Gardening Made Simple

Better Homes and Gardens

 

Editorial Concepting & Writing

This comprehensive guide to gardening was intended to appeal to gardeners of all skill levels, from beginners to well-seasoned green thumbs. Waterbury worked with an expert garden writer and editor to outline the book, plan and attend photo shoots, and write all copy. Our concern with involving subject experts for each project we work on extends to those who come after the initial creator or author. In this case, for instance, Waterbury hired an indexer, copy editor, and proofreader who specialize in garden books.

Design

To stay true to the title of the book and still offer the reader a wealth of information, content was organized so that most topics fall within a page or within a spread. Though this was not a tab-divider book, internal tabs were designed so readers can quickly find the content they are looking for. Color backgrounds were used to contain information and avoid overwhelming the reader with a lot of grey text. An “Ask the Garden Doctor” feature was designed at the bottom of each page for answers to frequently asked questions.

Step-by-Step Garden Content

One very important aspect of this book was its how-to content. While the book featured many lush and gorgeous garden beauty shots, many of the more than 1,200 photos in the book were clear, concise series of how-to photos featuring subjects such as planting techniques, seed sowing, and applying mulch. Our expert garden editor made sure every crucial subject was covered in these how-to series. If existing content was not available, we carefully planned and did photo shoots to ensure its inclusion.