Guest Author - Katelyn Thomas

If you are suffering from winter blahs, Tropical Garden Design by Made Wijaya is the perfect way for you to escape. Although this book was written as a useful resource for tropical gardeners, it is also a lovely coffee table book for gardeners in colder climates. There are dozens of photos of lush tropical gardens in this book.

Tropical Garden Design begins with a history of tropical gardens. Because of Wijaya’s writing style, this chapter is fun to read. The photos of the different tropical garden types are an added bonus.

Chapter two dives right into how to create a Balinese garden. This chapter discusses how to get the Balinese feel and there are many photos, but it is not a step by step garden plan.

As I moved on to Courtyards, Patios, and Terraces, I was excited to see an actual planting plan for a courtyard. There are also many pictures that will provide inspiration. I especially enjoyed the many different examples of stone used in the garden.

Chapters four and five cover water gardens and swimming pools. Again, the pictures are lovely, and chapter five does include one planting plan.

Planting schemes are discussed in chapter six. There are dozens of photos showing different planting schemes. Chapter seven covers tropical plants, but only touches on one or two of each species.

The final chapter of Tropical Garden Design discusses garden art. Again, there are many lovely photos.

The book ends with an appendix that includes information on Villa Bebek, a tropical home and garden, as well as a useful listing of trees and shrubs that flower in the wet season.

Tropical Garden Design is filled with lovely photos. This book was written to showcase Wijaya’s work and to talk about the way he designs tropical gardens, so has few actual garden plans. If you are looking for a how to book, you will be disappointed. However, if you want to escape the winter blahs or if you are designing a tropical garden and need some inspiration, make sure you don’t miss Tropical Garden Design. I give it four and 1/2 out of five sunflowers.

About the Book:
Title: Tropical Garden Design
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Date: 2003
Pages: 208
ISBN: 0-7946-0242-8
Cost: 30.00