Media Reviews
[Hobbs] inspires, scolds, and cajoles the reader into making the best possible garden, all with delicious humor.
Ellen Spector Platt Container Gardens 01/01/2007
Read him to soak up a shot of inspiration from his color-saturated pictures, his unabashed enthusiasm, and his willingness to make his garden a very personal expression.
Linda Hillegass Fine Gardening 16/02/2005
Hobbs skillfully weaves in his garden-based personal philosophy and even includes the touching story of how he acquired his home: a 1933 Mission Revival-style house with a big view in Vancouver, Canada. It's a wonderful illustration of someone who knows how to take his own advice: someone who has created his own life as he dreamed it could be.
Linda Richards January Magazine 02/03/2004
Few individuals, sadly, are born with the innate ability to assemble plants and objects into the endlessly appealing and entertaining gardens that appear in Tom's latest book, The Jewel Box Garden. For those lacking that skill, his book provides inspiration through photography, which can only be described as stunning, and through text that, though remarkably brief, is crisp and informative - and ever-so-personal.
Pacific Horticulture 09/06/2004
The most enjoyable kind of 'eye candy' ... one can't help but be inspired.
Melissa Clark Association of Professional Landscape Designers Newsletter 04/08/2004
Author Hobbs' life-as-we-dream-it philosophy cheerfully abounds throughout the inspiring pages of this jewel of a book, a creative dream within a dream for gardeners everywhere.
Boox Review 19/07/2004
Stunning photographs, superlative advice on design and planting.
GardenWise 31/07/2004
Most outstanding inspirationally ... an elegant plea for 'cohesive' gardening.
Avant Gardener 01/06/2004
Just one look at this gem and you will be hard-pressed not to want to use some of the ideas in the book.
Barney Lipscomb Sida, Contributions to Botany 14/10/2004
The Jewel Box Garden fuels the imagination and provokes thought in a stunning and original format. Like its author, it stands out from the crowd.
Joan Ofteness Social Gardener 28/10/2004
Hobbs believes a bit of 'set-dec' is crucial in all forms of gardening and you will find many of these ideas very pleasing and peaceful.
Joanne S. Carpender National Gardener 10/05/2004
Yet another exquisite creation from the hand, heart and eye of self-confessed plant obsessive Thomas Hobbs.
Nori and Sandra Pope Garden's Monthly 28/11/2004
[Hobbs] continues to shake up the gardening [world] by challenging people to cast the usual ho-hum garden design rules aside for a refreshing approach...in Hobbs' able hands, the garden as a sanctuary takes on a whole new meaning.
Connie Krochmal Bella Online 23/08/2005
I highly recommend this book, both to those who garden and to those who want to know more about an interesting man.
Caroline McCullagh Let's Talk Plants 04/05/2005
A really good book is one that inspires me and causes me to take action, and this book has done that in spades ... I would highly recommend this book.
Petra McLean Plant Master 01/09/2005
Hobbes writes subjectively and forcefully (and, often, funnily), and his essays end up becoming a how-to that comes upon you unawares. David McDonald's photography is saturated with teachable moments, unlike the window dressing of so many garden books.
Craig Summers Black 50Plus Lifestyles 01/04/2006
With provocative and highly original ideas and stunning photography, this book encourages gardeners to tap into their creativity.
Forbes.com 08/05/2006
Take one part gardening expertise and one part eye for beauty and you get 'gardening as theater,' the theme for this beautiful little book.
Marge Howard-Jones California Garden 09/06/2004
