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Creating a Garden Retreat

An Artist’s Guide to Planting an Outdoor Sanctuary

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Contributors

By Virginia Johnson

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On Sale
May 10, 2022
Page Count
192 pages
Publisher
Artisan
ISBN-13
9781648290022

A garden is more than the sum of its parts—a garden can be anything one wants it to be. What’s important is that it have a heart. Through ethereal illustrations, textile designer and artist Virginia Johnson takes the reader on her own garden journey, from blank slate to dreamscape. Over the years, she has transformed a small, narrow city lot into a garden that is personal, carefree, wild, and welcoming. It all began with a fence to allow her children to play freely but safely, and over the years has turned into a city-dweller’s “secret garden.” Hornbeams, with their elegant shape, are the heroes of her garden, and the overall palette reflects an  artist’s lens—peonies, hollyhocks, roses, and hydrangeas abound. Johnson explains her process with ease and clarity, bringing her ideas to life through words and illustrations so that readers can be encouraged and empowered to start their own garden journeys. The book is organized into clear chapters—Trees & Shrubs; Vines; Flowers; Seasons; Edibles; and more.

Genre:

  • “Refreshingly low key. . . . Johnson’s irreverent sensibility will take the intimidation out of the game for those looking to have fun. New gardeners big on imagination will find Johnson’s encouragement just what they need to get out in the dirt.”
    Publishers Weekly  

Formats and Prices

Price

$24.95

Price

$30.95 CAD

Format

Hardcover

Format:

Hardcover $24.95 $30.95 CAD

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Virginia Johnson

About the Author

Virginia Johnson is a Toronto-based textile designer and artist. Her collections of colorful prints on clothing, shawls, and home accessories have been sold around the world in stores including Anthropologie, Barneys, Holt Renfrew, J.Crew, and Liberty London. She is the author of Travels Through the French Riviera, and she also illustrated a series of books for Kate Spade and The Perfectly Imperfect Home for Deborah Needleman.

Learn more about this author