As the title implies, this guides are meant for the novice or "rookie" gardener who wants to take the next step in creating a beautiful, enjoyable home landscape. This eBook is based on a 9 hour lecture/slide/hands-on series of programs offered to home owners and Master Gardeners over the past couple of decades by the author. It is intended to present a way of thinking about landscape gardening that will lead you in the right direction.

This is NOT only a "How to do..." eBook but also a "What to know..." guide. We will concentrate on those facts and insights that will help you make the best decisions while designing your bed and border project. Our goal is to help you understand the process of designing a landscape so that you can either do it yourself or be a knowledgeable consumer of professional services you might employ.  

Anyone who visits a landscape garden can form an opinion about what they like or dislike about it. This eBook will teach you concepts and terminology so you can describe WHY you find a garden or grouping in a garden either pleasing or not so pleasing. That way, you can reproduce the good and avoid the bad in your own beds and borders.

This guide will describe a "typical" design process that might be followed while developing home landscape beds and borders. Obviously, each project will present unique situations and challenges, but there are several basic steps that are common to all projects.

We have divided these steps into the following chapters:

 Introduction to Beds and Borders
    Chapter 1 - Early Planning Decisions
    Chapter 2 - Preparing a Baseline Map
    Chapter 3 - Making a Landscape Inventory
    Chapter 4 - The Functions of Plants in the Landscape
    Chapter 5 - Choosing a Garden Style
    Chapter 6 - The Art and Science of Garden Design - Sample Pages
    Chapter 7 - Design Criteria - Sample Pages
    Chapter 8 - Color Combinations for Beds and Borders
    Chapter 9 - Unifying the Landscape Design
    Chapter 10 - Beds and Borders as Theater

A Rookie's Guide to Designing Beds and Borders, is now available on Amazon.Com for use in their Kindle readers. Although it may be read on the black and white version, we would recommend that you use the color version, the Kindle Fire or get the app for the PC, Mac or other device to get the most out of this image filled eBook.

To purchase this eBook, simply go to Amazon.Com and enter B00DQULHCQ in the search window. That will take you directly to the correct item.

This eBook is currently available at Lulu, iTunes and Barnes and Nobles Nook in .EPUB and Adobe .PDF format with 82 pages, over 23,000 words and 200 images and illustration.

Also on sale is the next in this series, "A Rookie's Guide to Installing Beds and Borders".