Architecture in the Garden

The elements of garden architecture—paths, walls, gates, fences, terraces, sheds, lighting, furniture, waterworks, and art—together form the backbone of any well-designed garden. In this beautifully illustrated and accessible book, legendary landscape architect James van Sweden explains how to design and build a garden like a professional. He leads his readers on a tour through some of his most exquisitely designed gardens—in the country, in the city, in the suburbs, and by the shore. “When it comes to planning a comfortable and rewarding garden,” van Sweden writes in his Introduction, “the challenges that confront the owner of an estate or a weekend cottage are often substantially the same. The principles and techniques used for organizing a large site work equally well in a more modest setting.”

Each case study highlights a particular architectural element, breaking it down into practical ideas that any gardener can apply to his or her own garden or yard. The book includes dozens of detailed schematic drawings that can be used to build many of the elements described by the author, along with an extensive, illustrated glossary. Architecture in the Garden is sure to inspire you with its many practical ideas on how to domesticate your landscape and design an outdoor space that suits your taste as well as your lifestyle.

The elements of garden architecture—paths, walls, gates, fences, terraces, sheds, lighting, furniture, waterworks, and art—together form the backbone of any well-designed garden. In this beautifully illustrated and accessible book, legendary landscape architect James van Sweden explains how to design and build a garden like a professional. He leads his readers on a tour through some of his most exquisitely designed gardens—in the country, in the city, in the suburbs, and by the shore. “When it comes to planning a comfortable and rewarding garden,” van Sweden writes in his Introduction, “the challenges that confront the owner of an estate or a weekend cottage are often substantially the same. The principles and techniques used for organizing a large site work equally well in a more modest setting.”

Each case study highlights a particular architectural element, breaking it down into practical ideas that any gardener can apply to his or her own garden or yard. The book includes dozens of detailed schematic drawings that can be used to build many of the elements described by the author, along with an extensive, illustrated glossary. Architecture in the Garden is sure to inspire you with its many practical ideas on how to domesticate your landscape and design an outdoor space that suits your taste as well as your lifestyle.

Publishers Weekly

In this first-person how-to, van Sweden builds on the success of Gardening with Nature and Gardening with Water to reveal more about his own process of developing a garden design, showing readers how to come to their own decisions along the way. A landscape architect in partnership with Wolfgang Oehme for the last 35 years, the Washington D.C.-based van Sweden has a knack for cool, precise prose that matches the carefully planned yet free-feeling pathways that he finds essential to a garden's "good bones." After three opening chapters covering van Sweden's "Inspirations," "The Gardener's Need for Architecture" and "Elements of Garden Architecture" respectively, van Sweden presents six case studies of differing sites, from "country" to "town" to "seaside" gardens of varying scales, climates and surrounding architecture. Bullet-pointed questions at the end of each chapter train readers to notice the elements of their own terrains and begin to work with them in terms of, for example, plant choice and "slope" as a means of creating "drama." A final "Gallery of Architectural Features" shows paths, decks, edging, stone, fences and gates, walls and many more "features" in situ; van Sweden's calm intelligence shines throughout. (On sale Jan. 21) Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.

Following training as an architect and landscape architect in the United States and the Netherlands, James van Sweden’s early practice led to a 1977 partnership with landscape architect and horticulturist Wolfgang Oehme. A revolutionary garden style quickly emerged and continues to flourish.

Mr. van Sweden’s designs draw attention first to dramatic spectacles of informal planting and then to the practical beauty of architectural “bones” that anchor his gardens to the ground. The garden’s underlying architecture is the subject of this book.

By revealing the secrets of his unusual design approach, Mr. van Sweden’s recent books, Gardening with Water and Gardening with Nature, have inspired professional and amateur gardeners alike. His first book, Bold Romantic Gardens, co-authored with Mr. Oehme, is also considered a classic in the field.

Mr. van Sweden is a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects and recipient of many distinguished awards. His works are published widely in gardening books and periodicals, and he is a frequent guest on television and radio shows. He lives in Washington, D.C.