fron cover of the book

Sarbjit Bahga, is a Chandigarh based architect, urbanist, author and photo-artist, and announced 2nd book of his publications called ''Landscaping Human Habitat''. This book written by two authors Hardial Singh Johl and Sarbjit Bahga. The first book of Bahga was ''Trees in Urban Habitat'' that published in July, 2014. You can read the review of book written by Sarbjit Bahga. 

The inherent desire in most human beings is to live in beautiful environments. This book is a holistic guide to landscaping and beautifying human habitats. The concepts and details presented in the book serve as a useful resource for ideas and techniques for greening and embellishingthe entire physical environment including living, working and recreational spaces.The breadth and depth of plants and planting information in the book makes it very relevant for the entire spectrum of plant lovers, from amateurs to landscaping experts. The book is especially valuable for professionals who are responsible for creating good habitats for all people.

front and back cover of the book

Innumerable books have been written on gardening and landscaping. Most of these pertain to one kind of material – it may be trees, shrubs, decorative plants or any other. One of the unique and interesting feature of this book is that it covers almost all kinds of essential materials which are primarily used for landscaping. The descriptions pertaining to usefulness of trees, their fundamental requirements regarding their structure, texture, density and diversity of use, scale, colour and form are all the kinds of characteristics that are required to be understood before planned plantations are done. Similar is the problem with shrubs, creepers, and numerous other plant materials which form an important part of landscaping. This book serves as a useful resource for greening, beautifying and improving physical environmental conditions for any kind of macro and micro settings.

It is a product of several decades of observation, knowledge and practical experience about important materials, their characteristics, functions, aesthetic values and their abilities to contribute towards development of better landscapes. The salient features of plants have been described along with coloured photographs of each kind. It, therefore, helps in choosing the right kind of species for proper landscaping.

Of all the materials used for landscaping the most important is trees. Two important aspects emphasized in this book are about trees and are being ignored these days. First, the entire approach to growing of trees is driven by the decisions made to accommodate the development of infrastructure i.e. construction of roads, buildings, drinking water, electricity and sewerage etc. Secondly, the need of growing trees has been neglected. Trees are vital and exquisite elements that add life and soul to living spaces and help spruce up living and work places.

Growing trees is one of the cheapest and most effective methods of greening, beautification, improvement and preservation of the physical environment. This book contains the fundamental requirements of trees from all over the world that would help create functional and beautiful physical environments. The book also contains the importance of scale, formal and informal methods of plantation, usefulness of growing trees close to the road curbs, importance of correct spacing for planting trees and appropriate planning in relation to pedestrian paths, vehicular traffic and electric power lines.Highlighted in this book are details of some magnificent, large structured functional trees for roadside plantation and some of the fascinating flowering trees and their methods of use around, public and private buildings, parks, open spaces and homes.

There are hundreds of flowering shrubs and creepers available in the world. A few that have exceptionally attractive foliage and producing massive flowers for a long time are described in the book. Details of their size, shape and function as well as their native homes, specific climatic, soil and water requirements are included in it.Like shrubs and climbers, uncountable kinds of indoor decorative plants are available all over the world. Selective, beautiful kinds are depicted in this book. Detailed descriptions about many indoor decorative plants have been provided in the book.

Rose is aptly called the 'queen of flowers'. It is grown all over the world. But most amateur growers are not aware of all types; such as hybrid teas, floribundas, grandifloras, shrub roses, ramblers and climbers. All these have been described and illustrated with photographs. Bougainvilleas are a popular landscape material. One entire chapter in the book is focused on the soil and all cultural requirements of Bougainvilleas. The book contains descriptions and photographs of some outstanding kinds. Winter and summer flowering annuals constitute an important part of landscaping. Of the hundreds kinds available, just a few which put up a massive splash of colours have been selected and described.

Developing a grand lawn with superior and functional grass is a critical landscape feature. The method of developing beautiful turfs, the essential soil, sand and organic matter needed for growing grass is explained in one entire section.Bonsai is the art of growing, dwarfing and shaping trees or plants in shallow containers. For nature lovers who want to adopt this technique, there are useful hints to successfully develop large, medium and small sized Bonsai.Cactus and succulents are some of the rare and magnificent materials for landscaping and beautification. Innumerable kinds of species are available in the world, a few of which have been selected, described and displayed in this book with photographs. Similarly, Bulb plants constitute an important material for landscaping human habitat and so their unique planting needs are covered in this book.

This book in essence provides the broad landscaping perspective and deep knowledge of all kinds of plants to help all avid gardeners across the spectrum from new to experienced, a chance to create their own environs.This book is also especially valuable for professionals who are responsible for creating outstanding habitat for the people. It is a guide for all kinds of landscape materials and would serve as a model for the present and future generations.The applicability of this book is for almost all the countries of the world obtaining tropical, sub-tropical, sub-montane, semi cold as well as semi-arid regions.

You can find this book on WA Books Page

Authors: Hardial Singh Johl and Sarbjit Singh Bahga

Publisher: White Falcon Publishing

Language: English

ISBN: 978-8193078099

Hardcover: 172 pages

Coloured Photos: 195

Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 1.4 x 28 cm