Review
This slender book speaks as eloquently with photographs as it does with words.
It's a treat to page through and look at the photos. But those who stop to read will also benefit.
With chapters devoted to the city house, small apartment, city flat and loft, the book shows - and explains - how to choose reminders of the outdoors for a tightly edited space. It's a given that artificial flowers or arrangements are excluded. The author makes a convincing case for appreciating a bit of real nature every day, even if it's as basic as collected river rocks and interesting dry branches.
Dahan is a perennial and herb gardener who has written two previous garden books; photographer Sullivan has had work published by House Beautiful and several books.
For any small area, the author suggests blurring the boundaries between outdoors and indoors as a way to expand space. One suggestion: Place a mirror to reflect a garden view and bring it inside.
Simple ideas are sprinkled throughout. For a floral mantelpiece, wreathe a hanging mirror with live ivy. Or add a rustic woven branch sofa table to an otherwise contemporary setting.
A tiny rooftop garden carpeted in grass, with wall-hung pots of flowers, offers a park setting stories above the real thing. Another rooftop retreat near an elevator structure screens some of the view through dried bamboo stalks sunk into a low slate bench.
If you live in a small space, you may want to make room for this book. -The Oregonian
Product Description
Garden Home: City picks up where GardenHouse left off. Geared toward the city dweller, the book features urban retreats - more modern and contemporary in style than Garden House. Garden Home: City shows how to bring the outdoors in and transform tiny studios, open lofts, cozy townhouses, and city flats into modern-day edens as well as how to create small gardens on rooftops, patios, decks, and fire escapes. Each chapter opening is followed by a plethora of photographs and descriptive captions illustrating myriad ways you can incorporate the gardener's sensibility into your home decor in a modern, sleek, and stylish way.