Beautiful photography transports readers to garden spots nearby and far away

Beautifully illustrated books continue to be among the best ways to keep up with the latest trends in landscape design. Several new favorites of mine cover a wide range of landscape-related topics — and offer the opportunity to view the world from the comfort of your armchair.

•“ Hamptons Gardens ,” by Jack deLashmet (Assouline, 2011, $150), is about the communities of farmers and fishermen that were founded more than 350 years ago on the easternmost reaches of Long Island, N.Y. The Hamptons include about 12 individual hamlets and villages with some of the most expensive real estate in the country. The author, a landscape designer, discusses residents’ desire to maintain gardens on their estates. Well-known landscape architects and designers have practiced their art in this pocket of wealth; the book features the work of Russell Page; Edwina von Gal; Oehme, van Sweden; and Miranda Brooks. Styles range from sustainable native gardens to minimalist, manicured landscapes and meandering meadows.

DeLashmet’s interpretations of these gardens are well-written and offer hundreds of ideas for your landscape design. With the exception of well-publicized Grey Gardens, emphasis is placed on gardens that have not been written about extensively and toured regularly by the public.

The 155 color illustrations are magnificent with the text outlining the impetus influencing the landscape professionals. They offer a window into how the pros worked with their clients to ensure that the designs reflected the clients’ desires. You can use this beautiful 268-page coffee-table hardcover to discover how some of the best-known landscape designers in the world decide what elements will make their work shine.

The author is donating 100 percent of his royalties to God’s Love We Deliver , a provider of nutritious, individually tailored meals to people who are ill and unable to shop or cook for themselves.

•“ American Eden: From Monticello to Central Park to Our Backyards: What Our Gardens Tell Us About Who We Are ,” by Wade Graham (Harper Collins, 2011, $35). Although the title implies that it’s a history going back to Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello home, built in the late 1700s, the book actually goes back over a century earlier to the styles that influenced Jefferson and his contemporaries. Graham goes into great detail about Jefferson’s influence on a distinctly American style and generally considers him as the developer of our earliest garden designs.

Backyard Patio Designs – Pergolas ? The Centerpiece of Your ...

A pergola is a structure that could very well serve as the roof of a patio, but can also be free standing.  It is a type of gazebo, but it looks rather peculiar.  It’s open on all sides, and most pergolas also have semi-open or lattice-patterned roofs.

A pergola is essentially an open terrace.  If the name didn’t give it away, it is Italian in origin, and many pergolas can be seen throughout Italy, where such outdoor structures become meeting places for friends, families and parties.  When vines are trained on it, the vines can grow and climb along the pergola nicely and provide the shade that the lattice-patterned roof cannot.  A row of pergolas positioned one after the other with wisteria, grapevines, or other lush, woody vines trained upon them creates a peaceful covered walkway from one place to the next.

If you so chose, a pergola can be the centerpiece of your backyard.  Since there are no walls and not much of a roof either, a pergola puts you both inside and outside at the same time.  You have the feeling of being indoors since there’s a structure above you, but since the structure allows the elements in, it’s much like being outside as well.  It can define an outdoor living space without unnecessarily constraining it.  Not only is a pergola very low-maintenance, but the structure also creates a very relaxing environment that is conducive for backyard entertaining.  Maybe that’s why they’re so popular in Italy.

Building a stone walkway to your pergola adds a nice touch to your backyard as well, and it lets your guests know that the pergola is the main attraction, and that’s where the entertainment is.

Deck designs, decks, pergolas, railings, planters, benches

Trellises, Arbors & Pergolas, Ideas and Plans for Garden Structures

The practical book of garden architecture

Designing gardens

Outdoor Woodwork, 16 Easy-To-Build Projects for Your Yard & Garden