In the introduction by Ms. Caroline Holmes, you will learn that a garden has always been viewed as a "sanctuary" and that gardens offer "a promise of inspiration." The book captures the "elements of garden design . . . architecture, water, plants and rocks, as well as religion and philosophy . . . ." You are reminded that "evocative sounds and movement, such as birdsong or the effects of wind and waves, are a vital design element." This excellent book captures the evolution of the garden from Babylonian times through China, Rome, Japan, and the European Renaissance into our own times and styles. Ninety gardens are featured in 300 illustrations (usually 3-4 per garden) along with a brief essay by one of many contributors. The book's strength is that it will introduce you to gardens you have never known about before. Its weakness is that many of the photographs fail to do justice to the gardens presented. The book is organized historically by the century in which the garden was established. Each garden gets two pages of attention, with the bulk going for illustrations. The first garden thus is Sigiriya in Sri Lanka from 300 B.C. The second is Byodo-in in Japan from 1000 A.D. The third is from the Alhambra, in Grenada from 1300 A.D.
Most of the gardens are in Europe. They are not all gardens on a grand scale. Private gardens are included as well.
To give you a flavor of what was selected the gardens in the United States (in order of appearance) are: the Governor's Palace at Williamsburg, Monticello, Naumkeag (in Stockbridge, Massachusetts), Biltmore (in Asheville, North Carolina), Dumbarton Oaks, Fallingwater, El Novillero (in Sonoma, California) and J. Irwin Miller Garden (in Columbus, Indiana).
As you can see from this list, the scale and historical significance of the gardens vary a lot. I've never thought of Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater as a garden, but rather as architecture integrated into the landscape. About one-third of the photographs emphasize architecture rather than gardens. The book is highly unusual in that sense.
In general, the Japanese gardens come out looking the best. Less formal gardens are largely ignored in the selection process.
The essays were uniformly well done and provide historical and cultural perspectives that will add to your understanding and enjoyment of the gardens.
My main complaint about the book is that the photographs did not capture the essence of the gardens in many cases. I certainly have not been to most of the gardens, but anyone who has even seen postcards of Versailles would realize that these images are not representative of the gardens there, for example.
It also would have been nice to have had more pages devoted to each garden for photographs. I would have preferred to have had fewer gardens to make that possible.
The book also would have benefited from a somewhat larger page size. Some of the smaller images are a little cramped so the details are hard to discern.
I do recommend that you purchase this book, because it will serve as a source of inspiration for you when you cannot be in a world-class garden.
After you have finished enjoying the book for many times, think about how you could create a small garden that would bring tremendous inspiration into your life. When you build the garden, be sure to include a bench that allows you to enjoy the perspective you like.
Surround yourself with natural beauty!