Good Gardens by Design: The Principles of Classic Planning and Plant Selection - Tapa dura

In this beautiful book Donald Chilvers draws on his wide experience of making gardens for small country houses, using case studies and then focusing on the lessons which emerged from those experiences. There are many elements that contribute to the design of a good garden of which the most significant is the site itself. The author has included a section "The 100 Best Plants" which lists those plants which a designer uses in the initial shaping of a garden. Beautiful photographs of the 'before and after' kind and easily digested plans illustrate this gorgeous book. This book will inspire people who look to make radical changes to an established garden or to deal with a greenfield site; it should also appeal to people who may contemplate entering the design field themselves and to those who like to read about garden experiences in general.

Donald Chilvers has extensive experience of designing over 60 gardens, both in the UK and further afield and now has an established landscape design practice. Inspired by the works of people like Hobhouse, Hicks & Jekyll, he has travelled extensively visiting gardens throughout the world and he has applied his unique vision to transforming many of the gardens that are illustrated in the book. Donald Chilvers and his wife, Rosie, live in Oxfordshire.