Urban Sanctuaries: Peaceful Havens for the City Gardener

Whether you have little more than a glorified big-city fire escape or a small-town backyard, British garden writer Stephen Anderton claims you can create a peaceful oasis in a hectic environment. The emphasis in Urban Sanctuaries is on the traditional backyard, but Anderton's key concepts will apply to smaller areas as well. The scale of plantings as well as water and soil supplies must be considered carefully. To make it seem larger, the pace of movement through the area should be slowed and there must be a place to sit, which seems obvious, but during the design stage the fact that eventually one will want to spend leisure time in one's garden is often overlooked. Copiously illustrated with color photographs of scores of small gardens and outdoor seating areas, the book features gardens of every persuasion, from spare, minimalist retreats to veritable urban jungles. Unfortunately, Anderton identifies few of the gardens by geographic location, though many of them look decidedly rural. Eight gardens are displayed in double-page spreads, and for those the original plans are provided and the initial design considerations are detailed. Anderton also provides a practical listing of 72 plants suitable for small gardens--tough varieties with long growing seasons. --Liana Fredley