How to Design a Garden

The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller* "A beautiful and practical guide to both designing and maintaining a garden and written in her inimitable no-nonsense yet relatable style." The Home Page _________ Design the garden of your dreams with the expertise of award-winning garden designer Pollyanna Wilkinson. How to Design A Garden shows you how to untap your garden’s potential and customise the design to suit you and your space: whether that be an extension of your living space for parties and al fresco dining or a calming oasis to relax in. Equipped with all you need to know about light, focal points, hardscaping, and planting, you’ll have the skills to create a mood board, design layout, choose paving, furniture, and plant combinations. Polly expertly guides you to understand how the elements in your garden will work together as one – and she is not shy to share her opinions on certain design dos and don'ts! Once you’ve designed your garden, month-by-month growing guides help you to nurture it, so you can enjoy your dream space for years to come. * How to Design A Garden made the Sunday Times Bestseller list in February 2025

John Brookes MBE revolutionized garden design, with a new design philosophy and methodology that was rooted in the notion that gardens are about the people who live in them. Recognizing the demands of the contemporary lifestyle, he broke with previous labour-intensive garden design traditions and the emphasis on showcasing plants. Instead he promoted using gardens as extensions of the home. John taught and lectured around the world and, thanks to his energetic writing, teaching and media appearances, he became regarded as the 'king' and 'godfather' of garden and landscape design. How to Design a Garden is an informative and ultimately practical collection of his thoughts and advice selected from countless writings and lectures given to students, professionals and the public around the world. In addition to his teaching on how to design a garden, the book has two key themes - environmental sustainability and a focus on the local vernacular. In this revised and updated edition, a new directory of 50 essential plants shows how far ahead John was of his time and to what a great extent his teaching remains relevant to garden-makers today.

John Brookes MBE revolutionized garden design, with a new design philosophy and methodology that was rooted in the notion that gardens are about the people who live in them. Recognizing the demands of the contemporary lifestyle, he broke with previous labour-intensive garden design traditions and the emphasis on showcasing plants. Instead he promoted using gardens as extensions of the home. John taught and lectured around the world and, thanks to his energetic writing, teaching and media appearances, he became regarded as the 'king' and 'godfather' of garden and landscape design. How to Design a Garden is an informative and ultimately practical collection of his thoughts and advice selected from countless writings and lectures given to students, professionals and the public around the world. In addition to his teaching on how to design a garden, the book has two key themes - environmental sustainability and a focus on the local vernacular. In this revised and updated edition, a new directory of 50 essential plants shows how far ahead John was of his time and to what a great extent his teaching remains relevant to garden-makers today.

The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller* "A beautiful and practical guide to both designing and maintaining a garden and written in her inimitable no-nonsense yet relatable style." The Home Page _________ Design the garden of your dreams with the expertise of award-winning garden designer Pollyanna Wilkinson. How to Design A Garden shows you how to untap your garden’s potential and customise the design to suit you and your space: whether that be an extension of your living space for parties and al fresco dining or a calming oasis to relax in. Equipped with all you need to know about light, focal points, hardscaping, and planting, you’ll have the skills to create a mood board, design layout, choose paving, furniture, and plant combinations. Polly expertly guides you to understand how the elements in your garden will work together as one – and she is not shy to share her opinions on certain design dos and don'ts! Once you’ve designed your garden, month-by-month growing guides help you to nurture it, so you can enjoy your dream space for years to come. * How to Design A Garden made the Sunday Times Bestseller list in February 2025