Patrick Watson is currently South Africa’s most innovative and versatile landscape architect. Known for designing extensive mega-sites, such as Sun City and an entire Indian Ocean Island, he is also the creator of exquisite small gardens in private homes and quiet spaces for reflection, such as the Apartheid Museum and the Garden of Hope at St George’s Anglican Church in Parktown, Johannesburg.

In all he does, he combines artistic intuition with extensive botanical knowledge and a deep concern for the conservation and restoration of nature. His projects are creative, fresh with inspiration, and often bold, and he uses plants, colours, landforms and space to create visual and emotional experiences.

Covering 23 gardens and landscapes, and richly supported by sensitive photography and some specially commissioned artworks, the book is a beautiful record of a remarkable local talent, a visionary whose art is informed by nature. It recognises and celebrates the combination of knowledge, skill and instinct that make up the man, and the radical influence he has had on his profession.

Interest in the environment has never been greater and yet most of us have little knowledge of the 4 billion years of history that formed it. This book explains the principles of geology, geography and geomorphology, and shows how a basic understanding of geological timescales, plate tectonics and landforms can help you 'read' the great outdoors. This is a highly illustrated book with a very accessible text that beautifully illuminates the landscape around us.