I hope that you will want to learn more about historic gardens.  Scroll down to see what I am reading now, my favorite websites, videos, books, and articles. I look forward to hearing your suggestions!

Favorite websites

What I am reading now

Anna Pavord takes us on a journey from Turkey to England; from Leiden, Holland to Holland, Michigan.  This delightful book looks at history through this amazing flower - with wonderful illustrations that reflect evolving aesthetics.  The p…

Anna Pavord takes us on a journey from Turkey to England; from Leiden, Holland to Holland, Michigan.  This delightful book looks at history through this amazing flower - with wonderful illustrations that reflect evolving aesthetics.  The perfect read as tulip planting season is upon us!

TCLF.org is my go-to site. They tell me "What's Out There" so I can visit great landscapes where ever I am.  "Pioneers" tells me about the people behind landscape design.  TCLF's events give me access to amazing landscapes and the stories …

TCLF.org is my go-to site. They tell me "What's Out There" so I can visit great landscapes where ever I am.  "Pioneers" tells me about the people behind landscape design.  TCLF's events give me access to amazing landscapes and the stories behind them.

This site has over 1,700 US gardens and more than 200 Irish gardens.  It's like having a friend giving advice on where to visit.  They have many hidden treasures.

This site has over 1,700 US gardens and more than 200 Irish gardens.  It's like having a friend giving advice on where to visit.  They have many hidden treasures.

Connect to their open days program to visit private gardens across the country.

Connect to their open days program to visit private gardens across the country.

From Croatia to Cambodia, I use this site to find gardens to visit when I traveling outside of the US. It was created by UK based garden historian Tom Turner and contains great material from his books.

From Croatia to Cambodia, I use this site to find gardens to visit when I traveling outside of the US. It was created by UK based garden historian Tom Turner and contains great material from his books.

Gardening books where designers discuss their own work

Blomfield, Reginald and F. Inigo Thomas. The Formal Garden in England.  1892.

Cheng, Ji. The Craft of Gardens. Yale University Press. 1988. (First published 1631).

Downing, Andrew Jackson. The Architecture of Country Houses. 1850.

Downing, Andrew Jackson. Victorian Cottage Residences. 1873.

Farrand, Beatrix. Plant Book for Dumbarton Oaks. (edited by Diane Kostial McGuire) Dumbarton Oaks Trustees for Harvard University. Washington, DC, 1980.

Jekyll, Gertrude. Colour Schemes for the Flower Garden. Frances Lincoln Limited, London. 1988. (first published in 1914)

Jungles, Raymond.  The Cultivated Wild.  Monacelli Press. 2015.

McMahon, Bernard. The American Gardener’s Calendar: Adapted to the Climate and Seasons of the United States. JB Lippintcott and Co, Philadelphia, PA, 1857.

Olmsted, F. L. and C. Vaux. Description of a Plan for the Improvement of the Central Park: Greensward. The Aldine Press, New York, 1858.

Olmsted, F. L. Spoils of the Park. 1882

Robinson, William. The Wild Garden. Timber Press. 2009 (first published in 1870).

Robinson, William.  The English Flower Garden. Bloomsbury Publishing, London, 1996. (first published in 1883

Takei, Jiro and Marc P. Keane. Sakuteiki: Visions of the Japanese Garden. Tuttle Publishing, North Clarendon, Vermont, USA, 2008 (first published by Tachibana no Toshitsuna 1028-1094)

Some of my favorite reference books

Blamori, Diana.  “Beatrix Farrand at Dumbarton Oaks:  The Design Process of a Garden”, from Beatrix Jones Farrand: Fifty Years of American Landscape Architecture. Dumbarton Oaks Trustees for Harvard University, Washington, DC, 1982.

Daley, Gross, Berner. The Gardens of the Hudson Valley. The Monacelli Press, 2010.

Henderson, Ron. The Gardens of Suzhou. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 2013.

Mansfield, Stephen. Japan's Master Gardens: Lessons in Space and Environment. Tuttle Publishing, Tokyo, 2011.

Pavord, Anna. The Tulip. Bloomsbury, 1999.

Rogers, Elizabeth Barlow. Landscape Design: A Cultural and Architectural History. Abrams, New York, NY, 2001.

Schnadelbach, Terry R.  Ferruccio Vitale: Landscape Architect of the Country Place Era. Princeton Architectural Press, 2001.

Thacker, Christopher. The History of Gardens. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA, 1979.

Turner, Tom. Garden History: Philosophy and Design 2000BC - 2000AD. Spon Press,  New York, 2005.

 

 

Videos perfect for a rainy day

Gardens through time. Diarmuid Gavin and Jane Owen. Acorn Video, 2004. First episode.

Around the World in 80 Gardens.  Monty Don. BBC, 2008.

Monty Don's Italian Gardens. Monty Don. BBC, 2013.