Cover Image: Garden Builder

Garden Builder

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

This book is full of wonderful gardening ideas -- now I need a bigger yard to contain all the plans I want to build!

Was this review helpful?

#GardenBuilder #NetGalley

A complete guide to how create a garden from small to large backyard. The projects are well explained and well illustrated with real pictures to help to understand the step by step instructions. My favorite project was Water Barrel Tower using a garbage can the results are amazing

Was this review helpful?

This is a very well written and presented book, there are 35 projects that anyone with a bit of care could undertake successfully. There are ideas for concrete artwork - the concrete stones are easy and look great, copper pipe work - love the trellis - and of course lots of woodwork projects. Everything is useful and I would certainly have it at my house or garden. There are many photographs that illustrate the instructions and very easy to follow, even for a beginner.

Was this review helpful?

Good book on building gardens. Many different ideas for any sized space. Great pictures too!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this , I voluntarily chose to review.

Was this review helpful?

If you want different things for your garden this book can be the book for you. From garden beds to benches you will see how to build these different things you can make.

Was this review helpful?

A useful book for gardeners of all skill levels. You'll find perfectly detailed instructions with helpful photos. You'll find some inspiration or new ideas too. It is a go to book for building your garden.

Was this review helpful?

This book has 35 DIY garden projects. If you are comfortable with DIY tools, mixing concrete etc. then you might give it a try as the results look really nice. Sometimes you go to a garden centre and see some decorative items for several hundred's worth. There are some really nice looking decorative garden objects in this book which I would love to try.
The instructions look detailed and step by step. Pictures are helpful.

Was this review helpful?

I was very impressed with the detail and instruction on building the garden ideas presented in this book. They are varied so that most anyone can find an idea they would want to incorporate into their own garden/yard. Not only will you see full color photos of each step of the building process, the author also gives clear instruction on types of wood, true measurements of lumber, and tips to make the assembly easy enough for most anyone to complete. A win! win! of a book!

Was this review helpful?

IF you've ever had the notion to try to construct some things to put in your garden, this is a great resource. This book contains simple plans for everything from a simple bird feeder from a mason jar to a fenced-in vegetable garden. Instructions are clear and liberally illustrated. I'm not skilled in using tools, but this looks like something even I could perhaps follow. Great ideas!

Was this review helpful?

I love this book. Joann Moser presents exciting new garden projects for woodworkers. I especially like that all designs have a refreshingly modern look. There are a lot of options to choose from: from very practical to simply decorative projects, as well as from small to larger projects. The projects I lay my eyes on are the concrete and rebar cattails, the fire cube tower, the bat hotel, the tiered drying racks, and the kid's raised planter. All instructions contain detailed materials and tool lists and Joann leads the reader step by step through the construction process, accompanied by photographs. The projects are all affordable if you already have some woodworking tools available.

Was this review helpful?

Fun project ideas. Nice mix of difficulty levels. Overall a nice garden DIY book.

Was this review helpful?

Well put together book outlining many creative garden projects, from wood racks to planters to bat boxes and a really cool drying rack for herbs, etc. A bit more than utilitarian projects.

Was this review helpful?

Some brilliant & inspirational ideas for things to make for your own garden, ranging from simple to more complex builds. Instructions and photos are easy to follow and I will definitely be trying out quite a few of the ideas

Was this review helpful?

The last 3 years I have planted a garden in our yard in a raised garden bed. It has worked well but we decided to try something different this year to maximize our porch space and this book was perfect! It gave me some really great ideas and I have started working on them already. First up will be the gardener's bench. I love that all the pictures and plans were easy to follow.

Was this review helpful?

I was able to read a 54-day digital ARC loan of this book through NetGalley. I'm glad I was able to preview it because it's not a book that would make a good fit for me or my garden. That said, it would be a good book for some.

PROS:
It has tons of step-by-step, full color photographs.
Each project includes all materials listed and detailed instructions.
There are a variety of projects (planters, bird and squirrel feeders, decorative lawn ornaments, etc.).

CONS:
None of the projects use recycled, reclaimed or found materials.
There are no price estimates at all, even ranges. I have no idea if things like the copper trellis are in any way affordable for me since I don't price copper pipes and joints often. Even a wild guess would be so helpful like "estimated cost: $50-100" or "projected cost: $250."
The projects are very utilitarian and have a certain look (nothing is painted, stained or otherwise made whimsical or colorful).
You need some pretty good carpentry skills for most of the projects.

Few projects in this book are for an actual garden, especially a large one. I actually laughed at the strawberry vault. It's a little wooden raised bed with chicken wire around it to keep birds and rabbits (and kids, apparently) from getting to the strawberries. My own strawberry bed is as big as our driveway, and is interspersed with asparagus and all kinds of wild plants that have proven their use and are allowed to stay. This cute little box would be perfect in our neighbor's perfectly manicured yard, but not in my exuberant back yard jungle.

I would have loved to see some projects made with trimmed branches (Tree Craft is a great book for that kind of project), grapevines, old window frames, pallets or even wood scraps. We tend to reuse and repurpose more than go buy new, especially with the cost of that much lumber or piping.

This could be a great book for older kids who are learning woodworking and would like some projects (especially with a parent's help). I did like a few of the more artistic projects, like the garden globe made by putting dragon tears and purchased mirror pieces at the bottom of a globe light and pouring cement in. Once it's dry, you break the globe and have a cement ball with a flat top of decorative glass. I was drawn to some of the other artistic elements like the cement and rebar cattails, but I really would prefer if they had been tinted or in some way made a little more colorful and fun. Those who like a more natural look would probably be happy with rebar and gray concrete.

Either way, there are some interesting projects and ideas but you will need to invest a fair amount of money and time for most of them.

Was this review helpful?

This is a really fun little book of ideas for 35 easy projects you can do to enhance your garden. From simple little things like "concrete donut flowers" and mason jar bird feeders to more complex, yet easily built structures like a gardener's bench or a cabinet greenhouse. The instructions are well thought out, and the photographs help explain the projects. I identified several projects that I will be undertaking this spring.

Was this review helpful?

If you are a very new beginner not used to building anything the instructions and photos are very clear. I don't have a ton of experience buidling anything so all but 2 of the project were not something I would need the book to build they are mostly variation on a box..since most are very very basic I wouldn't recommend it if you are looking for more intermediate to advance projects.

Was this review helpful?

How to build a wide variety of both decorative (concrete faux cattails, a handsome copper trellis, a garden obelisk) and practical (tiered drying rack, a variety of planters, pergola awning with integrated lighting) items for your garden. Each project has a full list of materials and tools and is illustrated with clear photographs. Be sure to check out the plans for a bat hotel (bats eat mosquitoes! Hooray for bats!) that includes a “pup catcher” shelf to save baby bats that fall out.

Was this review helpful?

Great book. very informative and full of great ideas and step by step instructions.

Was this review helpful?

Moser did a nice job laying out each project step-by-step, including photographs, measurement hints and other tips. I was hoping for more utilitarian projects, however - things like cold frames, actual greenhouses, etc. There were a couple things in this book that I plan to try out (like the rain barrel stands, harvest crates, and greenhouse shelves), but overall these are more decorative projects and not really up my alley.

Was this review helpful?