From Booklist
With a fine book on ornamental grasses to his credit, Darke turns to summoning forth the spirit, beauty, and natural order of a woodland in the gardens he creates in its image. Darke defines a "Forest Aesthetic," bringing intensity and passion to his revelations of seasonal rhythms and the lyric qualities of light occurring in deciduous environments. Decades spent studying a Pennsylvania locale, Red Clay Creek, form the basis of a subsequent chapter in which Darke melds an authentic ecological stance with the desire to create a garden sanctuary. Identifying aesthetic elements in the most subtle of manifestations, from a tiny dormant bud to dramatic silhouettes of fallen tree trunks, Darke shares a reverie on nature and observations of an applicable artistry. As responsible stewards of the land, gardeners can look to Darke's unorthodox design manual to transcend trite solutions with a wise and vital philosophy, and with its cache of inspiring photographs, this is sure to inspire all who garden east of the Rocky Mountains. Alice Joyce
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


From Book News, Inc.
In this volume, lushly illustrated with color photographs, Darke, a landscape designer retired from the Longwood Garden (PA) staff, advocates what may be for some a new aesthetic of gardening: "tending a modest piece of ground that is a part of the larger forest." Though focusing on the Eastern deciduous forest, his philosophical and horticultural observations from longtime study of a native woodland stream habitat should appeal to all ecologically- responsible gardeners. Includes plant sources, the USDA plant hardiness zone map, and a glossary. Approx. 10x11.Copyright © 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR


Mark Flanagan,The Garden, Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society, November 2002
"Within two pages . . . I was hooked. This is a first-rate work."


Patricia Jones, Plants & Gardens News, Fall 2002
"Overall, Darke has delivered a tour de force to follow his magnum opus [The Color Encyclopedia of Ornamental Grasses]."


Bob Purnell, Gardens Illustrated, December/January 2003
"An accomplished work of epic proportions. . . . This book is destined to become a classic."


Joel Lerner, The Washington Post, November 30, 2002
"Darke does a superlative job addressing the totally natural landscape . . . . Every page has photographs that perfectly parallel the text."


Book Description
North America's eastern half, roughly from the Midwest to the Atlantic, was once a great deciduous forest. Although centuries of human intervention have cleared much of the land, the timeless forest remains in the spirit of the place. Today, even the shortest period of human neglect allows for the resurgence of the process of forest creation. The greatest gardens --- and happiest gardeners --- in this area will be those that take into account the nature of the land. In his unique and often thought-provoking new book, award-winning author Rick Darke promotes and stunningly illustrates a garden aesthetic based on the strengths and opportunities of the woodland, including play of light, sound, and scent; seasonal drama; and the architectural interest of woody plants. An alphabetical listing of woodland plants offers useful advice for every garden, emphasizing native trees, shrubs, vines, ferns, grasses, sedges, and flowering perennials that fit the forest aesthetic. More than 700 stunning photographs, taken by the author, show both the natural palette of plants in the wild and the effects that can be achieved with them in garden settings. The American Woodland Garden is a clarion call to a new awareness of our relationship to the natural world. This book will take its rightful place among the classic works that have influenced our concept of the American landscape.


About the Author
Rick Darke is a landscape design consultant, author, and photographer based in Landenberg, Pennsylvania. He was a member of Longwood Gardens’ staff for 20 years. He received the Scientific Award of the American Horticultural Society in 1998, which honors individuals who have enriched horticulture through outstanding and notable research. He earlier wrote and illustrated Ornamental Grasses for Your Garden, and served as consulting editor for the Royal Horticultural Society’s Manual of Grasses.


Excerpted from The American Woodland Garden: Capturing the Spirit of the Deciduous Forest by Rick Darke. Copyright © 2002. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
There is no overstating the grandeur and dignity of the deciduous forest canopy: it is truly awesome. I've always found the top of the woods especially enthralling in mid winter, when trees are completely bare of leaves. Stand still and follow the lines of massive trunks skyward, and you'll observe their graceful splitting into repeatedly finer segments until they become mere threads, barely distinguishable to the naked eye. Then move forward just a step or two, while looking up, and literal millions of angles will shift and change. The canopy is a fabulous study in intricate detail. Exquisitely displayed in winter's exposed canopy, the signature of a tree is written in its branching patterns and angles. Most trees, including beech, Fagus grandifolia, oaks, Quercus species, and hickories, Carya species, branch in an alternate fashion; others, including ash, Fraxinus species, and maple, Acer species, produce branches in opposite pairs. With a keen eye, these differences can be appreciated from considerable distance. Individual branch angles also vary among different species; for example, the angles of beech are relatively narrow, while those of maples are broad. Dormant trees can also be distinguished by the characteristic lines of their branches. The branches of some, including maples, continue along fairly smooth lines. Others such as black gum, Nyssa sylvatica, and burr oak, Quercus macrocarpa, are noted for their sinuous curves. Marvelous in detail, the canopy is also visually fascinating in broad perspective: a diverse collection of tree shapes sketched by branches, interrupted occasionally by small patches of open sky. The crowns of canopy trees are shaped by many forces including storms and light competition from other trees; however, they often maintain representative outlines. When growing through the canopy and into the light, the summits of tuliptrees, Liriodendron tulipifera, form distinctive spires. Beeches, under the same conditions, become broad, rounded brushes. Breaks in the canopy set off the outlines of the trees, and the also function as literal windows--the forest's fenestration--through which some sunlight will pass to sustain the understory below.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Take a walk in the woods -- in your own backyard. Filled with gorgeous woodland photographs and detailed instructions on creating gardens using woodland plants, this book also provides a compelling ecological argument for gardening with native species. Most of the people living east of the Rocky Mountains now own land that either was at one time or still is deciduous forest. Developing an aesthetic based on what naturally would prefer to grow here not only saves heartache but also celebrates our unique American heritage. Many familiar garden plants, such as Chinese and Japanese wisteria, which can run wild and wreak havoc, have lesser-known native American counterparts -- in this case, the lovely and better-behaved American wisteria.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The American Woodland Garden never strays from the realistic concerns of the everyday gardener. Information on planting, soils, and maintenance provides a firm foundation for horticultural accomplishment. An alphabetical listing of woodland plants offers useful advice for every garden, emphasizing native trees, shrubs, vines, ferns, grasses, sedges, and flowering perennials that fit the forest aesthetic. More than 700 of the author's stunning photographs show both the natural palette of plants in the wild and the effects that can be achieved with them in garden settings.

SYNOPSIS

In this volume, lushly illustrated with color photographs, Darke, a landscape designer retired from the Longwood Garden (PA) staff, advocates what may be for some a new aesthetic of gardening: "tending a modest piece of ground that is a part of the larger forest." Though focusing on the Eastern deciduous forest, his philosophical and horticultural observations from longtime study of a native woodland stream habitat should appeal to all ecologically- responsible gardeners. Includes plant sources, the USDA plant hardiness zone map, and a glossary. Approx. 10x11". Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

FROM THE CRITICS

Joel Lerner - The Washington Post

Should be displayed where you and your guests can refer to it regularly. Reading this book is like winding through the forest with the author at your side and learning from how his 20 years of studying how the woods work. He does a superlative job addressing the totally natural landscape, a huge residential trend. Every page has photographs that perfectly parallel the text.

Alice Joyce - Booklist

With its cache of inspiring photographs, this is sure to inspire all who garden east of the Rocky Mountains.

Booklist

As responsible stewards of the land, gardeners can look to Darke's unorthodox design manual to transcend trite solutions with a wise and vital philosophy, and with its cache of inspiring photographs, this is sure to inspire all who garden east of the Rocky Mountains.

Biology Digest

In this unique and often thought-provoking new book, Darke promotes and stunningly illustrated a garden aesthetic. . . A clarion call to a new awareness of humankind's relationship to the natural world. This book will take its rightful place among the classic works that have influenced the concept of the American landscape.

American Gardener

Rick Darke shares his love of the eastern deciduous forest through his stunning photographs and insightful prose, making the ordinary seem remarkable. Nature's seasonal transitions become a magical journey that the reader is invited to witness. Read all 9 "From The Critics" >

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING