The flowers are blossoming, the foliage looks fantastic, and the plant combinations are gorgeous. So why doesn’t your garden satisfy? The problem just might be a lack of hardscaping—structures like arbors, paving, walls, fountains, pools, and decks that delineate, ornament, animate, and add dimensionality to a garden. Using both his own and others’ layouts, a top garden designer reveals why these structures are so important and how to incorporate them into the landscape. Each chapter examines a specific principle (creating balance, instilling motion, establishing focal points), and features illuminating discussions of style, function, application, and plantings, as well as magnificent projects. Bring fresh life to a garden with a curvaceous patio with a rill, a sculpture plinth on a terraced platform, or a Victorian “room.”

A Selection of the Homestyle Book Club.