1 comments about The Englishman's Garden.

1. "The Englishman's Garden" edited by Alvilde Lees-Milne and Rosemary Verey is a wonderful pictoral and viewpoint of British country gardening. This book includes thirty-three short but informative essays from Englishmen who pride themselves on gardening and who offer sound advice on how to choreograph landscape. The text also includes nearly two hundred stunning color and black & white photographs of some of Englands finest country gardens.

   Controlled symmetry, wild gravel gardens, dramatic sculpture and daring borders are all discussed within the pages of this impressive text. Moreover, the editors include detailed plans and month by month maintenance of majestic gardens from tier one gardeners. I especially enjoyed the variety of shapes and the evergreen contrasts of color and texture in Sir Frederick Ashton's Garden at Chandos Lodge, Eye, Suffolk. Sir Frederick is a master gardener who was born in Ecuador and lived in Peru. He moved to Chandos Lodge in 1958 and within twenty-five years he skillfully created one of the finest gardens in the world.

   Another fine garden and essay included that of Sir Bernard Lovell at The Quinta, Swettenham, Cheshire. He created a garden in which paths wind through the trees and shrubs with the flowers of spring in the undercover. In the summer, brilliant roses and lovely clematis smother the house and walls inside the garden. Overall this is a very good book about gardens with many centuries of evolution. An added bonus of "The Englishman's Garden," is that it can also double as a good coffee table book in addition to a practical guide to landscaping for intermediate & expert gardeners.

   Bert Ruiz

2 comments about Italian Gardens.

1. This one is certainly not meant as a guidebook, rather something to flip through at leisure. I agree with the previous reviewer that the photos could have been much more nuanced (they look a bit flat and overexposed as they must have been taken in full bright sunlight - not the best idea) but they are not really atrocious either and some have good composition. I certainly appreciated the interesting choice of villas, as I was looking in particular for a few I had visited.



2. "Don't judge the book by the cover". No, that would be a serious mistake since the cover photo is as crisp and clear as you could ever wish for. The same doesn't apply to the photos inside alas. A third of them are almost good, a third are of poor quality and the rest are disasterous. Hazy, unclear, no focus. Many taken in strong sunlight with pitch-black shadows and colors like fifties postcards from East Germany. And a book like this, with rather a small amount of text and a great deal of pictures, you buy for the pictures. Not a good idea.
   The choice of gardens are (mainly) not the most celebrated and featured classical gardens, but lesser known ones and from all centuries. This is a good idea that makes this book a complement to such like Edith Whartons Italian Gardens, which I rate very highly.

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