This is a highly valuable resource with incredibly useful tips.
The prose is mainly engaging, and the structure and topics were the real heroes of this book.
I was not a massive fan of the design and the photos and I do not think that it was a resolution problem. It is more about the style looking a bit nostalgic and old school in quite a large chunk of the book, but this is not to say that the photos were not beautiful.
If this were slightly differently presented (including the information), this would have been a 5 star read for me.
I highly recommend this book and appreciate it. The expertise of the author and the way she aims to instill confidence are top notch.

Beginner's Guide to Garden Planning and Design by Helen Yoest
This title is a great resource for any gardener. It has bright and well recognizable photos, lots of how-to information on many different types of gardening and so much information that you can go back to time and time again, depending on what you’re looking for for your garden.
There are many chapters on subjects and themes that are unique such as the view from inside your house, hypertufa pots, container gardens and accenting your garden with art.
I think this will be a book I come back to time and time again.

#CreativeHomeowner #NetGalley

Are you looking to bring flowers and plants into your garden but don't know where to start? Well, this book would be a great place to start.

I've read all types of garden books and even taken Master Gardners classes and I still learned a few new things in this book I loved how the author covered sounds. Not many garden books cover garden sounds and believe me the more native plants you bring in the more birds, bees, and other wildlife sounds you have in your garden, it beats traffic noise any day. A simple bird splashing in the bird bath is one of the most simple sounds that brings gardens to life.

This book covers a bit of everything even vegetable garden and has wonderful pictures that will get your creative juices going.

This is my first gardening season at our newly purchased house and I cannot tell you how grateful I am to have my hands on this book! The amount of opinionated instruction and “Pinterest inspo” on the internet is amazing until you need to act.. and I just froze. This book is another essential for my home library!!

Beautiful photos; many, many great ideas. Loved the writing that accompanied each section. (Very readable.) Each of the 50 chapters/topics/ideas was limited to a couple pages; but if the topic interests you, then dig deeper. As a Beginner's Guide, this book is perfect.

As a member of the North American Rock Garden Society (www.nargs.org), chapter 15 on Rock Gardening was superb! haha Thank you for the shout out! I liked the quote from Elizabeth Lawrence, "All gardeners become rock gardeners if they garden long enough." We really aren't snobs ... maybe plant snobs though.

Very inspirational!

I especially think that getting some advice from a professional is probably what I need most.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Fox Chapel Publishing - Creative Homeowner for approving my request to read the advance review copy in exchange for an honest review. Publication date is Sept 18, 2024. 208 beautiful picture filled, idea filled pages.

Excellent resource! Takes you from planning to execution and everything in between. It covers wildlife gardens, sounds, mailboxes and so much more! Lots of pictures.

This is one of the most spectacular how-to books I have ever seen, with lush color photos, text that is both info-rich and poetic, and 50 amazing ideas for garden design. I'm buying this for my personal library and taking up gardening for the first time in my life. Two green thumbs up!

I received this DRC from NetGalley.

This is a good overview of all the elements to either add or take into consideration when planning a garden. Of course, you'd need to do your own research about what native plants are in your area, but I think this book does a good job of giving ideas for the other elements you could add- gates, arbors, art, paths, etc., as well as some guidelines about placement. There aren't specifics about what to do, and instead encourages you to try things out and go with your own personal tastes. Not all of it is suitable for those of us with non-huge gardens, but is still a nice read for inspiration.

This book has beautiful photography and I enjoyed reading about different styles of gardens. I also like the numerous tips offered throughout for designing a space based on your taste, or what challenges you may be working with (space, a fence you don’t like, lack of privacy, etc). I gained some inspiration for things to try in my small city garden.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book!

I love this so much! The pictures are divine and I love the practical advice. It is gardening season now, so I am using this as a guide.
I hope the library buys a copy.

This was a fun gardening book. It contained many different gardening ideas supported by beautiful full-color photos, tales of personal experience, tips, and related suggestions.

As the title suggests, this book is primarily geared toward beginners, but I would call it a worthwhile read for anyone who enjoys gardening. I have read a lot of gardening books over the years and even a few on garden design, but I still learned things from this book that were new to me. For example, I learned more about a type of gardening I was unfamiliar with (moss gardening). I also learned a great formula for determining the size of foundation gardens.

But this book isn't just about ideas and inspiration. It's also a practical guide, especially useful for newbies or those planning to design or overhaul their gardens. It provides a list of 10 recommended pollinator plants, a helpful resource for anyone looking to attract beneficial insects to their garden.
Of course, a more in-depth book would be necessary for someone trying to maintain a garden, diagnose plant problems, etc. This book is not an encyclopedia or a complete reference. However, it is a good starting point for someone looking for garden ideas via text and photos.

Overall, this is a great book, and I would like to see more from this author and publisher.

Thank you Creative Homeowner for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This book is perfect for giving you outdoor space an update and to add some new and intriguing ideas to you landscape. Container gardens, country/cottage gardens, and herb gardens are a few that the book covers. Adding color, depth and movement are essential to a visually pleasing garden and landscape. I cannot wait for the weather to break and get outside to play. So many ideas within this book. A great gift for any new homeowner or family member that could use a bit of inspiration.

Each garden design ‘lesson’ is broken up into small, clear steps to think about as you dream your garden into existence. You get enough to educate & inspire you, but not too much to overwhelm you.

I especially enjoyed the sidebars in each lesson- Gardening with confidence. This included things to consider about applying that particular lesson, usually by way of the authors personal experience in her garden design.

Several design ideas I previously had only seen in passing, but this time, through the pages of this book, I stopped and took a deeper look, say, into moss or rock gardening. These stops were delightful and inspiring.

This book is so beautifully done. I grew up in North Carolina, and all the visuals remind me so much of my mother’s garden growing up (the author lives in NC, so it makes sense) and the joy I had learning about plants. So much of the advice in this book feels like it came straight from my mom: layering plants, critter control, etc. I am moving out of the city soon and will have a backyard to start gardening in, so this book was a great starting point for me. I think the author’s narrative writing style is helpful, but at times it can be difficult to follow when a bulleted list will do. Though it has some specifics, I had to remind myself that this guide doesn’t provide specifics of what to grow where and when. I do love the “Gardening With Confidence” section in every chapter. I will definitely be gifting this book to my mom!!

What a stunning book. The photography is absolutely amazing. The text is spot on, easy to read with many ideas and examples. It’s also feels familiar and not technical or wordy. It’s more like friendship text. She also encourages gardeners to think outside the box and not always play it safe when planting. This is the perfect book for beginning gardeners as well as seasoned gardeners. I love the different chapters and how small they are before moving to a different type of garden. Tips and tricks are plentiful. I will be delighted to share this book with fellow gardeners as a keeper in their own library
Thanks you #netgalley and #foxchapelpublishing for allowing me the opportunity to review this book.
Absolutely stunning