To some, trees are green monuments; emerald cathedrals that augment our landscape and bewitch us with their folklore; to others they are vital for survival, providing shade, food, fuel and medicine. Indeed, Britain's own history is entangled with the oak, yew, ash, and other trees that clothe our countryside and it was not so long ago that we used them for everything from weapons to water carriers. The world of trees is an immensely diverse and vitally important one. Kew holds over 14,000 trees in its 132 hectares: a unique mix of the rare, ancient, useful and beautiful. In Kew's Big Trees you can discover how one of the world's best tree collections came to be; learn the stories behind 20 of its most intriguing trees and find out just why trees are so important to us all.

Tassonomica faces how the need for understanding nature has historically shaped our conception of garden. From their very origin, gardens have always beared an ideal tension between knowledge and pleasure, resulting in the archetypes of the botanical garden and the garden of pleasure. Botanical Garden was born, specifically, as an actual euristic instrument to order, classify and preserve living beings by means of spatial separation. Even if humanity have underwent a journey of dematerialisation of knowledge, still space is the most powerful instrument for the comprehension of reality.

As much as the nineteenth and early twentieth century gardens and their designs were a product and representation of industrialization and urbanization, they were also motors of change. Gardens became an industry in and of themselves. They were both the last resting places of the dead and cultivated plots for survival. Gardens were therapeutic environments regarded as civilizing, socializing and assimilating institutions, and they were designed and perceived as social landscapes and community playgrounds. Rich with symbolism, gardens were treated as the subject and the setting for literature and painting and were often considered works of art in themselves. In a time of empire, when plants were drawn from across the globe, gardens also reflected territorial conquest and expansion and they fostered national, regional and local identities. A Cultural History of Gardens in the Age of Empire presents an overview of the period with essays on issues of design, types of gardens, planting, use and reception, issues of meaning, verbal and visual representation of gardens, and the relationship of gardens to the larger landscape.

The history of gardens in antiquity is characterized by a rich mix of cultures interacting throughout Europe, Africa and Asia. This period - from the sixth century BCE to the sixth century CE - was foundational to the later periods of garden history. The emergence of advanced horticultural techniques, sustained regional and international trade routes, and centralized power structures promoted the development of highly sophisticated garden culture in both private and public contexts. New evidence derived from archaeology and fresh analysis of literary and visual sources revises our perspective, reminding us that these garden cultures were varied and diverse, yet connected through ritual, trade, conquest, and cultural practices in ways we are only beginning to define. A Cultural History of Gardens in Antiquity presents an overview of the period with essays on issues of design, types of gardens, planting, use and reception, issue of meaning, verbal and visual representations of gardens, and the relationship of gardens to the larger landscape.

Foreword by Alan Titchmarsh For more than 45 years Hugh Johnson has written Trad's Diary, delighting in recording his observations of his own garden, as well as many others, and of the wider natural world. Free to turn his attention to whatever is happening in that season, or simply something that piques his interest, his subjects are as diverse as the sounds of water, forest walks, the names of roses, the taste for shade he shares with Handel, the colours of autumn, the smell of rain, the private garden discovered within Beijing's Forbidden City or the first crocuses of spring. Month by month, Hugh shares with the reader through his easy, evocative writing an eclectic mix of thoughtful, topical and whimsical insights that will delight not only gardeners but anyone with an interest in nature in all its costumes.

Fifty-two of Maryland's public gardens and natural parks are showcased in this book, with descriptions of their horticultural highlights and histories and nearly 240 color photos illustrating their magnificence. Included are 13 historic sites with extraordinary gardens, such as early settlements, plantations, and Gilded Age homes. Maryland is the state that has been given the name "America in Miniature," since almost all types of natural features can be found in its coastal, piedmont, and mountainous terrains. The diverse topography produces an abundance of beautiful gardens and many natural or untamed parks. This book is a must-have for anyone who loves gardens or historical homes, as well as those looking for a keepsake of the great state of Maryland.

'Lavish ... a celebration of the history and enduring romance of Islamic gardens' Washington Post As seen on the highly acclaimed BBC2 series Monty Don's Paradise Gardens, a glorious celebration of the richness of Islamic culture through some of the most beautiful gardens on earth. In the Islamic tradition, a garden with its central elements of water, the scent of fruit trees, and places for rest and reflection, celebrate heaven on earth. Paradise gardens play a central role in everyday life in the Islamic world, yet little is known about them. Monty Don and acclaimed photographer, Derry Moore, set off on a journey to find out more about the principles and immersive delights of paradise gardens and how a very different culture and climate has influenced garden design round the world. Their journey covers twenty-nine gardens from the Real Alcazar and the Alhambra in Spain, and Le Jardin Majorelle in Morocco, to Highgrove and a Mughal garden in Bradford in England. There are some spectacular and rarely seen examples such as Pasargadae and the Maidan in Isfahan, Iran, the birthplace of paradise gardens, as well as the more renowned examples such as Turkey's Topkapi Palace and the Amber Palace and Taj Mahal in India. 'A garden, green and filled with water is heaven on earth - it is paradise.' Monty Don ALSO BY MONTY DON & DERRY MOORE JAPANESE GARDENS: A JOURNEY An exploration of the exquisite beauty and fascinating history of the most beautiful and famous gardens across Japan, from Kenrok-en to the Zen gardens of Tokyo. 'A fabulous, bonsai-filled book' Daily Mail

A journey through the most unlikely of gardens: the oases of peace people create in the midst of war In this millennium, we have become war weary. From Afghanistan to Iraq, from Ukraine to South Sudan and Syria, from Kashmir to the West Bank, conflict is as contagious and poisonous as Japanese knotweed. Living through it are people just like us with ordinary jobs, ordinary pressures and ordinary lives. Against a new landscape of horror and violence it is up to them to maintain a modicum of normality and colour. For some, gardening is the way to achieve this. Working in the world's most dangerous war zones, freelance war correspondent and photographer Lally Snow has often chanced across a very moving sight, a testimony to the triumph of the human spirit in adversity, a celebration of hope and beauty: a war garden. In Kabul, the royal gardens are tended by a centenarian gardener, though the king is long gone; in Camp Bastion, bored soldiers improvise tiny gardens to give themselves a moment's peace; on both sides of the dividing line in Jerusalem families tend groves of olives and raise beautiful plants from the unforgiving, disputed landscape; in Ukraine, families tend their gardens in the middle of a surreal, frozen war. War Gardens is a surprising, tragic and beautiful journey through the darkest places of the modern world, revealing the ways people make time and space for themselves and for nature even in the middle of destruction. Illustrated with Lally Snow's own award-winning photography, this is a book to treasure.

'Gardens Schweiz / Suisse / Switzerland' is the perfect book for avid gardeners, keen botanists, or simply anyone who loves the outdoors. Each garden entry includes a description in English, French and German, as well as important visitor information, must-see recommendations, and more than 100 lush colour photos. Garden designer and journalist Hester Macdonald enlightens readers with dozens of pages on the secrets of Swiss gardening-from choosing the perfect roses to keeping your geraniums flowering all summer long.

Take a tour of historic California garden design via this classic book. Released in 1914 the book offered yesterdays reader ways to plan and beautify the city lot, suburban grounds, and country estate. For todays historic home owner, there are 50 garden plans and 103 illustrations of actual gardens from photographs taken by the author. Of special interest are photos of outdoor furniture, lighting, and trellises. This book is a wealth of imagery and ideas about Arts & Crafts era sensibilities, Japanese gardens, and Mission-influenced landscape design.

Landscape gardening involves a partnership between gardener and environment and an understanding of why and how plants grow where they do. Phillips takes the reader on an illustrated garden tour through the rich ecosystems of the Southwest and into gardens she has designed in the upland forests, shrub/desert grasslands, riparian oases, and arid city plots. Her plant palette includes native trees, shrubs, wildflowers, and grasses, and embraces dozens of adaptive plants that will flourish in the demanding conditions of the upland and desert West.

Whether on the ground or in the mind gardens carry meaning. They reflect social and aesthetic values and may express hope, anticipation or grief. Throughout history they have provided a means of physical survival. In creating and maintaining gardens people construe and construct a relationship with their environment. But there is no single meaning carried in the word 'garden': as idea and practice it reflects cultural differences in beliefs, values and social organisation. It embodies personal, community even national ways of seeing and being in the world.There are ten essays in this book, each of which examines the role of gardens and gardening in the settlement of New South Wales and in growing a colony and a state. They explore the significance of gardens for the health of the colony, for its economy, for the construction of social order and for personal identity.For the immigrants gardening was an act of settlement and also a statement of possession. For a long time it was with memories of 'home', often selective and idealised, that settlers made gardens but as the colony developed its own character so did gardening possibilities and practices.

The history of the garden in the Renaissance, traced from the late fourteenth century in Italy to the death of Andre Le Notre in 1700 in France, is a story both of dynamism and codification. The period saw the emergence of what would become archetypal elements of the formal garden and the fixing of theory and language of the garden arts. At the same time, newly important sciences, developments in engineering, as well as globalization, historicity, and theories of aesthetics were embraced in the construction of such gardens. The result was the notion of the landscape as something to be labored on, created, and delighted in, that ultimately would become a stage upon which Renaissance cultural politics played out. A Cultural History of Gardens in the Renaissance presents an overview of the period with essays on issues of design, types of gardens, planting, use and reception, issues of meaning, verbal and visual representation of gardens, and the relationship of gardens to the larger landscape.

Tracing the history of landscape park design from British gardens up through the city park designs of Frederick Law Olmsted, Ethan Carr places national park landscape architecture within a larger historical context. Despite the difficulties now confronting the parks, their continued ability to attract millions of visitors suggests that their creators succeeded in presenting a captivating vision of a once-wild America.Ethan Carr is a landscape architect and is currently working for the National Park Service. He has taught landscape architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and the University of Virginia School of Architecture.

Richmond Park is the largest Royal Park in London, covering an area of 2,500 acres. From its heights there is an uninterrupted view of St Paul's Cathedral, 12 miles away. The royal connections to this park probably go back further than any of the others, beginning with Edward I in the thirteenth century, when the area was known as the Manor of Sheen. The name was changed to Richmond during Henry VII's reign. In 1625 Charles I brought his court to Richmond Palace to escape the plague in London and turned it into a park for red and fallow deer. His decision, in 1637, to enclose the land was not popular with the local residents, but he did allow pedestrians the right of way. To this day the walls remain. In 1847 Pembroke Lodge became the home of the then Prime Minister, Lord John Russell, and was later the childhood home of his grandson, Bertrand Russell. However, Richmond Park emerges from its historical record as a place that has seen many changes in fabric and detail and yet remains the embodiment of a medieval deer park. It is a palimpsest, retaining subtle clues to each period in its history.

Gertrude Jekyll was perhaps the most important British garden designer of the 20th century. She famously argued that gardening ought to be considered a Fine Art, highlighting that it becomes a point of honour to be always striving for the best. This volume examines Jekyll's work at Manor House, Upton Grey in Hampshire, offering an insight into her eclectic, imaginative, and inspiring art. Designed between 1908 and 1909, and once maintained by as many as nine gardeners, the garden fell into disrepair by the second half of the twentieth century, before a full and accurate restoration was carried out in the early 1980s. 'Gertrude Jekyll: Her Art Restored at Upton Grey' presents a visual record of the garden's plants and layout, with original plans and photographs, as well as beautiful images of the garden taken since its restoration. There is also a fascinating chapter about Miss Jekyll's discovery, admiration and use of Mediterranean plants. The book succeeds in illustrating exactly why Jekyll was so admired in her lifetime and why she continues to inspire and influence gardeners today.

Across the world there are more than a thousand botanical gardens, which combine scientific research, conservation and beauty with public access - Kew Gardens alone attracts around one million visitors a year. Their uses have varied through history - they might focus on cultivating exotic plants and produce; be honed to commercial ends (introducing lucrative plant crops such as tea and rubber to new countries); center on preserving collections of international plants; focus on scientific classification and research - or combine of all these things. Sarah Rutherford here tells the story of these diverse gardens in Britain and around the world, from their beginnings in the sixteenth century to their long heyday in the last three hundred years. She explains the design of the gardens, the architecture employed, the personalities and institutions that established and contributed to them, their important role in research and conservation, and what makes them so appealing to the millions of visitors they attract.

A year in the life of a garden. From the stillness of winter, unfurling through spring and summer to the contentment of autumn, this imaginative interpretation of a specific space - a twelve-acre garden within an urban university campus - exposes a secret oasis, full of surprises. This book presents the personal vision of the Artist in Residence at the Harris Garden in the University of Reading. Jenny Halstead captures the seasonal changes, portrays the stages of its renovation, and celebrates its enthusiastic workforce, especially the many volunteers. Accompanied by a history of the garden and an account of its restoration, these paintings and sketches memorialise a place in time.

Written by The Friends of Caversham Court Gardens this guide covers the history of all the houses built on the riverside site, starting with a 12th century rectory. This was replaced by a Tudor house, and this in turn was remodelled in the Victorian era. The site was bought by Reading Borough Council in the 1930s and the last house was demolished in 1933. In 2004 with Heritage lottery funding the council was able to reconstruct the site, restoring the footprints of the houses and the buildings remaining on the site. The richly illustrated guide covers the history of the houses that stood on the site, the families who lived there and the development of the gardens through the ages.

The relationship between England and its gardens might be described as a love affair; gardening is one of our national passions, rooted in history. The eighteenth century is often called the Golden Age of English gardening; as the fashion for formal pleasure grounds for the wealthy faded, a new era began, filled with picturesque vistas inspired by nature.; Charting the transformation in our landscapes through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, The Golden Age of the Garden brings the voices of the past alive in newspaper reports, letters, diaries, books, essays and travelogues, offering contemporary gardening advice, principles of design, reflections on nature, landscape and plants, and a unique perspective on the origins of our fascination with gardens.; Exploring the different styles, techniques and innovations, and the creation of many of the stunning spaces that visitors still flock to see today, this is an evocative and rewarding collection for all gardeners and garden-lovers seeking insight, ideas and surprises.

Why do gardens matter so much and mean so much to people? That is the intriguing question to which David Cooper seeks an answer in this book. Given the enthusiasm for gardens in human civilization ancient and modern, Eastern and Western, it is surprising that the question has been so long neglected by modern philosophy. Now at last there is a philosophy of gardens. Not only is this a fascinating subject in its own right, it also provides a reminder that the subject-matter of aesthetics is broader than the fine arts; that ethics is not just about moral issues but about 'the good life'; and that environmental philosophy should not focus only on 'wilderness' to the exclusion of the humanly shaped environment.
David Cooper identifies garden appreciation as a special human phenomenon distinct from both from the appreciation of art and the appreciation of nature. He explores the importance of various 'garden-practices' and shows how not only gardening itself, but activities to which the garden especially lends itself, including social and meditative activities, contribute to the good life. And he distinguishes the many kinds of meanings that gardens may have, from representation of nature to emotional expression, from historical significance to symbolization of a spiritual relationship to the world. Building on the familiar observation that, among human beings' creations, the garden is peculiarly dependent on the co-operation of nature, Cooper argues that the garden matters as an epiphany of an intimate co-dependence between human creative activity in the world and the 'mystery' that allows there to be a world for them at all.
A Philosophy of Gardens will open up this subject tostudents and scholars of aesthetics, ethics, and cultural and environmental studies, and to anyone with a reflective interest in things horticultural.

This is a time of renewed originality in garden design. The last twenty years have seen a lucky confluence of money and talent lavished on gardening, and the results are surprising, enchanting, sometimes even controversial. The range of possibilities suggested by these thirty-five gardens is extraordinary: from Jacques Wirtz's undulating beech hedges that recede mysteriously into the mist to Penelope Hobhouse's latest interpretation of the traditional English garden, to Martha Schwartz's Texas creation of red, yellow, and pink painted garden rooms. These hidden masterworks of modern gardening are unlocked for us by the authority, experience, and resources of House & Garden magazine. Every page is an invitation to explore landscapes that have never before been seen by the public--and may never be seen again. International in scope and lavish in its production, this book is the last word on the state of design in the garden world.

Stroll under the canopy of massive Live Oaks in Savannah's Historic District, and enjoy beautiful Crape Myrtle flowers in the summer and Camellia blossoms in the winter. For more than 275 years, Savannah residents have grown plants and trees for commercial and culinary reasons, creating world-class ornamental gardens. The coastal city's unique blend of Northern trees and tropical shrubs makes it a gardener's paradise. Enjoy original tales and folklore pertaining to the history and science of Savannah's flowers, plants, and trees with licensed tour guide Roy Heizer. More than 160 photographs exhibit flora from the Historic District, squares, the house museum gardens, the Savannah Botanical Garden, Bamboo Farm, and Coastal Gardens.

With plenty of traditional stir-fry recipes, advice on choosing the right wokand accessories, and tips on proper wok upkeep, "Wok Every Day" makes it easyto wok like a gourmet.

Beautiful, accessible, even educational public gardens offer delights for travelers all over the state who want to get close to Nature. Visitors can explore a variety of gardens: botanical, estate, lily, rose, herb, cottage, wildflower, and more.