Lives of the great gardeners

Review by Choice Review

In this book, Anderton, one of England's best-known writers on gardens and gardening, documents and details the lives, careers, and contributions of 40 of the most famous international gardeners. The time span of the work's subjects extends from the 15th century to the present. The highlighted gardeners are grouped according to the general orientation of their work: "Gardens of Ideas," "Gardens of Straight Lines," "Gardens of Curves," and "Gardens of Plantsmanship." The revelation of these gardener's influences and how their achievements have had a contemporary impact is well documented in each section. Their motivation ranges from a desire for artistic expression, to the intent of reflecting a social or philosophical idea, to providing a place for demonstrating the use of particular species. A list of the four most significant events in the birth and death year of the chapter subject begins each chapter, making for a most interesting historical reference to the gardener's time of activity. Full of delightful details of the lives of the chosen 40 gardeners, this beautifully illustrated book is a most welcome addition to the gardener's library. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers. --Leroy G. Kavaljian, California State University, Sacramento

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.

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Review by Booklist Review

Brief biographies of the lives and creativity of 40 great gardeners are used to illustrate the history and philosophy of four principles on which gardens were and are developed. Each category (ideas, straight lines, curves, and plantsmanship) includes a series of 9-12 gardeners from the historical to the contemporary. Gardens of Ideas features the longest time line, starting with ancient Chinese gardens and continuing to the modern, conceptually inspired garden. Geometric gardens started to be developed when people began controlling nature in earnest. Gardens of Straight Lines also control people and lead from one place to another. In the modern context, gardeners started to use repeating parallel curves. Another hundred years after the straight-lined gardens came into fashion, more sweeping curves on the grand estates of Europe began their evolution to become the Gardens of Curves. The plant collectors of the nineteenth century needed Gardens of Plantsmanship to show off their finds. The contemporary equivalent is a naturalistic desert garden. The author's selection of gardeners includes the famous (Thomas Jefferson, Frederick Law Olmsted, Claude Monet) and less commonly recognized names (Wen Zhengming, André le Nôtre, William Robinson, Edna Walling). Each of these gardeners both led and represented the aesthetic of his or her generation. For added context, there is a small block of important historical events that happened in each gardener's lifetime. From this compilation of great gardeners, modern landscape architects and designers and home gardeners can learn some of the history and development of their art and craft.--Scarth, Linda Copyright 2017 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Times of London gardening columnist Anderton (Discovering Welsh Gardens) pays homage to gardeners throughout history in this wonderfully illustrated book. The 40 biographies, which cover 500 years of gardening around the world, plow cleanly through the lives and work of each gardener. Anderton's subjects are varied; he covers Dutchmen and Scotsmen and Asians; sculptors and scholars; and Penelope Hobhouse, Gertrude Jekyll, and Beth Chatto. The gardeners are grouped into four inventive chapters: "Gardens of Ideas," "Gardens of Straight Lines," "Gardens of Curves," and "Gardens of Plantsmanship." This organization springs from the author's intelligent comprehension of the big garden picture. He includes contextual cross-references and, before each biography, lists events (often odd ones) from the gardeners' birth and death years. Anderton's style, erudite and whimsical, delightfully dominates: "Le Notre was no writer and, to our great loss, left little behind except a few plans. And, of course, Versailles." The nearly 250 illustrations balance Anderton's words in a sprightly and convivial marriage. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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