The Spirit of Stone: 101 Practical & Creative Stonescaping Ideas for Your Garden by Jan Johnsen

Natural stone is the new garden "fashion statement." Stone paths, walls, steps, dry streams (and more) are low maintenance and enhance a homeowner's property like no other landscape feature.

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.

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.

Review Quotes:

"Johnsen's intimate relationship with stone, honed over a long design career, shines through every page of this practical guide to using stone in residential gardens. Perhaps more importantly, she explains why this most elemental of materials creates a timeless sensuality that no other garden material can".- Carolyn Mullet, designer; author of Garden Design

"The Spirit of Stone is an insightful look into the many ways of using natural stone in a garden. Jan's crisp descriptions and wonderful photographs open our eyes to the unique addition of this material - in all its forms - into landscapes."- Bill Thomas, Executive Director, Chanticleer Garden, author of The Art of Gardening

"Celebrated garden author and landscape designer Jan Johnsen has distilled her sophisticated natural stone expertise into a clearly written, companionable guide to stone gardening success. I predict The Spirit of Stone will be treasured by beginners and garden experts alike."- Miriam Goldberger, author of Taming Wildflowers

"The Spirit of Stone is an elegant paean to the use of stone in the garden. Jan Johnsen explores the rich traditions in using stone by artists and craftsmen through the age, and provides helpful suggestions for today's garden enthusiasts."- Robert E. Grese,
 Director, Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum;
Professor, University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment

"Jan Johnsen leaves no stone unturned in introducing readers to the wonderful world of masonry. Her marriage of hardscape and horticulture assures The Spirit of Stone rock-star status on your gardening bookshelf."- David Beaulieu, Landscaping expert for About.com