cover image Taylor's Master Guide to Landscaping: Everything a Homeowner Needs to Know about Designing, Maintaining, and Renovating a Home Landscape

Taylor's Master Guide to Landscaping: Everything a Homeowner Needs to Know about Designing, Maintaining, and Renovating a Home Landscape

Rita Buchanan. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH), $40 (384pp) ISBN 978-0-618-05590-6

Comprehensive and easy to follow, Buchanan's companion volume to Taylor's Master Guide to Gardening covers just about all the features that can be included in home landscapes--from lawns and foundation plantings to fences, driveways, bridges, steps, outdoor rooms, pools and outdoor lighting. Buchanan encourages homeowners to think carefully about the specific requirements of the site (topography, shape of the lot, size of the budget, etc.) before beginning a landscaping project. Then home landscapers can follow her step-by-step instructions and carry out the project on their own or use her tips on hiring professionals to do the work. Buchanan offers a wealth of practical information, from advice on seeing the overall character of a home and its setting to opinions about details, such as which materials are best for paths and walkways. There are also suggestions for choosing and caring for trees, shrubs, vines, ground cover and perennials, with lists of plants appropriate for individual situations. An interesting aspect of the book is the author's emphasis on seeing the home landscape in relationship to the surrounding neighborhood and the community as a whole; there are hints, for example, on how to counteract the antisocial impression made by a wall or a fence erected in front of a house. Buchanan's clearly written, abundantly illustrated guide should go a long way toward helping amateurs have the courage to tackle what often seems a daunting task. 425 color photos not seen by PW. (Apr.)