Garden Stone: Creative Ideas, Practical Projects, and Inspiration for Purely Decorative Uses

The Garden Writers Association of America awarded Garden Stone a Garden Globe Award of Achievement for Writing. The Washington Post wrote, "Garden Stone is one of the best idea books on using stones in the landscape that I have seen." And Country Living Gardener said, "While the book is visually stunning . . . diagrams and step-by-step instructions show how gardeners can make their dreams come true."

Garden Stone shows you how to add stone to bring texture, color, serenity, and strength to your garden. Author Barbara Pleasant offers more than 40 enchanting designs--from something as simple as a flagstone path to an elaborate Zen-inspired meditation garden. Each project is packed with practical, down-to-earth installation advice, including clear line drawings and instructional diagrams. A comprehensive resource list helps you easily find the tools and materials you need.

Pleasant helps gardeners decide which type of stone is best for which kind of design. Limestone, for example, is ideal for stacking to make rock walls. Sandstone is easy to cut for steps and adds warm shades of red, yellow, or chocolate brown to the landscape. Blocks of granite can be used as sturdy paving stones.

Pleasant also shows you how to create stone water features, such as fountains and natural-looking ponds and streams. And she provides hundreds of suggestions for plants whose color, texture, and shape will enhance your stone projects.

Barbara Pleasant has been covering organic gardening and self-sufficient living for more than 30 years. A contributing editor to Mother Earth News, Pleasant has garnered multiple awards from the Garden Writers Association and the American Nursery and Landscape Association. She has written books on topics ranging from compost to weeds, including Homegrown Pantry, Starter Vegetable Gardens, The Complete Compost Gardening Guide (with Deborah L. Martin), The Complete Houseplant Survival Manual, The Gardener’s Bug Book, The Gardener’s Weed Book, The Gardener’s Guide to Plant Diseases, and Garden Stone. Her columns and articles appear regularly in Mother Earth Living magazine and at GrowVeg.com and on other informational websites. Pleasant lives in Virginia, where she grows vegetables, herbs, and fruits along with a few chickens, who all have names.