STONE LANDSCAPING
Ideas and Techniques for Stonework
(Meredith
Books/Better Homes and Gardens)
by Don Engebretson
Softcover - 177 pages
FROM PLANNING AND DREAMING TO BUILDING,
HERE’S ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT
ADDING STONE TO YOUR LANDSCAPE.
Release the pigeons! My first national book (January, 2004) is the most up-to-date, comprehensive stone book available. It teaches you everything you need to know about landscaping with stone. Create stone patios, sidewalks, pathways, walls, steps, container spaces, ruins, dry creek beds, rock gardens, edging, outcroppings, screes, waterfalls, ponds and streams like a professional (more about the book and sample pages below).
Ordering it now, direct from this page, is quick and easy. Click on the book cover below for secure ordering using your credit card or bank account through PayPal. Or buy the book the good old-fashioned way, by mailing your check or money order (made payable to Renegade Gardener) to:Renegade Gardener
840 – 3rd Ave., #104
Excelsior, MN 55331
Cost: Bookstores: $19.95 + tax Order Here: $21.00 (includes postage and mailer, US RESIDENTS
ONLY, no tax except MN residents see below) Books will be shipped via US Mail in a padded mailer within one day of receiving your order; allow 5-8 days mail delivery. All books signed by the Renegade Gardener, thus adding immeasurable nugatory value! |
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Click pages to see larger images.
About the Book
First, and very important, my book is published by Meredith Publishing. Who are they? Meredith is the 800-pound gorilla of gardening books, first-rate, professional, and highly creative. They also publish a ton of very good magazines, including Better Homes and Gardens.
I wrote this book – 40,000+ words – in a creative, thought-provoking voice, and it includes my insights and opinions on all manner of design concepts pertaining to landscaping with stone. I also want to mention that my friend and fellow garden writer Lynn Steiner wrote ten pages of the 100-page first chapter, at my request, in areas of her great expertise. She is listed in the book with me as contributing writer, and rightly so.
Book Content
If I may be honest, Stone Landscaping sets a new standard for stonework
how-to books, since the editors and I were able to look at previously
published stone books to see ways in which they could be improved. For
instance, this is the only landscaping book that contains excavation
and base material depth charts covering all USDA Zones. Installing a
mortared flagstone pathway in Minnesota or Manitoba is not the same chore
as installing a mortared flagstone pathway in Georgia, or in Ohio, and
this is the first book to note these differences.
The book also updates the tools and techniques available to you, the homeowner. This is the first stone book that shows you how to use hydraulic rock splitters and other useful, rentable gadgets. Other do-it-yourself stone books will have you installing wood edging or benderboard during many pathway or patio installations, materials that haven’t been used by top stone landscape professionals in twenty years. This book incorporates new products and technologies.
Chapter
1 – Designing with Stone, discusses design considerations and
tips to keep in mind while planning your stone project, and includes over
150 inspiring full-color photos of fabulous stone pathways, walls, patios,
edging, rock gardens, planter boxes, outcroppings, outdoor kitchens, fountains,
ponds, streams, waterfalls and more, each carefully selected by the editors
of Better Homes and Gardens.
Chapter 2 – Stonework Techniques, gives you all the info on tools and equipment, site prep, installing base materials, stone types, choosing and purchasing stone, and how to work with stone.
Chapter 3 – Projects in Stone, takes every topic and project that I showed you in Chapter 1 and, in the same order, shows you exactly how to lay a patio, or install stone steps, place stone outcroppings, or construct a four-foot, bluestone, dry-stack wall. It includes hundreds of illustrations leaving nothing to chance. I spent the first month outlining the book, because so many of the other how-to books we looked at had design and installation information scattered all around. In this book I take you step-by-step through the project you select, and to my great amazement, the book makes complete and utter sense.
Chapter 4 – Companion Plants, reverts back to beautiful color photos of suggested plants that combine well with stone features, including plants that withstand foot traffic, plants that grow in crevices, dwarf and spreading evergreens, etc.
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| Click above to read complete Table of Contents |
Well, there’s the sales pitch. Head back to the top of this page to order. And if you do order, thank you, very, very much. I think you’ll enjoy reading the book and, best of all, I think you’ll use it to create fabulous, unique stone features in your yard and garden.
Don Engebretson