Jewel Box Garden
Hobbs, Southlands Nursery owner and plantsman extraordinaire, reigns over Vancouver's horticultural scene and exerts an indubitable presence throughout the Pacific Northwest and points beyond. His passion for daringly vibrant plant pairings blazed brightly in his first book,Shocking Beauty(1999). Now, in a brilliantly produced and gorgeously illustrated new tome, Hobbs holds forth on myriad ideas about garden design. From ornamentation and hardscaping to maximizing small spaces and issues of scale, Hobbs integrates practical observations and advice into an inspirational nexus, laying claim, in effect, to the role of a piper, calling upon gardeners to follow their dreams and tap into creative urges. Along with a message to dream big, green thumbs are encouraged to key in to their beloved plants to glean cultivation requirements; develop a discerning eye; learn about color; and revere any and all elements that form a unique statement of one's personal aesthetic. Vignettes showing Hobbs' spectacular house and its surrounding landscape exemplify a resonant philosophy that transcends gardening to encompass a talent for living life to its fullest.Alice JoyceCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved