Gardentopia: Design Basics for Creating Beautiful Outdoor Spaces

I have been anticipating the release of Gardentopia Design Basics for Creating Beautiful Outdoor Spaces, since I preordered it last year, and Jan Johnsen has succeeded in bringing us a new garden book that is destined to become a classic. This book has something for everyone who has an interest in gardens and outdoor space, including professional garden designers such as myself. The photos illustrate the design tips clearly and effectively. Gardentopia is a book you can first go through by just looking at the photos. You will undoubtedly find yourself drawn into reading the engaging and concise text. The tips are written in such a way to provide at least one important design concept or technique on each page. You will reach for this book for inspiration or as a reference guide, and the tips apply to gardens both large and small. The colorful and well printed photos make my brain light up, and now I can't wait to get out into my garden and start using some of these design tips! A Garden of the Five Senses may be my first project...

This is a must have garden design and idea book. I first read this author's "Heaven is a Garden" book and love it. Glad that I found this "Gardentopia". It has a lot of design ideas and each page has beautiful color pictures of the author's designs to illustrate the subject matter. It has how to information for DIY gardeners. It is so inspirational, informative and interesting to read that I have just finished reading this a second time. Jan Johnsen has provided some of her years of design experience in a simple, informative and well illustrated must have book for anyone who is interested in creating or editing their own garden heaven.

As an avid gardener, retired teacher/administrator, and NYBG-trained horticultural therapist, I have purchased and read many, many books on flowers and gardening. Floratopia is one of the best! The photos are beautiful, the ideas creative and inspiring, and the division of concepts into 110 ideas invites the reader/gardener to keep looking for more! I look forward to punctuating my everyday "must-do" activities with time to read and reread sections of this delightful book. A "must have" for new and experienced gardeners!

This book is beautiful, but it’s more for people with a lot of land and money. I was looking for a book with basic ideas for everyone. Although there were beautiful prints, it’s just not feasible to many. I should have chosen a different book for basic but beautiful ideas. My wrong choice. I will add this to my collection. As it is a nice book.

From visualizing the finished garden, to gathering materials and getting down to work, Jan Johnsen covers beautifully every facet of what it means to create an outdoor oasis. As with her previous books, Jan carefully lays the groundwork for her readers’ success, intertwining creative inspiration with practical guidance. her writing style is breezy, and her illustrations are dreamy. But make no mistake: This book is chock-full of substantial, ingenious ideas that come from years of accumulated knowledge and experience. I highly recommend GARDENTOPIA, for novice gardeners and longtime landscapers alike.

A huge thank you to Goodwill Minnesota for sending this book my way in fantastic condition! Don't pick this one up expecting an exhaustive gardening manual - instead, it's a vibrant, photo-packed guide designed to spark ideas for newer green thumbs. I rarely stick to strict gardening 'recipes,' but I adore this book for the visual inspiration. The photography is beautiful, with concise descriptions to accompany each image. It's perfect for those just starting their gardening journey, or for seasoned gardeners like me who need a fresh dose of creative ideas. Despite being published in 2019, I believe this book will remain a relevant and timeless addition to any gardening library.

This book (Jan Johnsen's third!) is gorgeous, and full of practical wisdom and inspiration. The concise and cheery text kept me looking and reading and learning and dreaming of water, wood, earth, stone – and flowers! The growing season of this book is year-long with ideas that blossom in all phases of planning, preparation, and, most of all, enjoyment of the outdoor spaces she encourages us to create.

I was excited about this book, but I was disappointed. I was looking for a beginner-friendly garden design principle book, and instead it was just a numbered list of ideas half of which don't even apply to my tiny Texas back yard garden. Most of them don't, to be completely fair. There were some interesting ones though (maybe 5), and that's why I won't return the book, but in my opinion it's not worth the price.

This product was a gift and useful

very good book that provided me with lots of interesting ideas

Inspirational book !

A magnificent garden book. Highly recommended.