The Planting Design Handbook

Description

Since the first edition was published in 1992, Nick Robinson's The Planting Design Handbook has been widely used as a definitive text on landscape architecture courses throughout the world. It examines the horticultural, ecological and aesthetic characteristics of plants, discusses the structural and decorative roles of planting, spatial composition, species selection, planting plans and spacing, and the vital role of management. With its fresh look at aesthetic principles and its analysis of the design process, it reveals how a systematic approach can allow the greatest freedom for the creative imagination. This revised second edition still provides a complete examination of both the principles and the practice of design with plants, for public, institutional and private landscapes, taking account of developments in professional practice and reflecting a variety of media and approaches currently used. It incorporates conceptual design approaches to planting, a range of design methods as well as tried and tested analytical and objective procedures, and a wide range of new international examples of planting design.
The ecological basis for planting design has been broadened to include examples from warm temperate and subtropical vegetation types as well as those of the cool temperate and Mediterranean climate area. The layout of the book is clear and spacious, with colour illustrations. While retaining the beautiful and detailed line drawings of the Chinese architect and painter Jia-Hua Wu, it includes an international range of new photographs and professional drawings, updated since the second edition. These illustrate a range of media now effective and useful in professional practices of various sizes.

Author description

Nick Robinson is a practising Landscape Architect and Lecturer. He has taught Landscape Architecture, specializing in planting design, at the Universities of Sheffield, and Gloucestershire in the UK and at Lincoln University, New Zealand, and has further teaching experience in the USA. He has run a design practice in both the UK and New Zealand.

Table of contents

Contents: Preface to the second edition; Introduction; Part 1 Principles: Why design?; Plants as a medium for design; Spatial characteristics of plants; Creating spaces with plants; Composite landscape; Visual properties of plants; Principles of visual composition; Plant assemblages. Part 2 Process: A method for planting design. Part 3 Practice: Structure planting; Ornamental planting; Conclusion; References and further reading; Index.