Since the first edition was published in 1992, Nick Robinson's The
Planting Design Handbook has been widely used as a definitive text on
landscape architecture courses throughout the world. It remains one of
the few titles written by a practicing landscape architect and educator
who is also a horticulturalist and accomplished plantsman, and which
deals with the application of planting design on a large scale in
landscape architecture and urban design projects. The Planting Design
Handbook is distinctive for its elegant integration of an ecological
approach with an understanding of visual and spatial composition. It
emphasizes the role of vegetation layers and designed plant communities
in complex and diverse plant assemblages for all kinds of sites and
uses. This expanded and comprehensively updated third edition still
provides a complete examination of principles and practice of design for
public, institutional and private landscapes. It takes account of
developments in theory and practice, especially in the use of
perennials, and reflects a variety of media and approaches current in
landscape architecture and design. All chapters have been revised and
re-written to ensure updated references and new references have been
added. Many new photographs of planting and projects around the world
have been included, with examples of current professional drawings to
illustrate the design process. It is generously illustrated, including a
colour section and the beautifully detailed line drawings of the Chinese
architect and painter Jia-Hua Wu.
