References

List of Reference Books on Landscape Architecture
Sl.No Author Name of the Book Typology Publisher Year of
Publishing		 Pages Description
Agarwal,Anil; Narain,Sunita Dying Wisdom ** Theory Centre for Science and Environment 1997
Corner, James Recovering Landscape: Essays in Contemporary Landscape Architecture Theory Princeton Architectural Press 1999 Recovering Landscape collects a number of essays that discuss why landscape is gaining increased attention today, and what new possibilities might emerge from this situation. Themes such as reclamation, urbanism, infrastructure, geometry, representation, and temporality are explored in discussions. The contributors to this collection, all leading figures in the field of landscape architecture, include Alan Balfour, Denis Cosgrove, Georges Descombes, Christophe Girot, Steen Hoyer, David Leatherbarrow, Bart Lootsma, Sebastien Marot, Anuradha Mathur, Marc Treib, and Alex Wall.
Francis, M The Meanings of the Garden Theory MIT Press Cambridge, MA. 1990 Francis had a pioneering influence on the trend away from
purely Abstract Style garden design: he argues that spaces can
also have meanings
Swaffield,Simon Theory in landscape architecture ** Theory University of Pennsylvania
Pres		 2001 265
Thompson, I.H Ecology, community and delight:
sources of values in landscape
architecture		 Theory E&FN Spon London 2000 A well-considered review of the way in which the classical
Vitruvian design objectives relate to the discipline of landscape
architecture
Treib, Marc Modern Landscape Architecture: A Critical Review ** Theory The MIT Press 1993 These twenty-two essays provide a rich forum for assessing the tenets, accomplishments, and limits of modernism in landscape architecture and for formulating ideas about possible directions for the future of the discipline.
Trancik. R Finding Lost Space: Theories of
Urban Design		 Theory 1986 A valuable compendium of urban design theory as it relates to
the practical task of designing useful and beautiful space intowns
Vitruvius, P The Ten Books on Architecture Theory Dover Publications New
York		 1914 A translation of a fundamental Roman book which laid the basis
for all subsequent design theory, including the theory of
landscape architecture
Waldheim, C The landscape urbanism reader Theory 1997 Brings McHarg’s Design with nature approach to a welcome
meeting with urban design theory
Hunt, J.D Greater perfections: the practice of
garden theory		 Theory Thames and Hudson London 200
Jencks, C The Language of Post-Modern
Architecture		 Theory Academy Editions London 1991 An excellent book on architectural theory by an author who
went on to become a highly original garden designer and
landscape architec
Jencks, C Towards a Symbolic Architecture Theory Academy Editions London 1985 Jencks account of his design for his own house and garden in
London. Like Francis (see above) he believes that designs can
and should have symbolic meanings
Jung, C.G Man and His Symbols Theory Aldus London 1964 An illustrated book on symbols and their symbolism. Jung
inspired Jellicoe but I don’t think Jellicoe used this book
Lassus,Bernard The Landscape Approach Theory University of Pennsylvania
Press		 1998
Laurie, Michael Introduction to Landscape Architecture Theory 1986 248
Leopold, A A Sand County Almanac Theory Sierra Club San Francisco 1970 This is not a book about design but it expresses the idea of “land ethic” which should govern relations between man and the land, just as conventional ethics govern relationships between people
McLoughlin, J.B Urban and Regional Planning: A Systems Approach Theory Faber & Faber London 1969 McLoughlin was an urban planner, not a landscape architect, but his ‘systems view’ of planning is more relevant to landscape than urban planning
Whyte, W.H The Last Landscape Theory 1968 Another brilliant book by a former editor of Fortune Magazine. Unlike landscape architects, he had a deep and sceptical appreciation of the socio-economic and political factors which affect the designed landscape
Spirn, A.W The Granite Garden: Urban Nature and Human Design Theory Anne Whiston 1985 The title is confusing but the text is clear: cities require plans
for earth, water, vegetation and air
Spirn, A.W The Language Of Landscape Theory Yale University Press 1998 A perceptive landscape architect’s appreciation of places around the world
Potteiger, M, Purinton, J Landscape Narratives: Design Practices For Telling Stories Theory John Wiley New York 1998 340 Going beyond Francis’ and Jencks’ interst in meanings and symbols, this book examines designs as narrative
Robinson, William The Wild Garden Theory London 1870
Repton, Humphry, The Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening Theory London 1803
Alexander, Christopher A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction Design Principles Oxford University Press, New York 1977 An inspiring book on the theory of site planning with specific practical advice on what types of space to make and how they should related to other types of space
Alexander, C The Timeless Way of Building Design Principles Oxford University Press, New York 1979 Explains the theory behind Alexander’s Pattern Language
Appleton, J The Experience of Landscape Design Principles John Wiley London 1975 Appleton provides a theory of why places which offer both prospect and refuge appeal to humans whose ancestors were hunter gatherers
Bradley,Christopher -Hole Making The Modern Garden Design Principles The Monacelli Press A superlative analysis of contemporary gardens as well as a fascinating collection of landscapes around the world, Making the Modern Garden is a definitive study of the philosophy and practice of garden design at the outset of the twenty-first century.
Brookes, John The Small Garden Design Principles Cavendish House 2006 From initial inspiration to final layout – create your own small
garden with the help of gardening design expert John Brookes.
Church,Thomas D.; Hall, Grace; Laurie,Micheal Gardens are for PeopleM Design Principles University of California Press 1995 This classic of landscape architecture has been required reading for the residential garden design professional, student, and generalist since its publication in 1955. Gardens Are for People contains the essence of Thomas Church’s design philosophy and much practical advice. Amply illustrated by site plans and photographs of some of the 2,000 gardens Church designed during the course of his career.
Clark, K Landscape into Art Design Principles John Murray London 1976 An art historians account of how landscapes have been
appreciated and represented by artists
Cullen, G Townscape Design Principles Architectural Press London 1961 Cullen was an ‘urban draughtsman’ with an interest in design. He argues that urban space should be ‘articulated’
Dreiseitl, Herbert, Waterscapes ** Design Principles Birkhauser Verlag AG Water is fundamental to life and Dreiseitl shows designs which are beautiful and sustainable – one of the rarest and best combinations of design objectives
Hough, M. City Form and Natural Process: Towards a New Urban Vernacular Design Principles 1989 A great account of how to design cities with regard to the
relationship between city forms and the natural processes uponwhich they depend
Howard, E Garden Cities of Tomorrow Design Principles Faber & Faber London 1946 Howard was a prime mover behind the Garden City Movement and remains the most profound thinker on the subject. He had aconsiderable influence on the Green Belt idea – and a much better appreciation of the idea’s potential than his followers
Jackson,J. B. Discovering the Vernacular Landscape Design Principles Yale University Press, New Haven, CT 1984
Jones, J.C Design Methods Design Principles John Wiley & Sons London 1980 No mention of garden design or landscape architecture but essential reading for anyone with an interest in design theory
Kaplan, R., Kaplan, S., Ryan,R With People in Mind: Design and Management of Everyday Nature Design Principles Island Press Washington DC 1998 A fascinating application of psychological ideas to design with nature
Keane, Marc Japanese Garden Design ** Design Principles 1996 A good modern account of the development of Japanese garden design, though some may prefer Loraine Kuck’s The World of the Japanese Garden 1968
Keswick, M. The Chinese Garden** Design Principles 2003 [The best book on Chinese gardens since Osvald Siren’s Gardens of China 1949
Little, C.E Greenways for America ** Design Principles Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 1990 An early account of greenways and how to plan them. Multi-purpose greenways are the most useful open space planning concept to have arisen in the second half of the twentieth century
Lloyd, C. The Well Tempered Garden Design Principles 1987, 2003 etc Lloyd writes about England, but his approach to the aesthetic and horticultural aspects of planting, combined with a delightful literary style, has worldwide relevance
Lynch,Kelvin; Hack,Gary Site Planning Design Principles The MIT Press 1962 This is a comprehensive source of information on all the principal – activities and concerns of arranging the outdoor physical environment. Illustrations double the visual material. An introduction summarizes the site planning process. This is followed by a case study of a typical professional project and ten chapters which provide new materials on user analysis, programming, site planning for built places, and many others
McHarg, Ian Design with Nature** Design Principles 1969 The best and most influential book on landscape planning every written, and the most widely read landscape architecture book of the twentieth century
Moore,Charles W.; Mitchell, William J.; Turnbull,William Jr. The Poetics of Gardens Design Principles The MIT Press 1993 This is an entirely different garden book: a pattern book in which a score of landscapes and gardens are drawn, described, and analyzed not just as a bouquet of pleasures but as sources, lodes to be mined for materials, shapes and relationships, and ideas for transforming our own backyards.
Newman, O Defensible Space Design Principles Architectural Press London 1973 Newman introduced the idea, still debated, that open space in cities can be designed to foster pedestrian safety
Whyte, W.H. The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces Design Principles The Conservation Foundation Washington 1980 Written by a former editor of Fortune Magazine, this is by far the best book ever written on the design of small public open spaces in urban areas. Every landscape architect should have read it from cover to cover
Walker, P. and Simo, M Invisible Gardens — The Search for
Modernism in the American Landscape		 Design Principles MIT Press Cambridge MA. 1994 A usefull book on Modern American landscape architecture
Oehme,Wolfgang; Sweden, James van; Rademacher, Susan Bold Romantic Gardens Design Principles Spacemaker Press This book offers detailed advice on how to make architecture fit the landscape, how to design for diffic ult slopes, how to carve out intimate spaces and make bold impressions. The reader will also learn how to create a garde n without complex maintenance.
Simonds, J.O Landscape Architecture, A Manual of Land Planning and Design Design Principles Mc Grawhill 2006 The classic work on site planning, dealing with functional aspects of the subject and treating design as an exercise in abstract composition (without regard to meaning, symbolism, narrative etc)
Arora,Aditya Delhi Ridge Forest Ecology Kalpavrijsha,New Delhi 1991 Delhi’s green areas have always been the first to be sacrificed at the altar of urban growth. Over 40% of the Ridge has already been destroyed or degraded, and the damage continues. In the late 1970’s a tiny group of school and college students set about attempting to save this green lung of Delhi. This booklet is one outcome of this campaign, and attempts to provide a detailed picture of the various aspects of the Ridge.
Champion,G.H; Seth,S.K Forest Types of India** Ecology 1968
Champion,G.H; Seth,S.K Revised Survey of Forest Types of India** Ecology Natraj 2005
Forman, R.T.T. and Godron, M Landscape Ecology** Ecology John Wiley New York 1986 Forman and Godron introduced the study of relationships between habitats in the landscape
Randolph, John Environmental Land Use Planning and Management Ecology This book also expands on the work of Ian McHarg and covers the basic regulatory and management frameworks that directly affect landscape architecture practice in the US
Marsh, William Landscape Planning Environmental Applications Ecology McHarg’s Design with Nature provides a basic framework for regional design and Marsh’s book begins to fill in the details
Mathur, Anuradha; Cunha,da,Dilip SOAK: Mumbai in an Estuary** Ecology Rupa & Company 2009 This book is a unique way of looking at Mumbai’s terrain and the history of its making. It presents an alternative visualization of Mumbai’s landscape with extraordinary artistic and design expertise
Mathur, Anuradha; Cunha,da,Dilip Deccan Traverses: The Making of Banglalore’s Terrain** Ecology Rupa & Company 2006 231
Bacon, E Design of Cities History Thames & Hudson London 1967 Beautiful plans, fascinating historical analysis and a theory of how to improve existing cities – by creating axes which are also movement systems
Birnbaum A Charles, Crowder E Lisa Pioneers of American Landscape Design : An Annotated Bibliography, History U.S. Dept. of Interior, Wash., D.C 1993, 1995
Chadwick, G.F The Park and the Town History Architectural Press London 1966
Cranz, G The Politics of Park Design History MIT Press Cambridge, MA 1982 Cranz gives a useful analysis of the political background to the provision and management of public open space
Downing,A.J. Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Architecture adapted to North America History New York 1841
Gothein, M-L A History of Garden Art History 1928 A little dated but an excellent book with so many old drawings and plans that it will always be a good reference book
Geddes, P Cities in Evolution History Williams & Norgate London 1915 Geddes was the first European to use the term ‘landscape architect’ as a professional title – and was also one of the most inspiring planning theorists of the twentieth century. His chapter on parks is a must read for landscape architects
Hunt, J.D Gardens and the Picturesque: Studies in the History of Landscape Architecture History MIT Press Cambridge MA 1992 Hunt is a comparatively difficult author to follow, but the breadth of his perspective on garden history and theory is unmatched.
Jellicoe, J.A. and Jellicoe, S The Landscape of Man ** History Thames & Hudson London 1975 Brilliant illustrations and inspiring text – though more of a generalist summary than a theoretical treatment
Newton, N.T Design on the Land:The Development of Landscape Architecture History Belknap Press Harvard 1971 Still the best history of the landscape architecture profession and its deep historical roots
Pregill P., Volkman, N. The Landscapes in History: Europe and North America History John Wiley & Sons 1992 A remarkably comprehensive book. Treating landscape architecture as ‘design on the land’ in covers the histories of design for religious sites, towns, agriculture, gardens and parks
Rackham, O The History of the Countryside History J.M. Dent & Sons London 1990 A UK-centric book but a profound history of the countryside, as a product of the interaction between man, animals and ecosystems
Rogers, Elizabeth Barlow Landscape Design: A Cultural and Architectural History ** History Harry N. Abrams 2001 A good historical survey, with useful colour photography. Like Norman T Newton, Rogers interprets her subject rather broadly as ‘design on the land’
Ruggles, D.F Islamic Gardens and Landscapes History Penn 2008 Much the best general book on Islamic gardens – many of the others suffer from romantic orientalism
Beardsley, J Earthworks and Beyond Documentation Abbeville Press New York 1984 Beardsley reviews the work of land artists – who design earthworks as fine art, not as functional landscapes
Conan, Michael Sacred Gardens Documentation Dumbarton Oaks, Washington DC 2007 314
Crowe,Sylvia
Haywood,Sheila		 Gardens of Mughal India ** Documentation Thames & Hudson Ltd 1972
Halprin, L Cities Documentation 1972 A marvellous set of annotated photographs of cities by one of the most influential landscape architects of the twentieth century
Hussey, C The Picturesque Documentation Frank Cass London 1967 Hussey wrote the first and best book on the Picturesque with a deeper theoretical grasp than most garden historians
Hyams, Edward Great botanical Gardens of the World Documentation Thomas Nelson Publishers 1988 288
Jacobs, J The Death and Life of great American Cities Documentation Jonathan Cape London 1962 Jacobs had the great advantage of being a journalist, not a trained professional. This let her appreciate profound truths about the life of cities and the partial death they suffered at the
hands of trained professionals, such as architects and engineers
Jellicoe, G.A The Guelph Lectures on Landscape Design Documentation University of Guelph Canada 1983 A valuable compendium of Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe’s design drawings and the best statement of his theoretical views on
landscape design
Loudon, J.C The landscape gardening and landscape architecture of the late Humphry Repton, Esq. Being his Entire Works on these Subjects. With an Historical and Scientific Introduction, a Systematic Analysis, a Biographical Notice, Notes Documentation London 1840 John Claudius Loudon did landscape architecture a great service with his production of an edited compendium edition of the collected works of the colossus of garden design theory: Humphry Repton
Kassler, E.B. Modern Gardens and the Landscape Documentation Museum of Modern Art, New York 1964 One of the first, clearest and best accounts of the Abstract Style of International Modernist garden design
Meason, G.L The Landscape Architecture of the Great Paintings of Italy Documentation 1828 Meason invented the term ‘landscape architecture’ and this is the first book every published on landscape architecture
Ziatzevsky, Cynthia Frederick Law Olmsted and the Boston Park System ** Documentation
Waymark,Janet Modern Garden Design: Innovation Since 1900 Documentation Thames and Hudson
Nicolin,Pierluigi
Repishti,Francesco		 Dictionary of Todays Landscape Designers Documentation Skira This dictionary profiles world-renowned architects, engineers, landscape architects, artists and photographers whose work has given rise to an entirely new dimension in designing thecityscape. It features leading figures from the international scene, including Tadao Andao, Emilio Ambasz, Daniel Buren, Tony Cragg, Walter De Maria, Michael Heizer, Anish Kapoor, Rem Koolhaas, Maya Lin, Richard Long and James Turrel, among many others.
Richardson, Tim Avant Gardeners Documentation Thames and Hudson “100 projects by fifty of the world’s most talented designers of public and private spaces… will expand your horizons and thrill the modernist in you.”— Metropolitan Home
Simo, Melanine 100 years of Landscape Architecture Documentation Asla Press 1999 374
Repton, Humphry Collected Works Documentation Published in the early nineteenth century, these books had an immense influence for over100 years
Dines, Nicholas;
Harris,Charles		 Time-Saver Standards for Landscape Architecture Standards 1997 960
Jellicoe, G.A Oxford Companion to Gardens Standards Oxford University Press, Oxford Much the best standard reference on garden history – and much more authoritative than the second edition, edited by Patrick Taylor
Doyle, Michael Color Drawing Presentation Techniques Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York 1979
Wang, T.C Plan and Section Drawing (Landscape Architecture) ** Presentation Techniques 1996 The examples are all hand-drawn and the principles will survive into the age of digital landscape architecture
Reid G.W Landscape Graphics ** Presentation Techniques 2002 Good examples of hand drawing – and a record of ‘how landscape architects drew’ before the onset of digital graphics
Ghosh,R.C Handbook on Afforestation Techniques Planting Controller of Publications, Delhi 1977
Griffith, Lynn Tropical Foliage Plants: A Grower’s Guide Planting Ball Publishing 2007
Hansen, R., Stahl, F Perennials and Their Garden Habitats Planting 1993 The illustrations are dated and the climatic zone is Germany, but this book is outstanding for its theoretical approach to planting design, based on years of experimentation
Hill, W.L Landscape Handbook for the Tropics Planting Garden Art Press 1995
Jekyll Colour Scheme’s for the Flower Garden Planting Country Life Ltd., London 1908
Krishen, Pradip Trees of Delhi ** Planting DK Publishing 2006
Lancaste, Sydney.Percy A Sahib’s Manual for the Mali: Everyday Gardening in India Planting Orient Blackswan 2005 227
S. S. R.; Gupta , P. C.; Rao,
R, Vijendra Bennet		 Venerated Plants Planting 1992 425
Page, Russell The Education of a Gardener Planting 1962 Page writes about the everyday task of looking at gardens and thinking how to make them better. He loves plants but his concern is always with spatial design, as it should be. This was the first book I read on garden design and it was an excellent starting point.
Singh, Chattar; Wattas,
Rajnis Dhillon		 Trees of Chandigarh ** Planting B R Publishing Corporation 1998
** Books recommended for beginners