It’s not easy being green

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Ok, here’s the big debate about the Garden Walk book cover. Would we choose a photo and design based on “pop!” and color? Would we pick something that was really Buffalo, i.e., Victorian architecture surrounded by plantings? Would we pick something subtle, something that expressed great garden design but was not necessarily urban or colorful? Or would we aim for democracy, trying to get as many representative gardens on the cover as we could?

What do you think, gentle readers of GWI? I’m hesitant to show any of the prospective covers now, because I know what we picked, and I want to unveil it when the book is done. A lot of determinants go into a book cover, not the least of which is what is “salable.” When I think about the gardening books I have, the ones that stick in my mind are very diverse. Botanica is a design of colorful foliage. I liked it so much I chose my kitchen curtains based on it. Christopher Lloyd’s Garden Flowers is a big orange dahlia, while other book covers I like feature lush English borders.

It seems there may be a movement toward greener-looking covers, with less flower power. I don’t know. I hope we did the right thing. Above is a photoshop melange I put together for your enjoyment.

Comments

Celia said…
The lower left image is the one which most evokes garden to me. I like the brightness, too.
firefly said…
I like the idea of a collage -- multiple pictures immediately tell the reader the book is a compendium of different gardens and gives a taste of what's inside.

I also like this particular collage, although in Firefox the "Garden Walk Buffalo" is obscured. For some reason, the arched structure on the right keeps drawing my eye.
Carol Michel said…
The image in your collage that immediately drew my attention was the gate in the lower right corner. I want to see what garden lies behind that gate, which is what the cover of a book should do, tell you what is beyond that 1st page.
Anonymous said…
Love the collage - agree that the gate brings the eye to wonder or wander - but the collage does say it is a compilation - let it stand as the eye instinctively goes to the gate.
EAL said…
Well, this is just an ad hoc collage that I made with my rudimentary photoshop skills--it combines several of the actual cover designs. I included it to give an idea.
lisa said…
I agree with the other comments...the collage is a good sampling to demonstrate content, and the gate is intriguing....

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