‘The wisest book I’ve read for many years … Much more than a gardening book, much more than a guide to mental health … Hugely recommended’ Stephen Fry THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER A Times and Sunday Times Best Book of 2020 How can gardening relieve stress and help us look after our mental health? What lies behind the restorative power of the natural world? In a powerful combination of contemporary neuroscience, psychoanalysis and brilliant storytelling, The Well Gardened Mind investigates the magic that many gardeners have known for years – working with nature can radically transform our health, wellbeing and confidence. With illuminating stories of how people struggling with stress, depression, trauma and addiction can change their lives, this inspiring and wise book of science, insight and anecdote – now translated into fifteen languages – shows how our understanding of nature and its restorative powers is only just beginning to flower.

Rousham in Oxfordshire was one of the first landscape gardens created in England and is, still, one of the most influential. Designed by William Kent in the late 1730s for the Cottrell-Dormer family (who are its owners today) it has become a place of pilgrimage for landscape architects and garden designers worldwide as well as garden lovers. Its magical glades and sculptural set-pieces have long intrigued Francis Hamel, who has lived and worked there for 25 years. Since the beginning of 2020 he has composed an extraordinary collection of paintings that capture the gardens and their magic. With essays by Tom Stuart-Smith, Joanna Kavenna and Christopher Woodward, the reader is led down its mysterious pathways; from tree-shaded walks peopled with statues of Pan, Venus and other immortals to sun-dappled meadows carpeted with wild flowers. It is just as Kent left it- a secret garden that is open to all.

Can a sculpture be a river? Can contemporary art unite conflicting systems of belief? Do other species appreciate culture? And can public art revive communities and ecosystems? Cristina Iglesias’ horizontal fountains, submerged rooms and tropical mazes bring together language, architecture and botany to create immersive spaces of contemplation. In this publication an international roster of curators, art critics, philosophers, architects and scientists discuss the social and ecological potential of art in urban and rural space.

Can a sculpture be a river? Can contemporary art unite conflicting systems of belief? Do other species appreciate culture? And can public art revive communities and ecosystems? Cristina Iglesias’ horizontal fountains, submerged rooms and tropical mazes bring together language, architecture and botany to create immersive spaces of contemplation. In this publication an international roster of curators, art critics, philosophers, architects and scientists discuss the social and ecological potential of art in urban and rural space.

Landscape architect and designer Tom Stuart-Smith began his practice in London in 1998. Known for contrasting built forms with naturalistic planting, he has designed gardens, parks and landscapes in Europe, India, Morocco, the United States and the Caribbean. With clients such as the Royal Horticultural Society, the Royal Academy of Arts, and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, Stuart-Smith has established himself as the United Kingdom’s leading landscape architect.

Featuring twenty-four of Stuart-Smith’s gardens from around the world, this book is the first major overview of his career. Through four essays by the designer, readers will learn about his inspirations and methods, while also marvelling at the beauty of his designs. Each garden is accompanied by an overview drawing, spectacular commissioned photography, and text by leading garden writer Tim Richardson. Offering rare insights and ideas on planting, design and landscaping, this book is a must-have for garden lovers and gardening professionals.

Offering unique insights into landscape design and planting, this book will provide inspiration and ideas for garden-lovers and professionals, opening up imaginative possibilities for designing spaces from the smallest to the grandest.

SS-Obersturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny became a legend in his own time. 'Hitler's favourite commando' acquired a reputation as a man of daring, renowned for his audacious 1943 mission to extricate Mussolini from a mountain-top prison. Skorzeny's influence on special operations doctrine was far-reaching and long-lasting - in 2011, when US Navy SEALs infiltrated Pakistan to eliminate Osama Bin Laden, the operational planning was influenced by Skorzeny's legacy. Yet he was also an egoist who stole other men's credit (including for the seminal rescue of Mussolini), brave and resourceful but also an unrepentant Nazi and a self-aggrandizing hogger of the limelight.

Stuart Smith draws on years of in-depth research to uncover the truth about Skorzeny's career and complex personality. From his background as a student radical in Vienna, to his bloody service with the Waffen-SS on the Eastern Front, his surprise rebirth as a commando, and his intriguing post-war career and mysterious fortune, this book tells Otto Skorzeny's story in full - warts and all - for the first time.

HORIZONS is a complete elementary French program that makes learning French easier through its step-by-step skill-building methodology, flexible and accessible approach to grammar and new vocabulary, and creative and sophisticated coverage of Francophone culture. Through varied interactive activities and clear grammar explanations, the text helps students communicate effectively in French while culturally connecting them to the Francophone world. HORIZONS features a clear, easy-to-follow structure that is ideal for instructors with any level of teaching experience. HORIZONS carefully guides students Competence by Competence, through their first year of elementary French.