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Handmade Garden Projects: Step-by-Step Instructions for Creative Garden Features, Containers, Lighting & More

By Lorene Edwards Forkner

You can transform your garden into a handmade, personality-infused oasis. Author Lorene Edwards Forkner — part eco-friendly non-traditionalist, part crafty creative — will show you how.

Projects run the gamut from eye-catching structures, like a pergola made from plumbing pipes, to imaginative details, like a tree-hung chandelier for nighttime ambiance. You'll also find helpful plant guides to accompany projects: delectable herbs to fill a stacking container tower, stellar succulents for a vertical gutter garden, glorious flowering vines to climb a bamboo obelisk, and so much more.

Ready to get started? All you need are refreshingly simple, inexpensive materials — hardware store basics, salvaged goods, repurposed castoffs from cluttered basements — along with a little do-it-yourself spirit. With clear instructions and inspiring variations on every theme, this book is easy to follow and easy to love. Your journey to a made-from-scratch outdoor space starts here.

Filed under: crafts, instructional, materials, art, beginner, container, garden design, lighting, structures, sustainable

Format: Paperback
Pages: 224 pp.*
Book dimensions: 8 x 8½ in. (215 x 205 mm.)*
Images: 150 color photos*
ISBN-10: 1604691859
ISBN-13: 9781604691856
Product code: 689185
*These specifications have not been finalized and are subject to change.

Media reviews

"Her instructions are practical, her aesthetic pleasingly funky."

—Seattle Times

"Puts a smile on your face ... any gardener is bound to find a project they'll love. ... Jam-packed with colorful photos, great advice, and good guidance, making it a must-have. Better buy two, one to keep for yourself!"

—Belfast Republican Journal

"[Offers] pretty unique creative weekend projects."

—Poppy Talk

"A series of well-photographed and inspiring garden visits and projects, meant to enhance your garden."

—Danger Garden blog

"A creative new book ... filled with ideas and instructions with DIY ideas from fountains to fire pits."

—Valerie Easton, Plant Talk

"Filled with ideas for turning unused items and common materials into decorative and functional garden accents."

—Mary Beth Breckenridge, Akron Beacon Journal

"Part inspiration and part manual, but for anyone comfortable working with simple tools and construction materials there is just enough step-by-step instruction to get started."

—San Francisco Chronicle

"A collection of simple and inspiring projects that take your garden — be it balcony, small or large — to the next level and reflect your personality and taste."

—Treehugger

"Fresh take on life outdoors."

—San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles

"If you are wondering what's in this book for plant nerds, the good news is: Plenty."

—Debra Prinzing, Pacific Horticulture

"There are fun, do-able things in this book."

—Philadelphia Inquirer

"If you need a little inspiration for infusing your personality into your own garden, be sure to check out [this] book."

—Digging

"Whimsy is the watchword here, even as Forkner provides full-color photos, practical conversion tables, hardiness zones, and resources listings in this innovative addition to DIY creativity."

—Booklist

About the author

Lorene Edwards Forkner

Lorene Edwards Forkner is an award-winning garden designer who lives, gardens, writes, and designs in the Pacific Northwest. Her writing has appeared in several national and regional publications including Organic Gardening, Pacific Horticulture, MaryJane's Farm, Northwest Garden News, and Edible Seattle.