Beginning by setting out alternatives and explaining how to start on the design, this is a guide to the various aspects of designing a garden. It is a revised edition of "The Hillier Book of Garden Planning and Planting", which was published in 1988. Practical advice on design and techniques, accompanied by designer's diagrams, make up the main part of the book. There are also sections on soil, climate and botany, choosing the best plants for different situations, and management of the new garden, and the final chapter features a selection of plants and genera suitable for building into collections. Most of the plants recommended throughout the book were given an Award of Garden Merit 1993 by the Royal Horticultural Society.