Planning the perfect yard: learn from the leading architects and designers

Concrete Producer, The, July, 2004

Summer not only is the peak season of the year for road and building construction. This also is the time of the year when weekend warriors and landscapers do their best to turn humdrum backyards into works of art.

Block producers who operate retail stores can take advantage by offering a variety of books published by Home Planners. The books contain hints and ideas on how to use block, pavers, and stepping stones to accent a backyard, whether it's used for recreation, entertaining, or gardening.

One such book is Garden Landscape and Project Plans. The book features 225 garden, landscape, and project plans together in a single 320-page volume. The architects and designers whose work appears in the book are among the country's leading residential designers. Each plan was designed to meet the requirements of a nationally recognized model building code in effect at the time and place the plan was drawn.

Chapters include details on backyard and border designs; gliders, gazebos, and garden sheds; outdoor living plans; and garage and guesthouse designs. Opening chapters give a layman's guide to gardens and landscapes, and deck and project building basics. These include glossaries of deck-building terms and project-building terms. When the reader finds his desired plan, he goes to the back of the book where he learns how to order the blueprints.

Home Planners is a wholly owned division of Hanley Wood LLC, publisher of THE CONCRETE PRODUCER. Garden Landscape and Project Plans and other books on using blocks and pavers in landscaping and design are available at the Home Planners Bookstore Web site at www.homeplanners.com, or telephone 800-322-6797. Quantity discounts also are available.