Landscape design isn't so much about rules that guarantee to create the 'perfect design every time', but rather it is a series of guidelines and suggestions that will help to save time and money, as well as generally reduce the frustrations that many design forms often lead to.

This ia a title filled with such guidelines, some for the new home owner to help with the many 'first time garden' situations and pitfalls that tend to arise, as well as some for the more experienced home owner who is being challenged with alterations, changes in garden styles or themes or simply looking at old sites in a new light. Combine this with dozens of ideas, plant and hard landscape suggestions, as well as numerous beautiful photographs, which help foster imaginative yet personalised designs, it becomes a book that will help the informed, adventurous, beginner or even laid-back home owner to create beautiful and distinctive surroundings to their homes.

Beautifully and simply set out, it takes the home owner through a series of logical yet important steps intended to make garden designing a joy rather than a mystery or frustration - dealing with such aspects as site analysis, plant functions and choices, hard landscape options, thoughts on garden revamping, as well as realistic scenarios for costing a project and pointers on where to find professional assistance if stuck with a problem. Aspects such as water-saving concepts, ways to encourage wild life, and thoughts on environmental or regional approaches to garden design are also included.