, and market days
Customer Reviews:
Don't go to Burkina Faso without it........2006-09-07
I live in Burkina Faso and this book has tons more information than any other English-language guidebook on the country and seems to be more comprehensive than any French-language ones too. Days after receiving the book, I used it to plan and execute a very successful trip to the far north-east of the country. All of the practical information about where to stay and eat was spot-on. The maps of towns and regions were also very useful. I spent a night at a beautiful desert campsite, 30 kilometers from the nearest dirt road, and run by friendly Tuareg tribesmen because of this book. I'd be delighted with this guidebook even if there was nothing more to it. However, it also has the distinction of being extremely well written and interesting - be it concerning local transportation, customs, history, languages, etc. I enjoyed this book so much that when I recently visited Dogon country in Mali and met a group of Spanish tourists heading for Burkina Faso, I gave them my copy. When I got home, I ordered two more.
The only guide worth getting.......2006-09-05
This is the only really useful English language guide to Burkina Faso and should be standard issue for anyone coming here. Their attention to detail is mind-boggling. Even for someone who has already lived in Burkina for nearly two years, I've learned a lot from their writing.
An excellent guide to Burkina Faso.......2006-08-17
Burkina Faso is not (yet) considered among the top 10 tourist destinations in the world, but for those going there for travel, work, or to visit family/friends, this new book is an invaluable resource. We've just bought it after having just moved back to the US after over three years in Burkina Faso. It provides a great overview of the country, including the better-known destinations, but the authors have also made an effort to cover less-known towns and sites of cultural interest. Highly recommended !
Average customer rating:
- Gunfire at Gettysburg Review
- Our family loved "Gunfire at Gettysburg"
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GUNFIRE AT GETTYSBURG (Choose Your Own Adventure)
Doug Wilhelm
Manufacturer: Skylark
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Action & Adventure
| Literature
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Literature
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ages 9-12
| Children's Books
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General
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| Teens
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Look Inside Teen Books
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U.N. ADVENTURE (Choose Your Own Adventure)
ASIN: 0553563939
Release Date: 1994-08-01 |
Book Description
You and your friends have longed to see action firsthand in what they're calling the War of Secession. But apart from your make-believe battles, you've never even laid eyes on a real rebel soldier. Until now. Now, as the world outside explodes with cannon fire and the cries of the wounded, you find yourself crouched in terror in an abandoned farm. As the clamor dies down you muster your courage to peek outside. "Please put your hands up," says a genteel Southern voice. Shaking and suddenly cold you raise your hands and turn around slowly. It is a confederate officer. Reckoning you ought to know the local terrain, he offers to take you to his commanding officer, the legendary General Robert E. Lee. He says he won't shoot you if you run, but you wonder. You're being offered the chance to play a pivotal role in history. But should you help the general whose army is overrunning your town? If You agree to meet the revered General, turn to page 25. If you decide to make a break for Gettysburg and check on your family's safety, turn to page 10. Think very carefully before you decide. Tens of thousands of lives are at stake --including your own! What happens next in the story? It all depends on the choices YOU make. How does the story end? Only YOU can find out! And the best part is that you can keep reading and rereading until you've had not one but MANY incredibly daring experiences!
Customer Reviews:
Gunfire at Gettysburg Review.......2005-07-01
This is an excellent book to help stimulate young minds about history. It can be a bit frustrating, though: you need to keep track of where you start the story line choice in order to return to it if you take a short-sighted option and the story ends too soon.
Evenly addresses both sides of the War Between the States: state's rights in the South and the disgust of slavery in the North. Doesn't sweeten the issues to the extent that the reader (my 8 year old son) doesn't understand the implications of war (split families, brutal behavior, etc.).
Our family loved "Gunfire at Gettysburg".......2000-07-07
My 7 year old son brought this book home from school this winter. He and my 11 year old daughter were spellbound listening to the story. The unique part of this book is the 10 or so different outcomes depending on choices presented throughout the story. They re-read the book several times, each time picking a different outcome. Gunfire at Gettysburg also stimulated their interest in history, as they asked many questions about the characters in the book. The storyline has many exciting moments such as encounters with soldiers, including General Lee. Since it was told from the perspective of a young boy, it was very easy to imagine yourself there during the battle. Since we read the book, we have been to visit Gettysburg twice in the last six months including attending the battle re-enactment last weekend. Now they have rented the movie "Gettysburg" ! Thank you for getting the kids away from Nickleodeon! There are several more titles in this series also. A format like this is a great way to teach history to kids.
Books:
- The Future Eaters: An Ecological History of the Australasian Lands and People
- The Guide to Yellowstone Waterfalls and Their Discovery
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