Lives of the great gardeners - Stephen Anderton

Throughout history great gardeners have risen from all walks of life. Some have been
aristocratic amateur gardeners, others professional designers with an international
practice. Some have come to garden-making from sister arts such as sculpture or
painting; some have been hands-on nurserymen or botanists. What they all have in
common, no matter where or when they were born, is the ability to take an idea and
develop it in a new manner relevant to their times.

The book contains four sections. 'Gardens of Ideas' moves from the politically
allusive gardens of 18th-century England made by men such as William Kent, to
Charles Jencks's Scottish garden inspired by 21st-century cosmography. 'Gardens of
Straight Lines' explores the lives of the great formalist gardeners, from Le Ntre at
Versailles to the rational English minimalism of contemporary designer Christopher
Bradley-Hole. 'Gardens of Curves' begins with that great exponent of the English
landscape garden, 'Capability' Brown, and leads to the extraordinary Brazilian designer
Roberto Burle Marx. Finally, 'Gardens of Plantsmanship' moves from the father of
naturalistic planting, William Robinson, to the sweeping prairies of New York's
favourite Dutch designer, Piet Oudolf. With an outstanding text by the award-winning
gardens writer Stephen Anderton, this book will appeal to garden lovers everywhere.