Gardening with Shape, Line and Texture: A Plant Design Sourcebook
Hawthorne approaches garden design through an encyclopedic plant directory, addressing each genus/species with an eye toward such aesthetic elements as shape and form, line and texture. Gardeners should benefit from Hawthorne’s methods for “painting with plants.” He provides historical antecedents for his technique in an opening chapter, and guidelines for analyzing a plant’s characteristics become clear through a combination of photographs and explanations of design principles. What Hawthorne stresses is the need to take the time to compose, rather than setting a new plant in whatever space is available—very sound advice. A genuinely revelatory way of looking at plants emerges in categories such as clumps and mounds, verticals and diagonals, arcs and fountains. Abundant illustrations should help in visualizing arrangements of mixed plantings with bulbs, perennials, trees and shrubs. As more emphasis is placed these days on gardens as artful statements, Hawthorne’s sourcebook will add a thoughtful reassessment of plants to the dialogue. --Alice Joyce