RHS Encyclopedia of Garden Design by Chris Young - Non Fiction - Hardcover

Details
Condition: Brand New
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9780241286135
Publisher: DK

Overview
RHS Encyclopedia of Garden Design is the Royal Horticultural Society's authoritative hardcover guide to planning, building, and planting an outdoor space you'll love. Written by Chris Young with the Royal Horticultural Society, it walks you through site analysis, scale, proportion, and the balance of hard landscaping with living planting schemes. You'll learn how climate, soil, drainage, sun, and shade shape smart plant choices and layout decisions. Approachable for beginners yet rich enough for seasoned gardeners, this reference distills decades of RHS design expertise into a single trusted, gift-worthy volume for any home library.

About the Book
RHS Encyclopedia of Garden Design is built as a complete design companion, moving from first inspiration to finished planting plan. The book opens with a framework for reading a site: assessing its shape, orientation, existing features, and the practical constraints every gardener faces before a single plant goes in the ground. From there, Chris Young and the Royal Horticultural Society guide readers through concept development, showing how professional designers translate a rough idea into a workable layout using scale drawings, mood boards, and material palettes. Chapters cover hard landscaping choices such as paving, decking, walls, and water features, alongside planting design principles like color theory, texture, structure, and seasonal succession. Practical sections address everyday challenges: shady corners, exposed sites, small urban plots, and family gardens that need to work as hard as they look good. Sustainability runs throughout, with guidance on soil health, water-wise planting, and low-maintenance choices that keep a garden thriving for years rather than seasons. Case studies and portfolio-style spreads showcase real gardens across a range of styles, from formal and cottage schemes to contemporary and naturalistic designs, giving readers concrete inspiration to adapt for their own space. The hardcover format is built to last as a genuine reference, one to be pulled from the shelf again while planning, revising, or simply dreaming up the next project.

Key Benefits

• Authoritative RHS guidance on garden design, hardscaping, and planting
• Step-by-step framework for site analysis, concept development, and layout planning
• Covers a wide range of garden styles, sizes, and climates
• Practical advice on sustainable, water-wise, and low-maintenance design
• Real garden case studies and portfolio-style inspiration spreads
• Durable hardcover edition built for repeated reference use

About the Author
Chris Young is a garden writer and editor who has spent his career at the intersection of horticulture and design journalism, including a long tenure as editor of the Royal Horticultural Society's member magazine. He works closely with the RHS to translate expert design principles into practical guidance that home gardeners can actually use. His writing focuses on making garden design approachable, whether the reader is planning a first small courtyard or reworking a large established plot. The Royal Horticultural Society, the UK's leading gardening charity, contributes its collective design and horticultural expertise throughout the book.

Why You'll Love This Book
It turns overwhelming garden dreams into an achievable plan, with RHS-backed advice for every stage from sketch to spade. A sturdy hardcover reference that earns its spot on the shelf, it's a genuinely useful gift for a birthday, housewarming, or holiday season for any gardener ready to redesign their outdoor space.

Please Note: This is the UK edition with the ISBN as listed; the cover may vary slightly from the image shown.