SMALL PATIO GARDENS ING: Simple Projects, Contemporary Designs - a Garden Design Book - Softcover

In Small Patios, Hazel White shows you how to take even a modest-sized spot in the garden and turn it into an outdoor retreat. Geared specifically toward smaller yards, Small Patios features step-by-step projects that span the range in both cost and style for everyone from the casual gardener to the devoted landscaper. What kind of patio you choose depends on how you like to spend your time outdoors. For some it's an outdoor dining room, and here you'll find projects featuring a rose bower with flagstone and violets, or one with warm red brick and a smoke tree. Where relaxing is the main activity, there is a pondside terrace, or a sitting room under oak boughs. If backyard space is exceptionally scarce, consider an entrance patio, such as the red and gold welcome, or the outdoor room for one. There are stopping places, like the vegetable garden escape and the concrete ledge. And there are hideaways, like the city mandala and the bluestone clearing. Filled with practical information and illustrated with full-color photographs, Small Patios will guide you every step of the way. In choosing the right site you'll learn how to consider such things as drainage, orientation towards to the sun, distance from the house, and privacy from surrounding properties. And when it comes time to build, you'll find detailed lists of all the necessary materials - from tools and building supplies to furniture and plants. Whether you're looking for something simple or elaborate, Small Patios is an insightful gardening reference.

Hazel White is a horticultural journalist and editor. She was the managing editor of the fortieth anniversary edition of Sunset's Western Garden Book. Holt Saxon is an award-winning photographer whose work has appeared in several gardening magazines and books. He lives in Northern California.