Garden Renovation

Truly some great ideas for all kinds of houses, all kinds of yards, and all kinds of budgets.

Bobbie Schwartz has almost fifty years of gardening experience, with forty of those years spent as a landscape designer. To say this woman knows her stuff is an understatement, and this book is a wonderful reflection of her knowledge and experience.

Garden Renovation is divided into six sections. Section One talks about recognizing the clues that your yard needs to be updated (such as overgrown plants, a lack of design functionality, no clear paths to the house, etc.), as well as tips for getting the process started (like knowing your budget).

Section Two covers landscape basics, like light conditions, ideal soil, sun and shade charts, awareness of animal life, and more.

Section Three, which is probably my favorite section, discusses different hardscape elements you can incorporate into your design. She showcases some beautiful paths in here, and I got a lot of good ideas from this section alone.

Section Four is a very general overview of types of plants. If you're looking for specifics, you're going to need to look elsewhere. Section Five is about putting your plans into action. This is a very short section, too, and it mostly talks about how to hire a landscape designer.
Section Six is another one of my favorites. It gives a few before and after landscaping projects. In my mind, it's always fun to see a drab space transformed into something beautiful.

There are small vignettes throughout the book that highlight certain issues, and I actually found these to be incredibly helpful. I absolutely loved reading her opinions on buying native vs. exotic plants. She has such a balanced perspective, and her approach seems very reasonable and no-nonsense.

There is also a brief list of online resources in the back. These are informational resources, not product endorsements. So there are links to articles or websites that share info on plants, wildlife, weed control, mulching, stuff like that.

I really enjoyed reading this book. As a beginning gardener who also happens to be a giant book nerd, I've obviously read a ton of books on gardening lately, and Garden Renovation has become one of my favorites. And because Schwartz does most of her work in Zone 6, her advice is perfectly applicable to my garden in Chicago.

I highly recommend reading this book. And if you like this one, I'd also suggest Growing the Midwest Garden by Edward Lyon.

When spring rolls around, I typically can't wait to get back to gardening. And, "Garden Renovation" by author Bobbie Schwartz is an excellent resource for those who are looking for a little bit of everything.

Not sure where to start? Start off with establishing your budget and work from there.

Bobbie has 48 years in the business and covers six important topics, " Choosing Change, Understanding Landscape Essentials, Working with Hardscape Elements, Assessing and Choosing New Plants, How to Put Your Plans into Action, and Success Stories.

I like that we are able to view client properties that are similar to our own. And not only does the book cover a myriad of design elements, it speaks of ways to use irrigation and permaculture. But, my favortite topic of all is .. 'sheet mulching.'

Bottom Line: Garden Renovation is a great read. It provides a wealth of information on the different types of gardens you can integrate into your landscape. Just put on your wellies and gloves and go to it.

As a gardener and landscape designer, the author's home featured is absolutely beautiful, rich in colours and history. This book includes many tips from how to design your dream garden to which plants to use and flowers to grow the book has tips about how to nurture soil, weed keeping, selecting ornaments for areas as well as tips for year round keep.


The book shows that any small space can be transformed into a flourished area to bring joy to everyone who come across it and will be a great help working on a new area design and is a guaranteed bible on recreating a plain area into a tranquil or vibrant area to enjoy!




Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

Garden Renovation - Transform Your Yard Into the Garden of Your Dreams by Bobbie Schwartz is an inspiring and imaginative look at creating an inviting outside. I especially like the second chapter - Understanding Landscape Essentials, along with the artistic elements in chapter 3 – Working with the Hardscape Elements. This raised the book from being just another book on plants for your yard.

Thinking of the beautiful gardens and yards that you see in magazines such as Southern Living or Better Homes and Gardens, this is the book for you. Of course, this is labor intense and there is maintenance as well, still Bobbie Schwartz gives the reader the knowledge to accomplish that very thing. If you are willing to work, this is a complete do-it-yourself yard makeover. If not, it is still an in interesting beautiful book to have for dream garden wishing.

The publisher through Net Galley provided a copy.

The author has written an excellent text on gardening. Specifically, how to renovate your tired, old garden into the garden of your dreams. She does this by teaching you how to recognize what you have, how to know what needs updating, and how to begin your renovation. She explains to you about how to determine what your site can handle, be it the climate, soil, animals, usage, etc. The author then gives you ideas of what you can do with your site. She really likes to design interesting pathways in your garden. Schwartz doesn't give a lot of information on what plants to use, or how to plant them. For that, you might need a different book. There are many out there. The book concludes with some beautiful examples of what people have done.
The book is beautifully photographed. It's guaranteed to get you thinking about your own site, and how to improve it.

This is a very useful book, it isn't just a pretty book, but it actually has a lot of very helpful and sensible information on thing to think of before you start looking at plants or design. There are some good photographs but the information is what you buy this book for.
I love the bit about the upkeep of the ire pit, how often are things are incorporated in the garden without and though about after care. This book covers a lot of things from fire proofing, sheds, paths, walls, hot tubs, lighting and much, much more. If your serious of making a practical and beautiful garden this is a must.

Bobbie Schwartz's book "Garden Renovation" is one that's a welcome topic in my extensive library of gardening books. WHile provided with a temporary pre-publication copy for review, I will likely purchase a copy to guide my future garden renovations. I teach sustainable horticulture, but have never considered myself a good designer because it's difficult for me to visualize in advance what a design will look like. Schwartz's book provides me with the tools for assessing my landscape and determining how to renovate certain areas. The other thing I admire about this book is the emphasis on observation and gradual change. It's tempting to take on a big renovation project, but often just a few changes might make a big difference. Numerous photos help to encourage creativity and demonstrate the pros/cons of certain practices. There is even a section on how to go about selecting and working with a landscape designer.

The book is filled with helpful information about design, style, hardscape and plants. Clearly the author is an expert in all aspects of landscape design and horticulture. I'm particularly impressed with her photos of good/bad tree planting that demonstrate the proper depth to plant trees--one of the most common things I see done incorrectly by landscapers and homeowners. This is one of the many solid principles of horticulture that are included within this valuable resource. I highly recommend this book and will purchase it myself!

I love this book for its inspiration and optimism. I very much want to improve my yard and garden, and this book makes me feel as if it's possible and perhaps I'm capable.

This book was a fantastic book that can be flipped through until you find the topic you are interested in, or read cover-to-cover. The author was extremely detailed with how to start a major garden renovation without getting discouraged with all of the steps that should be followed, but also gracious enough to know that complete newbies may be reading the book. I never felt lost or like the content was below my current experience so it was perfect for me. She also included tons of beautiful photos of finished projects which could make this a nice coffee table book.

It's almost always awe-inspiring to see engaged, talented professionals doing what they do best. Bobbie Schwartz and Timber Press have teamed up on Garden Renovation. Ms. Schwartz has nearly 50 years in the gardening and landscaping business and it shows. This is a meaty workbook oriented book which isn't just eye-candy. It's full of lush and illustrative photographs of course, but more importantly, it's designed as a workbook full of really sound advice.

Our houses and environments are unique. Our goals for our spaces are also unique to us and our expectations and desires for the places we live. This book gives concrete advice for laying out a detailed plan to get from 'where we are' to 'where we realistically want to be'. Landscaping (even for the enthusiast) can be very daunting, very fraught, and very expensive. Obviously we want to avoid as many pitfalls as possible. The author's vast experience with a broad variety of situations and budgets really shows in the work. This is a practical book full of great advice including defining goals, setting realistic budgets and work plans, timelines for implementation, and other vital steps in success. The planning chapter encompasses roughly 10% of the total content.

The book moves on to essential landscaping concepts such as soil, amendments, climate, sunlight and other physical constraints. The subject matter is well researched and presented in a clear understandable manner.

Another important concept in landscaping and preparing and creating our perfect outdoor space is hardscaping, those permanent or semi-permanent structures, walkways, driveways, balconies etc which are possibly expensive or difficult to change. The book presents creative practical methods for changing or incorporating existing hardscape elements into the garden design or solutions for changing them within budget. This is an incredibly well presented chapter, easily the best and most practical I've seen on the subject. The chapter (indeed the whole book) is lavishly photographed with great illustrations showing the contrasts between different solutions for common problems. It includes sections on patios, decks and furniture selection. This chapter alone is worth the price of admission.

Plant selections in gardening are obviously essential. However, too many books turn into basically 'flavor of the month' lists of 'essential' plants which wind up being dated in a few years. This book cleverly and classically avoids the trap of being dated by teaching the reader how to assess a plant's functionality and why to choose a certain plant over other alternatives. By teaching the reader to train their own eye and trust their own instincts, the author educates the gardener. It's very much the 'give the man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him forever' mentality and it really works.

Teaching and showing are all fine and well, but at the end of the day don't change the outdoor home environment one jot. The last 25% of the book are given over to concrete advice for methods of establishing a plan and following through. I loved that the author did NOT just toss off a bit of 'you can do it yourself' fluff, but also said 'there are things which are beyond the scope of all but the most fanatical DIY'ers. Clearly explaining the difference between landscape designers and landscape architects and offering reasonable advice on when to call in the experts was a refreshing change from many other DIY gardening books in my experience. There's also a subchapter on how to choose and work with your chosen professional.

The last chapter includes a wide variety of before and after success stories. These are also well photographed and practical, showing the possibilities hidden in different situations. I, personally, am really good at 'grunt work'... I love gardening passionately, but I'm woman enough to admit that I'm a bit of a plodder when it comes to actually seeing the inherent possibilities creatively. This book is solid gold for me for that reason. It presents myriad creative solutions which would never have occurred to me in a clear manner. There were a fair number of 'forehead smacking' why didn't I think of that?! moments.

The very end of the book includes a bibliography, online resource section and index. It's slanted toward the US gardener, but includes so many bits of advice which are applicable to gardeners everywhere.

Five stars, wonderful book, perfectly presented, and flawlessly edited (I didn't find a single mistake, and when I'm reviewing, I LOOK).

This is an extremely useful book for anyone interested in renovating or freshening up their landscape. While it assumes a certain amount of garden experience on the part of the reader looking to do it on their own, it is largely a book of ideas meaning that anyone, with any level of garden and landscape experience, could take to a professional landscape designer and say "I like this idea."

The most valuable advice that Schwartz offers the reader is to really study your property, across seasons (most of all summer, but really all, if you want an all-season garden, and to study light and shade patterns throughout the days and the seasons. You have to know what you are dealing with- wet, dry, full sun, part shade, before you can meaningfully design anything new. She recommends waiting a full year, if possible. This also allows you time to decide where you are spending time outside, and if you aren't, where you might like to.

Offering advice about visuals and creating "inviting" spaces, Schwartz also tackles the practical stuff about pests like deer, moles, voles, geese (yes, geese can be a pest and if you don't know that, you've never spent time around geese), raccoons and various others, and how and why to create barriers, walls, and fences. She gives advice on how to make paths and walls that harmonize with your house's architecture, and how to design pleasant and eye-catching sheds that will keep all those gardening tools and the potting bench out of your garage. One of the things I especially liked was that Schwartz is absolutely unafraid to tell you to take down trees that were badly placed and do not work for your yard. Take them out, she says, and plant better and wiser. The little ecosystem in your yard will thank you.

All in all, a useful and easy-to-follow book that gives you tools to start planning your landscape redesign.

If you, too, have a country house with a pristinely manicured garden that for some reason needs renovation, then this is the book for you!

A great book for pootlers, amateur and professional gardener's alike. Plenty of ideas and photo's to get your creative juices flowing.

I found this book really helpful when planning. redesign of my garden. Having always had small town gardens and now suddenly finding myself with a large garden and no idea what to do, Bobbie's advice and guidance was invaluable.