Brand New Garden: From Bare Plot to Stylish Garden in Easy Steps

Gardening writer Smith offers this slim but useful primer for designing and redoing small gardens. Chapters, marked by color-coded tabs, highlight her five steps in planning a garden:""Where to Start,""""Temporary Measures,""""Make the Framework,""""Fill in the Detail,"" and""Put the Plan into Action."" Many of her recommendations are perfect for urban dwellers with small plots of land (or even those who want to garden on terraces or balconies) as well as gardeners wanting to redo the landscape surrounding their summer cottages. To begin, she recommends choosing a style (e.g., formal vs. informal, symmetrical vs. relaxed) and then making a plan on paper to help concretize the ideas. Then she launches into advice on removing rubble, making way for drainage, leveling the land and adding topsoil. From there, she recommends building the framework, such as fences, stone borders and brick terraces. Unlike many U.K. gardening imports, which include information on local gardening zones instead of U.S. climates, this book translates well to the needs of gardeners across the pond.