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.