Gardens of the World

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Summary: Get a Map and Plan a Garden Tour
Review: From the ultra-contemporary to the seriously classical Gardens of the World: Two Thousand Years of Garden Design intends to spark the imagination of all adventurous gardeners. A beautiful book packed with 300 plus color photographs of famous and familiar places: Versailles, Villa d'Este, and gardens that are less familiar; The Tarot Garden of Niki de Saint-Phalle, located in Tuscany, Portrack designed by Charles Jenks, in Scotland, and The Lightening Field in Quemado New Mexico by Walter de Maria. Get out the map and plan a few garden visits into your next vacation

Gardens of the World is fascinating history of garden design. Each chapter examines a modern garden and then explores its historical and classical roots. The history and significance of water gardens is the focus of the first chapter. A contemporary water garden in France at Mery-sur-Oise is shown in great photographic detail. Then the author traces the history of water gardens using a wide variety of examples such as Generalife garden in Grenada Spain, Villa d'Este in Italy, and the Barragan Water gardens in Mexico City. He states that gardeners have always borrowed ideas from each other. Their ultimate expression of these ideas tempered by the restraints of their own climate, location, history and plant availability.