Elements of Garden Design by Joe Eck

What started as a series of articles in Horticulture became this book. While not the practial, how-to manual I expected, I enjoyed these personal essays. Divided into two parts, theory and practice, Eck waxes philosophical on everything from structure and harmony to foundation plantings and utility areas. Sometimes funny, sometimes condescending, frequently informative I enjoyed the book overall. My favorite, 'Wood to Garden' I read shortly after we trimmed part of our woods. He offered some practical tips that I can use; some of which Iwish I'd known before we did our cutting; such as his recommendation to leave at least a 30 foot distance between native trees to allow them room to grow to their full glory. His article entitled 'Water in the Garden' was the most irritating. While he accepts and seemingly embraces that "gardens of any sort are wholly unnatural; they not only work to be something nature herself would never bring into existence, but they also strive to lie about the fact" (101), the fact that water fatures frequently attempt to do the same is unacceptable. Of course as a water gardener I disagree; fake or real, the sound of my waterfall and the act of gazing at the reflective surface of the pond alive with a variety of wildlife, are as important to my garden as the herbs, vegetables, perennials, trees and shrubs. I need not exhibit my filter, pump or leave a hose lying in the pond to demonstrate that it is man-made. The source is unimportant; it's the effect that counts.