new major book on Japanese Gardening

Discussion in 'Japanese Gardens' started by janetdoyle, Aug 11, 2009.

  1. janetdoyle

    janetdoyle Active Member 10 Years

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    A Practical Guide to Japanese Gardening: From Design Options and Materials to Planting Techniques and Decorative Features --by Charles Chesshire (Author), Alex Ramsay (Photographer)

    is finally available, according to Amazon.ca, and my order is arriving within a week or so apparently. Has anyone else ordered this book and if so, what do you think of it? I noticed it as scheduled for publication about a year or more ago -- it did not become available in Canada until recently.

    There seemed originally to be some confusion as to the date of publication, a mix-up in the Amazon listing with some other book by the author... anyway, I am hoping this is for real.
     
  2. janetdoyle

    janetdoyle Active Member 10 Years

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    It arrived! It is a 2009 imprint, this edition published by Lorenz, so without my reading the intro carefully I think it is a new version of an earlier couple of books the author has produced. It is fabulous, I think -- as in several recent gardening manuals it has a creative combination of diagrams and "how to" drawings and staged illustrations, plus photos... I like this combination, especially useful in this book on path construction, gravelled areas, bridges, etc... a lovely book and I hope in the careful reading turns out to merit my initial enthusiasm. It says in the publishing data, "Previously published, in part, as Japanese Gardening". Weirdly, I can't find yet an ISBN number [maybe that's why it took a year of confusion to get it] and the publishing history on the front page goes through a long litany of different publishers and agents out of London, England...
     
    Last edited: Aug 14, 2009
  3. Herb

    Herb Member

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    Janet - I hadn't read your posting about this book, but I did see the book for the first time several weeks ago in Bolen Books in Hillside Mall - and was so impressed that I bought it.

    I suspect it was what influenced me to dig out an unsatisfactory-looking Camellia from a bed next to our patio & plant some other things in it's place, though I can't point to anything specific in the book that resembles the new arrangement! Here's a before and after picture -
    Before and after.jpg
     
  4. janetdoyle

    janetdoyle Active Member 10 Years

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    Good -- nice picture. I love the book, and am now the owner of Carol and Norman Hall's Timber Press Guide to Gardening in the Pacific Northwest which is an excellent book, too -- both basic and detailed, with several informative chapters in the front which explain why plants given appropriate climatic ranges for the Pacific NW don't always do well here [for a former Nova Scotian, I found that frustrating and I had some issues with certain plantings], because their growth pattern requires cold dry winters and hot summers with occasional rain, not mild rainy winters and dry dry not-so-hot summers!
     
  5. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    Apparently the plum disapproves - it is not flowering in the second view.

    I've not been impressed by the Timber Press book. Users should be sure to consult other references at the same time, when attempting to investigate any particular subjects.
     
  6. janetdoyle

    janetdoyle Active Member 10 Years

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    That's interesting, Ron. Can you give us some specific examples? I thought the book would be helpful to a newcomer to the region because it does point out that various things won't necessarily do well here that do well elsewhere... is that incorrect? It would be nice to have a book that gave some really good info on growing the prime beauties of this region in one place, including rhododendrons for example. There is one across the street from me on the alternate corner, which is the most beautiful tall shrub, it stands about twice as high as a human being and twice as wide and has large luscious coral-red [more subtle than dark red] blooms which really glow in place -- the plant stands in the classic "dappled shade", it is under tall trees and well surrounded by other greenery, I am going to take look as to what kind, but mainly fir and cedar I think, above it, but it gets rays of morning to noon sun, you can see the different patterns of the sun on it in the morning, but it is still nestled in amongst the trees and protected, and it does not get afternoon direct sun -- it is really magnificent this spring in particular. I think someone fertilized it as I did not notice it at all during our first 4 years here, but the strata (condo) property has a new landscaper now.
     
  7. Herb

    Herb Member

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    Ron B. - I've no idea what the Plum thinks of the change, but it had lost most of it's flowers well before I removed the Camellia & substituted the other things. I think the 'before' picture was taken at least a month earlier than the 'after' one.

    Mind you, during that month I also planted (not visible in the picture) a tall, thin, sparse and gangly young rhododendron with flowers that had a very similar colour to the plum's. I don't know the exact variety of the rhodo, but the seller told me it was probably part racemosum which may put it in a more refined class than the plum, so maybe that made the plum feel inferior.......
     
  8. janetdoyle

    janetdoyle Active Member 10 Years

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    I will try to do some photos of our place as the spring warms up -- the plants are improving but were quite shocked by the cold temps. of Feb. and Mar.! I think the cold temps. helped a "Bridal Wreath Spirea" I have to bloom more, it is now putting out fronds with bloom developing on them, when before it grew fairly lushly but with not much bloom... it does well in Nova Scotia though, so I think the warmish winters here stimulated it to stay partially evergreen but then it never got the "jog" required to start blooming. Maybe Ron B could comment on this diversity of behavior in shrubs between East and West coast... I don't think my townhouse's small front and back garden is particularly "Japanese" in theme as I can't give it the time for grooming that type of gardening seems to require, but I try, and I do incorporate ideas from the literature on Japanese gardening into the placement and treatment of stepping stones, shaping conifers by pruning, etc.
     

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