Available this month, Outdoors is The Garden Design Book for the Twenty-First Century. It's a Terence Conran book, the well known designer, restaurateur and author having collaborated with a garden designer for this one. "Outdoors presents the principles of imaginative and innovative landscape design, providing readers with useful knowledge and also with inspiration from diverse sources: history, media, fashion, architecture.". As with many Conran books this one is practically oriented with thematic chapters; urban gardens on rooftops, free-form rural landscapes, backyards devised to encourage children's imaginations, and spaces planned primarily for al fresco entertaining. Lots of case studies illustrating techniques behind planning and layout, planting choices, intended uses, and relation to the larger landscape. Also included, a step-by-step guide to planning a garden, advice on selecting and working with a garden designer, and an extensive catalog of plants, with scientific names, foliage and bloom descriptions, and planting suggestions. There's even a green theme, a special focus on conservation philosophies that address wildlife, recycling, and water-wise gardening. Hardcover, 272 pages, 350 color photographs, $37.80 at Amazon.

+ Outdoors at Amazon