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Topiary

Books

  • Herb Topiaries. Gallo, Sally 1992. Interweave Press, Loveland, Colorado
  • The Complete Book of Topiary. Gallup, Barbara; Reich, Deborah 1987. Workman Publishing, N.Y
  • The New Topiary (Longwood Gardens). Hammer, Patricia Riley 1991. Garden Art Press, East Sussex
  • Quick and Easy Indoor Topiary. Jones, Chris 1998. Storey Books; Pownal, Vermont

Web sites

Turf or Sod Works

Books:

  • Perfect: Mowing Techniques for Lawns, Landscapes, and Sports. Mellor, David R. 2001.Wiley & Sons Inc.
  • Lawnscapes: Mowing Patterns to Make Your Yard a Work of Art. Parfitt, David 2006. Quirk Books.
  • Crop Art and Other Earthworks. Herd, Stan 1994. Harry N. Abrams Publishers.
  • Crop Circles: Art in the Landscape. Pringle, Lucy 2007. Frances Lincoln.
Websites:

Tree Sculpture

Books:

  • Living Willow Sculpture. Warnes, Jon 2001. Search Press.
  • Making Bentwood Trellises, Arbors, Gates & Fences. Long, Jim 1998. Storey Publishing.
  • Arborsculpture: Solutions for a small planet. Reames, Richard 2002. Arborsmith Studios.
Websites:
  • Dann Ladd Extreme Nature: Living Sculpture Tree Grafting - See how the techniques of tree grafting can create unique designs and shapes!
  • David Gosling: Environmental Art - The ‘Willow Sculpture’ and ‘Living Willow Sculpture’ photo galleries are a good place to get some inspiration
  • Bluestem Nursery - This nursery focuses on creating living willow structures and fedges
  • The Willow Bank - These willow specialists design and install living willow structures for schools, public spaces and private clients
  • Creative Willow - Photos and commentary from the Creative Living Willow Projects that have been constructed with the help of children and adults on school sites

Creative Mowing & Crop Art

Books:

  • Perfect: Mowing Techniques for Lawns, Landscapes, and Sports. Mellor, David R. 2001.Wiley & Sons Inc.
  • Lawnscapes: Mowing Patterns to Make Your Yard a Work of Art. Parfitt, David 2006. Quirk Books.
  • Crop Art and Other Earthworks. Herd, Stan 1994. Harry N. Abrams Publishers.
  • Crop Circles: Art in the Landscape. Pringle, Lucy 2007. Frances Lincoln.
Websites:
  • Stan Herd: Crop Art and Other Earthworks - From 160 acre plowed portraits to one quarter acre intimate stone designs, artist Stan Herd’s work has become a platform for discussion of mankind's contemporary relationship to the land
  • Lawn Striping and Lawn Patterns: How Do They Work? - A good explanation on how lawn striping works and what can be done to increase the lawn striping effect
  • Cornell Gardening Resources - Lawns: A comprehensive site that covers everything lawn related - basic lawn care practices, mowing techniques, weed and pest control, etc. Best suited for the Northeast and North-Central states
  • How-to Lawn videos - from the Cornell Home Gardening website. Especially useful is one on Seeding a Large Area

Planning

Getting Started with Your Project
A living sculpture project interests you but you’re not sure where to start and who to get involved? Getting Started with Your Gardening Program helps answer the questions like where did the idea come from and who will be involved? It also covers youth participation and the importance of ownership as well as logistics such as spreading the word and fundraising.

Youth Development
Meeting the needs of children and youth through garden-based learning experiences…mastery, belonging, generosity, and power. What constitutes an ideal experience for young people? The ultimate goal of a project isn’t always the finished product. Often the project is a vehicle for growing competent, committed, reflective, and caring young people. We’ve expanded our notion of what constitutes and ideal experience for young people, and have looked increasingly toward the four themes of positive youth development, provided several years ago to the CCE system by Dr. Cathann Kress.

Benefits and Barriers to Youth Participation
It is not uncommon to face questions or even meet with a little resistance when trying to increase youth participation or form youth-adult partnerships in your program. The following may help you make your case by addressing common barriers and benefits to greater youth involvement and decision-making.

Youth-Adult Partnerships

"Taming” the Overly Enthusiastic Adult
Often times, when adult leaders launch a new project designed for youth and adults to work in partnership they are surprised to find that their biggest challenge isn’t engaging young people; it’s often curbing enthusiastic grown-ups who rush to “take over.” Here are some ideas for fostering partnership without bruising adult feelings along the way.

What are Youth-Adult Partnerships? Why are they Important? and How do I Develop Youth-Adult Partnerships in my Community?
From the National 4-H Council and the University of Arizona, a brief overview of the how’s and why’s of Youth-Adult Partnerships.

Tips for Building Youth-Adult Partnerships
The Texas Network of Youth Services offers ten tips for adults working with youth and ten tips for youth working with adults.

Community Development

Community Action
Living Sculpture projects often develop into public works, art that benefits the greater community. 4-H’s Youth Community Action (YCA) captures the essence of YCA, youth and adults learning, sharing leadership, taking action, and making a difference in their communities in this helpful diagram.