Awards

• Winner of Merit Award from the Association of Professional Landscape Designers 2014 (United States)

Overview

The element of stone in a garden has two important qualities: function and beauty. It also conveys a sense of permanence and place. Since ancient times, stone has been revered for bringing a special ""feel"" to a garden. In The Spirit of Stone, award-winning designer Jan Johnsen presents a richly photographed, authoritative guide to creative and practical uses for stone in the landscape: steps, paths, garden walls, dry streams, benches, rock gardens, driveways and more. Stone's practicality is especially appreciated by homeowners concerned with low maintenance, sustainability and water conservation - with the side benefit of enhancing property value. The Spirit of Stone is an essential idea book and how-to for designers, stonemasons, builders, homeowners and DIYers.

Full Product Details

9781943366194

Table of Contents

Reviews

[Johnsen] has clearly taken her experiences with varied types of stone and turned them into ideas for utilitarian, decorative and accent elements in the garden. Her book comes with instructions for making dry stream beds, stone steps, walkways and rock gardens.--Pat Leuchtman -The Recorder (MA)/Commonweeder blog -

-This book is filled with ideas for adding small to large stones to gardens to enhance their beauty.---Joanne Kempinger Demski -Journal Sentinel - -As a horticulturist, I must have seen a thousand gardens and not one stone. Fortunately, after reading The Spirit of Stone, I now have -rock awareness- as Jan calls it and I can now see - I even went back to photos I took -- that the stones were there all along.---Peggy Riccio -Gardening Product Review - Johnsen has written a detailed book that is enjoyable to read. Topics range from cactus rock gardens to gravel paths to karensansui--a Japanese dry landscape. Inspirational photographs and installation instruction dominate the text, culminating in a plant pallet at the end. Those who are curious about using more stones in their landscape--including those curious about rock gardening as a style--will very much enjoy The Spirit of Stone.--Esther Jackson NYBG Blog If you are planning a project this season, The Spirit of Stone is worth reading before you get started. It will change your perspective on the role of rocks and gravel in your garden.--Christy Wilhelmi Gardenerd This book is filled with ideas for adding small to large stones to gardens to enhance their beauty. --Joanne Kempinger Demski Journal Sentinel The Spirit of Stone by Jan Johnsen is a great gardening book for gifting that offers tips and project ideas for includ- ing stone elements in your gardening landscapes. [Johnsen] has clearly taken her experiences with varied types of stone and turned them into ideas for utilitarian, decorative and accent elements in the garden. Her book comes with instructions for making dry stream beds, stone steps, walkways and rock gardens.--Pat Leuchtman The Recorder (MA)/Commonweeder blog As a horticulturist, I must have seen a thousand gardens and not one stone. Fortunately, after reading The Spirit of Stone, I now have rock awareness as Jan calls it and I can now see - I even went back to photos I took -- that the stones were there all along. --Peggy Riccio Gardening Product Review In The Spirit of Stone, Jan presents a richly photographed guide to the many creative ways that durable stone and gravel can be used in a garden.--Stephanie Rose Garden Therapy If you weren't already sold on incorporating stone into your garden, this book's inspiring images and eloquent descriptions will convince you.--Pam Penick Digging Stone is beautiful, useful, and artful. So writes the author, Jan Johnsen, who then proceeds to illustrate this premise with outstanding photographs. There are so many ways to use stone in our landscapes and Jan offers inspiration as well as technical advice for installations of different types.--Bobbie Schwartz

[Johnsen] has clearly taken her experiences with varied types of stone and turned them into ideas for utilitarian, decorative and accent elements in the garden. Her book comes with instructions for making dry stream beds, stone steps, walkways and rock gardens.--Pat Leuchtman The Recorder (MA)/Commonweeder blog

-This book is filled with ideas for adding small to large stones to gardens to enhance their beauty.---Joanne Kempinger Demski -Journal Sentinel - -As a horticulturist, I must have seen a thousand gardens and not one stone. Fortunately, after reading The Spirit of Stone, I now have -rock awareness- as Jan calls it and I can now see - I even went back to photos I took -- that the stones were there all along.---Peggy Riccio -Gardening Product Review - Johnsen has written a detailed book that is enjoyable to read. Topics range from cactus rock gardens to gravel paths to karensansui--a Japanese dry landscape. Inspirational photographs and installation instruction dominate the text, culminating in a plant pallet at the end. Those who are curious about using more stones in their landscape--including those curious about rock gardening as a style--will very much enjoy The Spirit of Stone.--Esther Jackson NYBG Blog If you are planning a project this season, The Spirit of Stone is worth reading before you get started. It will change your perspective on the role of rocks and gravel in your garden.--Christy Wilhelmi Gardenerd This book is filled with ideas for adding small to large stones to gardens to enhance their beauty. --Joanne Kempinger Demski Journal Sentinel The Spirit of Stone by Jan Johnsen is a great gardening book for gifting that offers tips and project ideas for includ- ing stone elements in your gardening landscapes. [Johnsen] has clearly taken her experiences with varied types of stone and turned them into ideas for utilitarian, decorative and accent elements in the garden. Her book comes with instructions for making dry stream beds, stone steps, walkways and rock gardens.--Pat Leuchtman The Recorder (MA)/Commonweeder blog As a horticulturist, I must have seen a thousand gardens and not one stone. Fortunately, after reading The Spirit of Stone, I now have rock awareness as Jan calls it and I can now see - I even went back to photos I took -- that the stones were there all along. --Peggy Riccio Gardening Product Review In The Spirit of Stone, Jan presents a richly photographed guide to the many creative ways that durable stone and gravel can be used in a garden.--Stephanie Rose Garden Therapy If you weren't already sold on incorporating stone into your garden, this book's inspiring images and eloquent descriptions will convince you.--Pam Penick Digging

If you are planning a project this season, The Spirit of Stone is worth reading before you get started. It will change your perspective on the role of rocks and gravel in your garden. - Christy Wilhelmi Stone is beautiful, useful, and artful. So writes the author, Jan Johnsen, who then proceeds to illustrate this premise with outstanding photographs. There are so many ways to use stone in our landscapes and Jan offers inspiration as well as technical advice for installations of different types. -Bobbie Schwartz [Johnsen] has clearly taken her experiences with varied types of stone and turned them into ideas for utilitarian, decorative and accent elements in the garden. Her book comes with instructions for making dry stream beds, stone steps, walkways and rock gardens. -Pat Leuchtman Johnsen has written a detailed book that is enjoyable to read. Topics range from cactus rock gardens to gravel paths to karensansui-a Japanese dry landscape. Inspirational photographs and installation instruction dominate the text, culminating in a plant pallet at the end. Those who are curious about using more stones in their landscape-including those curious about rock gardening as a style-will very much enjoy The Spirit of Stone. -Esther Jackson As a horticulturist, I must have seen a thousand gardens and not one stone. Fortunately, after reading The Spirit of Stone, I now have rock awareness as Jan calls it and I can now see - I even went back to photos I took - that the stones were there all along. -Peggy Riccio This book is filled with ideas for adding small to large stones to gardens to enhance their beauty. -Joanne Kempinger Demski If you are looking for inspiration for your own landscape, along with the background on the many ways to add stone, The Spirit of Stone is a great place to start. -Susan Mulvhill

Johnsen has written a detailed book that is enjoyable to read. Topics range from cactus rock gardens to gravel paths to karensansui--a Japanese dry landscape. Inspirational photographs and installation instruction dominate the text, culminating in a plant pallet at the end. Those who are curious about using more stones in their landscape--including those curious about rock gardening as a style--will very much enjoy The Spirit of Stone.--Esther Jackson NYBG Blog If you are planning a project this season, The Spirit of Stone is worth reading before you get started. It will change your perspective on the role of rocks and gravel in your garden.--Christy Wilhelmi Gardenerd This book is filled with ideas for adding small to large stones to gardens to enhance their beauty. --Joanne Kempinger Demski Journal Sentinel The Spirit of Stone by Jan Johnsen is a great gardening book for gifting that offers tips and project ideas for includ- ing stone elements in your gardening landscapes. [Johnsen] has clearly taken her experiences with varied types of stone and turned them into ideas for utilitarian, decorative and accent elements in the garden. Her book comes with instructions for making dry stream beds, stone steps, walkways and rock gardens.--Pat Leuchtman The Recorder (MA)/Commonweeder blog As a horticulturist, I must have seen a thousand gardens and not one stone. Fortunately, after reading The Spirit of Stone, I now have rock awareness as Jan calls it and I can now see - I even went back to photos I took -- that the stones were there all along. --Peggy Riccio Gardening Product Review In The Spirit of Stone, Jan presents a richly photographed guide to the many creative ways that durable stone and gravel can be used in a garden.--Stephanie Rose Garden Therapy If you weren't already sold on incorporating stone into your garden, this book's inspiring images and eloquent descriptions will convince you.--Pam Penick Digging Stone is beautiful, useful, and artful. So writes the author, Jan Johnsen, who then proceeds to illustrate this premise with outstanding photographs. There are so many ways to use stone in our landscapes and Jan offers inspiration as well as technical advice for installations of different types.--Bobbie Schwartz

Author Information

Jan Johnsen is an award-winning instructor at the New York Botanical Garden, author of Heaven is a Garden (St. Lynn's Press, 2014) and a contributing editor for Garden Design magazine. A landscape designer and a principal of the New York design/build firm Johnsen Landscapes & Pools, Johnsen was awarded a 2014 Merit Award by the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD). She is an adjunct professor at Columbia University and has worked in landscape architecture offices in Japan, East Africa, Hawaii, Vermont, New Orleans and New York. She blogs at Serenity in the Garden. She resides in Westchester County, New York.

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