In Elements of Garden Design, Joe Eck has created a rhetoric of designing gardens - a series of succinctly expressed and easily grasped definitions of key concepts, useful both to the complete novice and the experienced professional. These essays explore the mysteries of garden design, forming an indispensable primer on the making of a garden.
The book is illustrated with thirty-five line drawings by Lisa Brooks that visually support the main concern, which is to address at once the abstract thought that goes into the shaping of a garden as well as its concrete realization. The most theoretical concepts, such as "intention" or "harmony," are discussed and illustrated alongside the most practical - such as decks, fences, gateways, utility areas, vegetable gardens, and places for children to play.
The publication of Elements of Garden Design, already acclaimed by important garden writers and designers in America and England, is a significant event in American gardening. It is destined to be a bible for the growing number of serious American gardeners.
"This book charts a deliberate and negotiable course through the mysteries of creating a garden. Articulate and thought provoking, the strength of Eck's writing comes from its basis in practice, for in actually creating a designed landscape that works, Eck has no equal in America." --Daniel J. Hinkley, author of "The Explorer's Garden" and founder of Heronswood Nursery
"Garden design is notoriously difficult to write about well, but in this gem of a book, Joe Eck succeeds in communicating the essentials of this elusive subject with clarity, grace, and authority. There is no other work on design that I would so unhesitatingly recommend to novice and experienced gardeners alike." --Tom Fischer, editor of "Horticulture" magazine
"The are a handful of garden communicators who take on American garden design. Among them, one voice dependably gets to the heart of the matter. Rather than presenting 101 landscape plans, Joe Eck truly identifies and examines elements--not just the "what should be," but "what could be." He helps readers visualize the possiblilites and identify ideas that match their garden's spirit." --Ken Druse, author of "The Passion of Gardening"
"What a pleasure to have Joe Eck's "Elements of Garden Design" at hand, for it is full of precise, beautifully written wisdom. I particularly love his thoughts on achieving repose with the "flat and quiet plane," or "the use of a large gesture" in the garden; and, in his essay on time, reminding us of the realities of an aging garden--more shade, yes, but also a restraint imposed, a natural process of editing, "and if one is wise, one will recognize that less is, paradoxically, more." --Page Dickey, author of "Breaking Ground: Portraits of Ten Garden Designers"
This book charts a deliberate and negotiable course through the mysteries of creating a garden. Articulate and thought provoking, the strength of Eck's writing comes from its basis in practice, for in actually creating a designed landscape that works, Eck has no equal in America. "Daniel J. Hinkley, author of The Explorer's Garden and founder of Heronswood Nursery"
Garden design is notoriously difficult to write about well, but in this gem of a book, Joe Eck succeeds in communicating the essentials of this elusive subject with clarity, grace, and authority. There is no other work on design that I would so unhesitatingly recommend to novice and experienced gardeners alike. "Tom Fischer, editor of Horticulture magazine"
The are a handful of garden communicators who take on American garden design. Among them, one voice dependably gets to the heart of the matter. Rather than presenting 101 landscape plans, Joe Eck truly identifies and examines elements--not just the "what should be," but "what could be." He helps readers visualize the possiblilites and identify ideas that match their garden's spirit. "Ken Druse, author of The Passion of Gardening"
What a pleasure to have Joe Eck's "Elements of Garden Design" at hand, for it is full of precise, beautifully written wisdom. I particularly love his thoughts on achieving repose with the "flat and quiet plane," or "the use of a large gesture" in the garden; and, in his essay on time, reminding us of the realities of an aging garden--more shade, yes, but also a restraint imposed, a natural process of editing, "and if one is wise, one will recognize that less is, paradoxically, more. "Page Dickey, author of Breaking Ground: Portraits of Ten Garden Designers""
"This book charts a deliberate and negotiable course through the mysteries of creating a garden. Articulate and thought provoking, the strength of Eck's writing comes from its basis in practice, for in actually creating a designed landscape that works, Eck has no equal in America." --Daniel J. Hinkley, author of The Explorer's Garden and founder of Heronswood Nursery
"Garden design is notoriously difficult to write about well, but in this gem of a book, Joe Eck succeeds in communicating the essentials of this elusive subject with clarity, grace, and authority. There is no other work on design that I would so unhesitatingly recommend to novice and experienced gardeners alike." --Tom Fischer, editor of Horticulture magazine
"The are a handful of garden communicators who take on American garden design. Among them, one voice dependably gets to the heart of the matter. Rather than presenting 101 landscape plans, Joe Eck truly identifies and examines elements--not just the "what should be," but "what could be." He helps readers visualize the possiblilites and identify ideas that match their garden's spirit." --Ken Druse, author of The Passion of Gardening
"What a pleasure to have Joe Eck's Elements of Garden Design at hand, for it is full of precise, beautifully written wisdom. I particularly love his thoughts on achieving repose with the "flat and quiet plane," or "the use of a large gesture" in the garden; and, in his essay on time, reminding us of the realities of an aging garden--more shade, yes, but also a restraint imposed, a natural process of editing, "and if one is wise, one will recognize that less is, paradoxically, more." --Page Dickey, author of Breaking Ground: Portraits of Ten Garden Designers
