How to Design Your Garden By Una Van Der Spuy
How to Design Your Garden (Collectible Hardcover Edition)
A Lifetime of Practical Landscaping and Spatial Design Principles for Southern African Homes
A Lifetime of Practical Landscaping and Spatial Design Principles for Southern African Homes
Bibliographic Specifications
- Title: How to Design Your Garden
- Author: Una van der Spuy
- Publisher: Don Nelson, Cape Town
- Publication Date: 1992
- ISBN-10: 1868060330
- ISBN-13: 9781868060337
- Edition Details: New and Revised Edition. A structurally complete, unblemished copy lacking owner inscriptions, presenting the definitive text block under the prestigious Don Nelson imprint.
- Binding: Original publisher's premium pictorial laminated hardboards, issued without a dust jacket.
- Physical Format: Quarto (4to), 208 pages. Heavily supplemented with vivid landscape photographs, architectural garden grids, zoning blueprints, and regional plant charts.
- Language: English
Official Condition Report
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The Book: Good (G)
- Exterior Boards: The original publisher's pictorial laminated boards are solid, square, and sound. True to its vintage nature, the casing shows signs of being read and enjoyed, with light age-appropriate shelf-rubbing, minor handling friction, and moderate bumping/wear along the extremities and corner tips.
- Interior: The structural text block and inner hinges are in excellent, tight, and uncompromised condition. The internal pages, design grids, and glossy colour plates are remarkably crisp, clean, and flat. Completely free from ink highlighting, previous owner signatures, gift presentation notes, library stamps, or dealer pencil marks.
- The Dust Jacket: Not Applicable (As Issued)
Synopsis & Historical Value
First released as a cornerstone of local landscape architecture and beautifully expanded in this 1992 revised Don Nelson edition, How to Design Your Garden remains an essential masterclass in domestic horticulture. Written by the iconic gardening pioneer Una van der Spuy, this volume distills a literal lifetime of practical knowledge and spatial design experience into an approachable, structured guide.
The work bridges the gap between raw botany and home aesthetics. Van der Spuy provides homeowners with step-by-step principles for mapping out garden perimeters, establishing functional focal points, balancing structural brickwork with soft flora, and managing natural contours. From defining sweeping boundary borders to selecting drought-resilient species for South African climates, this visually stunning manual is a brilliant practical workbook and an enduring collectible testament to South Africa's rich gardening legacy.
Author Profile: Una van der Spuy
Una van der Spuy (1912–2012) was the undisputed doyenne of South African gardening literature, a celebrated environmentalist, and a prolific author of no fewer than ten seminal horticultural books. Operating from her historic, world-renowned Old Nectar estate in Jonkershoek, Stellenbosch—which was declared a National Monument under her stewardship—she dedicated over half a century to studying, designing, and popularising local garden arts. Her foundational works, including Gardening in South Africa and Wild Flowers of South Africa for the Garden, are celebrated for stripping the academic stiffness from landscape design, making her text blocks timeless assets for private collectors and landscaping professionals alike.
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