What do you think?
Rate this book
Gardentopia: Design Basics for Creating Beautiful Outdoor Spaces
“Gardentopia is that rare marriage of the art of landscaping and the technical knowledge of how to compose a landscape—boiled down to readily understood and easily executed actions. This book puts you in the driver’s seat and shows you how to chart the course to your own personal garden utopia.” - Margie Grace, Grace Design Associates
Any backyard has the potential to refresh and inspire if you know what to do. Jan Johnsen’s new book, Design Basics for Creating Beautiful Outdoor Spaces, will delight all garden lovers with over 130 lushly illustrated landscape design and planting suggestions. Ms. Johnsen is an admired designer and popular speaker whose hands-on approach to “co-creating with nature” will have you saying, “I can do that!’
This info-packed, sumptuous book offers individual tips for enhancing any size landscape using ‘real world’ solutions. The suggestions are grouped into five categories that include Garden Design and Artful Accents, Walls, Patios, and Steps and Plants and Planting, among others. Whether you are an experienced gardener or a landscaping novice, Gardentopia will inspire you with tips such as ‘Soften a Corner”, “Paint it Black”, and “Hide and Reveal”.
Any backyard has the potential to refresh and inspire if you know what to do. Jan Johnsen’s new book, Design Basics for Creating Beautiful Outdoor Spaces, will delight all garden lovers with over 130 lushly illustrated landscape design and planting suggestions. Ms. Johnsen is an admired designer and popular speaker whose hands-on approach to “co-creating with nature” will have you saying, “I can do that!’
This info-packed, sumptuous book offers individual tips for enhancing any size landscape using ‘real world’ solutions. The suggestions are grouped into five categories that include Garden Design and Artful Accents, Walls, Patios, and Steps and Plants and Planting, among others. Whether you are an experienced gardener or a landscaping novice, Gardentopia will inspire you with tips such as ‘Soften a Corner”, “Paint it Black”, and “Hide and Reveal”.
286 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 2, 2019
85 people are currently reading
118 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
May 27, 2019
The design values for this book are great: beautiful photos, understated layout that lets the colors and details in the photos stand out. The ideas are fine, though often somewhat vague - each of the primary and secondary colors gets a two page spread. The section on theme gardens names themes, but doesn’t show layouts or discuss lists of specific companion plants; this section could have been better.
The real strength of the book is its discussion of non-vegetative elements of the garden: rocks, flagstones, sight lines, vertical accents, furniture. I particularly appreciated the advice to keep garden furniture light enough that it can be moved around the garden (to take advantage of changing light but also to offer new perspectives periodically), sizing suggestions for capstones to turn a low wall top into a bench, and several tips on how to think about stairs in the garden.
Overall, this is a good book to check out of a library rather than own, and it’s hard to imagine it working well as a digital text.
The real strength of the book is its discussion of non-vegetative elements of the garden: rocks, flagstones, sight lines, vertical accents, furniture. I particularly appreciated the advice to keep garden furniture light enough that it can be moved around the garden (to take advantage of changing light but also to offer new perspectives periodically), sizing suggestions for capstones to turn a low wall top into a bench, and several tips on how to think about stairs in the garden.
Overall, this is a good book to check out of a library rather than own, and it’s hard to imagine it working well as a digital text.
December 30, 2020
Have 3 pages of notes.
January 18, 2023
I really enjoyed going through this book. I especially appreciated the style of covering nuggets of design. Some examples: The Graceful Sweep of a Curve, Hide and Reveal, The Power of a Portal, Soften a Corner, Re-Re-Repetition in the Landscape. I marked 21 sections to return to for re-reading.
The style reminds me of the way I sit down to specify any endeavor or product, and the things that could be helpful to consider as part of the design process. It’s like getting little tidbits of knowledge from a landscape design expert, but presented in a very easily consumable way.
The style reminds me of the way I sit down to specify any endeavor or product, and the things that could be helpful to consider as part of the design process. It’s like getting little tidbits of knowledge from a landscape design expert, but presented in a very easily consumable way.
July 26, 2020
Positives:
Short, one page themes.
Lots of photos.
A mix of classic design rules and author experience.
Mixed:
Plenty of author's experience which may work for you if you are in certain zones (warmer than 5 for instance) or if you have certain aesthetic interests (blue gates).
It was okay. It reminded me a lot of modern version of Your Private World by Thomas Church with less design teaching and more specific experience with plants/light/color/etc.
Short, one page themes.
Lots of photos.
A mix of classic design rules and author experience.
Mixed:
Plenty of author's experience which may work for you if you are in certain zones (warmer than 5 for instance) or if you have certain aesthetic interests (blue gates).
It was okay. It reminded me a lot of modern version of Your Private World by Thomas Church with less design teaching and more specific experience with plants/light/color/etc.
August 24, 2019
This book gave me many ideas. I just wish I could have lush, cool areas like these in my hot desert climate. Well, at least I have books like this to peruse when my eyes need to see some greenery. But really, there were good ideas for any climate included in this book. It was a joy to read.
July 18, 2023
True artistry explained
My personal favorite garden design book because of the gorgeous photographs, practical advice, and the intellectual and visual artistry of the author. I keep going back to it for reference.
My personal favorite garden design book because of the gorgeous photographs, practical advice, and the intellectual and visual artistry of the author. I keep going back to it for reference.
July 24, 2020
Helped me think about goal; theme; power spot in relation to garden. Tips include using foreground, background, and middle ground. “Hide and seek” tactic can pull people in and create depth. Reveal a view either within or beyond the garden.
March 6, 2019
As great landscape architect Thomas Church, said, “The only limit to your garden is at the boundaries of your imagination.” In Gardentopia, Jan Johnsen lends her decades of experience to help spark your imagination in creating an enchanting outdoor space.
Much like the sweeping curves she advocates, Johnsen's easy-going writing style, clear love of outdoor space and the power of nature, and wealth of helpful tips pull you into her Baedeker of garden possibilities.
Plentiful, gorgeous illustrations paired with Johnsen's clear, engaging, and very informative writing make Gardentopia blossom into a garden of delights. Being equal parts inspiration and instruction, it is a wonderful addition to any gardener's collection.
Much like the sweeping curves she advocates, Johnsen's easy-going writing style, clear love of outdoor space and the power of nature, and wealth of helpful tips pull you into her Baedeker of garden possibilities.
Plentiful, gorgeous illustrations paired with Johnsen's clear, engaging, and very informative writing make Gardentopia blossom into a garden of delights. Being equal parts inspiration and instruction, it is a wonderful addition to any gardener's collection.
March 15, 2023
Excellent book on ideas for your backyard garden. This isn't a 'how-to' manual or a set of instructions for redoing an entire estate. It shows pictures of features you can add to a garden and gives you ideas on how to incorporate them: turn rocks into a focal point, use planters to boost a border, use color to highlight a season, etc.
The pictures are beautiful and the examples are doable. There are no million dollar estates with projects outside of an ordinary gardener's budget.
Highly recommended.
The pictures are beautiful and the examples are doable. There are no million dollar estates with projects outside of an ordinary gardener's budget.
Highly recommended.
April 29, 2022
A book of various garden ideas. Great for inspiration and introduction to themes and theories. Not a how-to or coffee table book. Photos make the concepts seem realistic for a home gardener.
June 17, 2019
Beautiful photos and tons of ideas for designing any sized garden.
June 12, 2019
Beautiful pictures!
April 30, 2020
Alexander Pope keeps showing up in my reading. First in this month's Jane Austen Mysteries read: Jane and the Genius of Place.
And now in this beautiful examples of:
"Consult the genius of the place in all;
That tells the waters to rise, or fall;
Or helps th' ambitious hill the heav'ns to scale,
Or scoops in circling theatres the vale;
Calls in the country, catches opening glades,
Joins willing woods, and varies shades from shades,
Now breaks, or now directs, th' intending lines;
Paints as you plant, and, as you work, designs."
And now in this beautiful examples of:
"Consult the genius of the place in all;
That tells the waters to rise, or fall;
Or helps th' ambitious hill the heav'ns to scale,
Or scoops in circling theatres the vale;
Calls in the country, catches opening glades,
Joins willing woods, and varies shades from shades,
Now breaks, or now directs, th' intending lines;
Paints as you plant, and, as you work, designs."
April 2, 2021
Too broad and general to be really useful. The book is set up at as a series of 135 tips. Most tips have a double page spread that includes 2-3 paragraphs of text on one page and several photos on the opposite page. Tips include things like use whimsy (garden art), or incorporate circles into your design, or put a planter in a bed, or show off natural rock formations. All good tips, but without much depth or substance to give you much insight on how to achieve this.
If you are new to gardening and want some inspiration, this may be a helpful book. If you have any experience at all, this book will be too broad to offer you any detailed help.
If you are new to gardening and want some inspiration, this may be a helpful book. If you have any experience at all, this book will be too broad to offer you any detailed help.
August 15, 2021
This garden book has a ferociously orderly outline and was pleasant to look through, but I probably wouldn’t reach for it if recommending a garden book to a friend.
I don’t particularly agree with her take on use of color, but she had a fabulous sample of someone painting their front door to match their threadleaf maple in its full red autumn glory. Um, YES. It has a very strong Feng Shui/ Japanese influence. It did have interesting tidbits and an extremely motivational page or two on honeysuckle. I really want more honeysuckle.
I don’t particularly agree with her take on use of color, but she had a fabulous sample of someone painting their front door to match their threadleaf maple in its full red autumn glory. Um, YES. It has a very strong Feng Shui/ Japanese influence. It did have interesting tidbits and an extremely motivational page or two on honeysuckle. I really want more honeysuckle.
May 15, 2020
This book is heavenly. I am an experienced gardener, but I have a lot of space to develop. This book is full of beautiful pictures, practical tips, and easy projects. I also love that it incorporates ideas of Feng shui design. While I am not completely a Feng shui follower, I find that many ideas with balanced elements indoors and outdoors bring me a lot of calm. This book is full of ideas for balance; I anticipate reading it over many times.
December 10, 2019
This is a well-made volume that basically gives you quick overviews of a lot of different gardening concepts - from framing, gates, and planters, to garden themes and colors/types of plants. Lots of great illustrative photos mean it is entertaining to thumb through whether you were looking for particular inspiration or not.
April 15, 2019
Lovely photography and lots of clever and imaginative suggestions. I am particularly appreciative of the fact that the author notes deer resistant plants.
February 9, 2020
It's the time of year for thinking about spring and gardens, and I took a bunch of notes from this fine gardening book.
September 6, 2020
Like others, more how-to and detail on the basic elements would've been nice. The examples were almost all from large plots of land. Not terribly helpful for my tiny backyard.
February 8, 2022
3.75 - 4 stars
The Majority of garden examples or landscape tips were taken from Jan Johnson's projects and career based in the NE of the united states. But many of her design theories could be applied to any climate. A lot of design theories were center around using the foreground, middleground and backdrop or background of a garden .
As a landscape designer, the benefits gain mostly from the book was to helped me to contemplate on narrowing goal theme of a design project. Loved how the topics were simplified to 1-2 pages . Jan Johnson has great photo examples and inspirations describing her landscape design elements of her past projects. Jan Johnson also goes into several Japanese design theories, which wish she would have elaborated on further, as found them to be completely eye opening design tips.
This book is by all means does not have construction or technical reading aspects, but a good inspiration read.
The Majority of garden examples or landscape tips were taken from Jan Johnson's projects and career based in the NE of the united states. But many of her design theories could be applied to any climate. A lot of design theories were center around using the foreground, middleground and backdrop or background of a garden .
As a landscape designer, the benefits gain mostly from the book was to helped me to contemplate on narrowing goal theme of a design project. Loved how the topics were simplified to 1-2 pages . Jan Johnson has great photo examples and inspirations describing her landscape design elements of her past projects. Jan Johnson also goes into several Japanese design theories, which wish she would have elaborated on further, as found them to be completely eye opening design tips.
This book is by all means does not have construction or technical reading aspects, but a good inspiration read.
June 11, 2021
Lovely photos, but not much detail. Basically a beautiful hardcover magazine. Fine if you already know what you're doing, but for me fewer spreads with more information about how to bring them to life would have been more helpful.
May 31, 2019
Gorgeous photos and some aspirational if basic ideas. This is basically a list of well-illustrated tips and tricks that is probably best suited for beginners.
September 16, 2019
Lovely photos. Good garden ideas.
November 26, 2020
Pretentious book that is basically a glorified catalogue
February 1, 2021
Beautiful book with clear organization that can help with garden planning.
February 14, 2021
Series of misc garden design tips
February 28, 2021
Lots of good info. I was looking for more on serene, Zen-like gardens though.
June 17, 2021
Each page has a design concept, briefly explained, with photo examples. I am in love with this book. 🌻
May 25, 2022
Enthralling, beautiful, and a wonderful way to explain garden design.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews