CATEGORY

The Well-Decorated Garden is a do-it-yourself guide to making gewgaws for your garden. It's an ideal book for the gardener who has finished all the basic work and now wants to put some flourishes in place, signatures of the self in the blooming landscape. Reminiscent of Martha Stewart's crafty style, The Well-Decorated Garden takes readers step by step through various projects: building a "faux granite garden planter," pebble-covered flowerpots, butterfly boxes, tile plant markers, ladybug cottages. Highlights include a "sign bird feeder," made out of road signs and license plates, and a variety of elaborate outdoor torches. Projects range from simple, hour-long endeavors (a wire candle holder) to major construction projects that might take all summer to finish (a locust log arbor, for instance). The author draws on ideas from a variety of designers, with a wide range of styles and tastes. The Well-Decorated Garden is a good resource for the highly committed and resourceful gardener, the proud artiste who wants guests to "ooh" and "aah" as they discover the landscape's various handmade charms. --Emily White