Liz Primeau takes a fascinating journey back in time to arrive at the answer. But more importantly, she gives us over 23 examples of beautiful and creative front gardens sans lawn. A patch of lawn can be wonderful and in between my garden areas I have some lawn. But there's so much more!
With hundreds of inspiring photos, this is a book I often refer to. I also like the fact that half of the gardens are from Canada and the other half from the U.S. It's not often we get a glimpse of those beautiful Canadian gardens, so I get very excited when we do.
A portion of my front garden ~ Summer 2010
A sampling of the chapters include:
Why we mow/ Lawn at What Cost?/ Cottage Gardens/ Small City Gardens/ Minimalist Gardens/ Natural Gardens/ Secret Gardens/and Overcoming Obstacles
View of our backyard ~ Summer 2011
Liz covers every detail including what others might think of your alternatives to a lawn. Remember, this is the FRONT yard we're talking about.
Here's a quote:
"Prepare your neighbors. Tell them you plan to take out all or some of your grass and describe the kind of garden you expect to put in. Assure them you'll clean up at every stage. This way your front yard won't look like a construction zone instead of the beautiful garden it will eventually become."
Book title: Front Yard Gardens: Growing More than Grass
Author: Liz Primeau
A Firefly Book
2003
203 photographs of gardens ranging from Prince Edward Island cottage style to Texas minimilist.
23 garden stories with illustrations and plant lists.
I highly recommend this book to both veteran and beginner gardeners.
There are plenty of opportunities for gardening. Just be creative and break out of the mold! :0)
For more excellent garden books, visit our wonderful host, Holley at Roses and Other Gardening Joys.
She's the brains behind the roses and our book reviews.
Thanks for stopping by.
David/
