How to design with grasses in different settings.
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Designing with Grasses
£20.00
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Ornamental grasses provide glorious visual impact and a dynamic sense of movement. They are easy to care for, provide excellent wildlife habitats and are sustainable. Neil Lucas captures all this in a practical, accessible and beautifully illustrated book that appeals to gardeners who want a contemporary garden without too much effort. Designing with Grasses looks at how grasses perform in the wild to help readers choose the right plants for their garden. A section is dedicated to recreating the grasslands found in prairies, steppes, and meadows in a backyard setting. Additional design chapters challenge conventional divisions about planted and non-planted areas of the garden. Putting the right plant in the right place is crucial to the creation of sustainable plantings and Lucas’ picks for grasses for particular situations are especially helpful. Environment-friendly options for green roofs, erosion control and habitat restoration along with alternatives to lawn grasses are also included.
Media Reviews
One of the joys of this book is that the information about the grasses mentioned is relevant to those people gardening in the UK and Europe, as well as the USA and globally. This was the area that frustrated me most when I was first trying to read up about grasses - what works/is available in parts of the USA does not always work /is available work in the UK...
...There are words and thoughts that resonate with me and will give me lots to think about. We all know the maxim "Right plant right place" and Lucas emphasis this throughout the book. He also talks about "planting communities", biodiversity, "rhythm and seasonality". All of these are things we should respect in our growing spaces, whatever their size. He encourages gardeners to be "editors not enforcers" and it is this voice, this wisdom, which I enjoy.
This is a must for anyone who wants to plant any grasses anywhere. Published in January, it is already well on the way to becoming one of those classics that you find on every serious gardener's bookshelf - and deservedly so.
This book is a great all rounder and offers both the inspirational advice on how to design with grasses backed up by honest, practical advice from an author that has just won his 10th consecutive gold medal at Chelsea this year.
Neil Lucas is clearly a man who knows what he's talking about [...] he has become arguably Britain's greatest exponent of a naturalistic style.
This book is written by one of the most passionate nurserymen in the UK. His knowledge combined with technical advice and great photography make this an inspirational book, suitable for all keen gardeners.
There is perhaps no other book that explains this style of planting so thoroughly and cogently: if you want to plant like this, you should buy it.
[Designing with Grasses] should become a classic… This book is very good value for money. The content of Timber Press books is always first rate, and in this case the design is also strong, helped by excellent photography, and a nice, chunky format.
I could go on forever with everything I have learned from this book and the ideas it has prompted but instead I would urge you if you are only marginally interested in using grasses in your garden to have a read of Lucas’s book – I don’t think you will be disappointed.
Neil's descriptions of grasses and how they change throughout the season are exquisite... This book is a must for gardeners and designers. I defy even the most experienced of us to put this book down without having learnt something new.
