Product Description

Succulent plants offer dazzling possibilities for garden design and require only minimal maintenance to remain lush and alluring year round. Featuring the work of more than 50 professional garden designers and creative homeowners, this complete design compendium is as practical as it is inspirational. Lavishly illustrated with over 300 photographs, it gives design and cultivation basics for paths, borders, slopes, and containers; hundreds of succulent plant recommendations; and descriptions of 90 easy-care, drought-tolerant companion plants. Beginners and experienced designers, landscapers, and collectors alike will find what they need to visualize, create, and nurture the three-dimensional work of art that is the succulent garden.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9770 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-01
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780881928167
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Booklist
Gardeners interested in contemporary trends recognize and appreciate the dramatic sculptural qualities of succulents. Now Baldwin's alluring and stimulating guide offers a wealth of design ideas melded with informative cultural advice and opens gardeners' eyes to a breathtaking variety of succulents for any situation, from formal spaces to an intimate balcony, from hillside terrain to container gardens. Whether undertaking a new planting or enlarging on an existing plan, gardeners will discover beguilingly colorful varieties, specimens with textural presence, and stunning architectural forms for unequaled effect featuring exceptional arrangements of drought-tolerant species. Although hot, dry California gardens appear in many of the photographs, Baldwin devotes a chapter to cold climates that's certain to stir the imaginations of gardeners wishing to grow exciting specimens in the ground or perhaps in pots, bringing plants indoors or installing them in a greenhouse to winter. Towering to tiny, the array of succulents presented is exciting and compelling. Alice Joyce
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"Debra Lee Baldwin is passionate about succulents, grows them with panache in her own garden, and has tapped into a community of like-minded souls who are creating wonderful landscapes with them. She inspires us to look at succulents as living sculptures whose myriad shapes and colors create striking effects. Many people know about succulents, but using them well in the landscape is another matter. Designing with Succulents shows us how; it's inspiring, practical, and complete—a treasure for any gardener who loves these otherwordly beauties." (Sunset )

"...easy to understand writing style is user friendly to the backyard gardener, yet the breadth of information is just as appealing to the expert. Baldwin should be commended for what might be the best succulent landscaping book written to date." Maureen Gilmer, host of Weekend Gardening

"One of the charms of her book is that it is so readable, while being a practical encyclopedia of all things succulent." (San Diego Union-Tribune )

"This is the best book ever published on the subject of succulents." Pat Welsh, author of Pat Welsh's Guide to Southern California Gardening

“Those designing a new landscape and those hoping to add these botanical treasures into an existing garden will find Baldwin’s gorgeously illustrated, detail-rich guide a worthy purchase.”

About the Author
Debra Lee Baldwin is a writer, editor, artist, and photographer based in southern California. Her articles have appeared in Sunset, Better Homes & Gardens, and elsewhere. She has won awards from the Garden Writers Association of America, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the San Diego Press Club. She lives in Escondido, California.

Customer Reviews

Well Written with Beautiful Photographs
If you like the idea of growing succulents, but haven't a clue how to use them in combination with other plants in your garden, then this is the book for you. The beautiful photographs are rich with ideas and inspiration, and the indepth captions answer any question you might have about the plants in the pictures and even the location of the gardens. I was particularly drawn to the two top photos on page 234 and one of an Agave franzosinii taken at Mission San Juan Capistrano in California (page 150). Baldwin's writing style is delightful; easy to read, entertaining, and informative. Clearly she is writing from experience so you know what she says will be helpful and accurate. I highly recommend this book.

Exceptional work, brilliantly photographed.
As a Landscape Architect with almost 30 years of experience designing gardens in Southern California, I have been a longtime fan of the excellent works created by Debra Lee Baldwin. It is no small coincidence that "Designing With Succulents" is well written, concise and wonderfully illustrated with stunning photography. This is a book that everyone from professional designers to home gardeners will want to keep very close to their desks for reference.

Living in an environment with precious water resources and little natural rainfall it will become essential for all of us to take a more aggressive stance utilizing low-water plants in our design work. I congratulate Debra for giving us a design reference filled with great inspiration and helpful technical information.

Love this book
This is a great book on succulents. Debra Lee Baldwin has tackled a large body of material. She has explained it all very well in an interesting way. Well organized,well illustrated ,with great photos (most of which were her own). She has put a lot of work into this. It must have taken years of research followed by years of writing to get this all put together. This not just an encyclopedia on succulents, but a very readable treatment of the whole subject of how to use them and work with them in your own garden. She tells you everything you would want to know from propgation to pests. I can't say enough good things about this book . A real gem.