The Planting Design Handbook

Nick Robinson9780754630357, 0-7546-3035-8

First published in 1992, this text is widely used on landscape architecture courses around the world. It examines the horticultural, ecological and aesthetic characteristics of plants, and discusses the structural and decorative roles of planting, spatial composition, species selection, planting plans and spacing, and the vital role of management. With its fresh look at aesthetic principles and its analysis of the design process, it reveals how a systematic approach can allow the greatest freedom for the creative imagination. This second edition still provides a complete examination of both the principles and the practice of design with plants, for public, institutional and private landscapes, but is fully revised and updated, taking account of developments in professional practice and reflecting a variety of the media and approaches currently used. It incorporates conceptual design approaches to planting, a range of design methods as well as tried and tested analytical and objective procedures, and a wide range of new international examples of planting design. The ecological basis for planting design has been broadened to include examples from warm temperate and subtropical vegetation types as well as those of the cool temperate and Mediterranean climate area. The layout of the book is clearer and more spacious, with colour illustrations. While retaining the detailed line drawings of the Chinese architect and painter Jia-Hua Wu, it includes an international range of new photographs and professional drawings. These illustrate a range of media now effective and useful in professional practices of various sizes.

---

Table of contents :
Contents……Page 6
Figures……Page 12
Plates……Page 18
Tables……Page 36
Acknowledgements……Page 38
Preface to the Second Edition……Page 40
Introduction……Page 42
PART 1: PRINCIPLES……Page 44
1 Why Design?……Page 46
Planting Design – an Expression of Function……Page 47
Planting Design as Management of Natural Vegetation Processes……Page 49
What is Successful Planting Design?……Page 51
Plants as Living Materials……Page 53
Environmental Factors……Page 54
Cycles of Plant Growth and Development……Page 55
Aftercare……Page 56
Plants as Spatial Elements……Page 59
Plants as Ornament……Page 62
Plant Selection……Page 64
Functional and Aesthetic Considerations in Design……Page 69
Ground-level Planting (Carpeting Plants)……Page 71
Shrubs and Herbaceous Plants Below Knee Height (Low Planting)……Page 73
Planting Above Eye Level (Tall Shrub/Small Tree Planting)……Page 76
Tree Planting……Page 79
The Experience of Space……Page 86
The Use of Spaces……Page 87
Enclosure……Page 88
Dynamics……Page 92
Focus……Page 101
5 Composite Landscape……Page 108
Spatial Organizations……Page 109
Hierarchy of Spaces……Page 116
Transitions……Page 121
Subjective and Objective Responses to Plants……Page 127
Form……Page 129
Line and Pattern……Page 141
Texture……Page 146
Colour……Page 148
Visual Energy……Page 152
Five Principles of Visual Composition……Page 153
Unity and Diversity in Planting Design……Page 164
Inspiration……Page 172
Plant Communities……Page 174
Two Principles……Page 176
Designing with Canopy Layers……Page 177
Some Typical Canopy Structures……Page 178
Deciduous Cool Temperate Communities (Europe and North America)……Page 179
Evergreen Temperate Communities (New Zealand)……Page 188
Design Interpretation……Page 191
Horticultural Factors in Plant Associations……Page 192
Relative Competitiveness……Page 193
Mode of Spread……Page 194
Longevity and Life Cycles……Page 196
Plant Knowledge……Page 197
PART 2: PROCESS……Page 200
9 A Method for Planting Design……Page 202
Inception……Page 203
Understanding: Gathering and Organizing Information……Page 205
Synthesis – Generating and Organizing Ideas……Page 211
Realization……Page 236
Learning Through the Design Process……Page 241
PART 3: PRACTICE……Page 242
Forest and Woodland……Page 244
Designing Forest and Woodland……Page 246
Planting Mixes……Page 248
High Forest/High Canopy Woodland……Page 249
Low Forest/Low Woodland……Page 265
Shrub Thicket……Page 269
Edges……Page 272
Tall Edge……Page 276
Outlying Groups……Page 277
Clumps and Copses……Page 278
Woodland and Forest Belts……Page 279
Hedges and Hedgerows……Page 280
Avenues……Page 290
Trained Trees and Vines……Page 295
General Planting Areas……Page 297
Raised Planting and Container Planting……Page 315
Walls, Pergolas, Trellis and other Vine Supports……Page 317
Ornamental Planting in Specialized Habitats……Page 320
12 Conclusion……Page 322
References and Further Reading……Page 323
E……Page 327
O……Page 328
S……Page 329
W……Page 330