The Most Beautiful Gardens in the World
by Alain Le Touquin
This is a large, heavy, coffee table type book filled with glossy photos of over 30 gardens from all over the world. Although everyone has their own idea of what makes a garden beautiful, I guarantee there is a garden in this book that will delight your senses no matter what kind of garden style you find personally beautiful.
Some gardens included are no surprise: Versailles, Giverny, and Sissinghurst.
Other gardens are not as well known:
Iran's Bagh-e Fin, with its pools of marble,
Italy's Vill Gamberaia, where Princess Ghyka "aged and her beauty faded, she cloistered herself there for the rest of her days",Germany's Schwetzingen, which was the first to have a garden planted in a full circle.
Levens Hall, with topiaries that remind me of Alice in Wonderland (shown on the front cover), Portrack House, with its Garden of Physics, and Huntington Botanical Gardens, home to such diverse plantings as a Rose Garden, a Jungle Garden and a Desert Garden, are included in this list of varied gardens.
There are several gardens with water features. There are grottos and carved stone. There are trees. Lush plantings. Sculpture, modern and ancient. Even France's Villandry's vegetable gardens are included.
This book would make an excellent Christmas present for a gardener. The best part of the book is the numerous fold outs that show panoramic photographs. There are about a dozen of these, and they are each magnificent.
 |
| An example of the panoramic fold outs |
A few pages of the history and a description of each garden is included. I do wish each garden's plans could have been included in the book. As big as this book is, there just wasn't enough room for a photo of every part of every garden, and having plans to illustrate the descriptions would have been helpful.
This book has introduced me to several gardens that I had never heard of before, and some that I want to learn more about. It's a wonderful introduction to some of the most beautiful gardens in the world - and what gardener wouldn't love that?
___________________________________________________________________
Now it's your turn! Please join us on the 20th of each month with your own Garden Book Review. Any book with a gardening influence qualifies. And, as always, please visit the other participants. You may find just the type of garden book you've been looking for!
I think it's really interesting book. Beautiful garden with topiary. I love it. Thank you for sharing
ReplyDeleteThe topiary at Levens Hall is truly amazing. And the fact that they used different colored foliage for the different topiaries make it even more interesting.
DeleteHolley, great book and I could add the same words as you said: I had to have this book as well!
ReplyDeleteNow I'm searching for calendar with pictures of famous gardens in the world. Have a nice weekend!
Good luck with your search. After reading your comment, I went searching for garden calendars, and I fell in love with The Secret Garden 2014 Wall Calendar at calendars.com. That's a great Christmas idea for gardeners, too!
DeleteI've seen it, Holley! Wonderful! It's pity they have no shipping to Russia. But I ordered another one, very similar from German book.de and they it will be shipped soon.
DeleteI'm so glad! I hope you enjoy each month's photos of your calendar. That would be wonderful inspiration to see every day!
DeleteIt looks like a superb book, Holley. Great ideas for topiary at Levens, and perhaps more ideas for box replacements? Nadezda's idea for the calendar is a good one - perhaps she'll let us know if she finds one?
ReplyDeleteThis book doesn't give much design advice, just total eye candy (and a little history). There is just no substitute for the classic boxwood, but if blight ever hit my garden, I think I would replace them with dwarf yaupon holly, as they grow so well here.
DeleteThere are already so many books about famous and beautiful gardens in the world but I think this is very interesting for the panoramic folds out.
ReplyDeleteI did love the fold outs, and the fact that there were several of them. It made the gardens almost come alive!
DeleteWhat a fabulous book! It just went on my Christmas list (for me)! :-) Thanks for sharing, Holley!
ReplyDeleteBeth, I hope you love it! Merry Christmas! ;)
DeleteHi Holly. Thank you for hosting this meme. I am glad that I can join again this month. I hope that one day I will have time to read all the book reviews on your site. Yours looks like a beautiful book. The fold outs are a great idea. More gardening books should have them.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you joined in again this month! The fold outs made this book go from typical to grand. It would be fabulous if more gardening book had them. The panoramas really made a difference in my impression of the gardens.
DeleteVery interested in this book Holley, thanks for bringing it to our attention!
ReplyDeleteI do hope you enjoy it. I liked the fact that the gardens were very diverse in their styles, and I enjoyed learning each garden's history. I do wish they could have had more photos of each garden, but if they had, the book would be too heavy for me to pick up!
DeleteOh, I want! I especially would enjoy those panoramic views.
ReplyDeleteThe fold out pages really make for some beautiful photographs. They were an unexpected delight to find in this book!
DeleteI love the idea of the panoramic fold-outs. Do you remember those pop-up books for children? These panoramic fold-out photos have made me want to see a pop-up garden book!
ReplyDeleteOh, that is such a great idea! Wouldn't that be fabulous? It could really add a new dimension to how we viewed the garden.
DeleteThose fold-out panoramas are a really good idea, so often books don't give you a vrey good idea for the overall plan and feel for a garden, just lots of beautiful close-ups.
ReplyDeleteI really did enjoy the fold outs. The photo on the first page of them is nice, but when you fold it out to three pages of a photo, it becomes amazing!
DeleteOh I love large glossy colorful garden books with fold out pages. A true gardener's dream. Thanks for hosting Holley, I finally linked in!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I have any other gardening books with fold outs like this - but you can bet I'll be looking for more! :)
DeleteThe panoramic picture fold-outs are a great idea - something to put on my Christmas wish-list. One day I'll post a review connected to your meme - I have 2 garden books on my side table now but have yet to make it all the way through either. So many books (garden and otherwise), so little time...
ReplyDeleteI know. In addition to all the garden books I read, my husband is continually giving me non-gardening books to read, too. Good thing I enjoy reading! :)
DeleteI don't think my garden is quite ready to have its panoramic photo taken, but it's something to aim for.
ReplyDeleteI know gardeners that take panoramic photos of their garden. Close-ups are better for me! :)
DeleteThat is a great panoramic photo! I have visited Huntington Gardens, and it has some very beautiful areas. I know I would enjoy the book and seeing the other gardens. So many gardens I would like to visit!
ReplyDeleteI know, Dorothy, and I'll probably just have to settle for photos in books! But, maybe one day I'll win the lottery and get to go on a round-the-world garden tour! Wouldn't that just be delicious?!
DeleteWe had our first frost last night, and I feel winter is rapidly approaching. This book seems perfect to browse while sitting by the fireside now the gardening season is over. I love visiting great gardens in this way! P. x
ReplyDeleteYes, it's getting to be good garden book reading and dreaming time! Nothing better in winter than dreaming of May, and looking at books full of garden inspiration!
DeleteLove the fold out example!
ReplyDeleteVillandry is such a beautiful garden. I wish my vegetable garden could look like that! But, then I would be reluctant to harvest anything!
DeleteWhat a wonderful sounding book! The cover and that 3 page spread are enough to sell me on it!
ReplyDeleteAll the photos are remarkable, but the fold outs were definitely the selling point for me!
DeleteI love your book recommendations -- they are great!
ReplyDeleteAs usual, thank you, Holley!
I love reading what others recommend. I have so much to learn!
Delete