English Gardens Books

In the Garden with Jane Austen

Kim Wilson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Beautiful! Inspiring! Informative! Every Jane Austen Fan will Love it! 4 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

"To sit in the shade on a fine day, and look upon verdure, is the most perfect refreshment." Fanny Price, Mansfield Park, Chapter 9

It seems quite fitting that a quote from Jane Austen's character Fanny Price, who is an astute observer of natural beauty, should open this book with such a succinct statement expressing her delight in being planted on the bench in Sotherton's parkland to enjoy the serene beauty of the green landscape around her. Verdure is not a word that one runs across very often in contemporary writing but we should, because it vividly describes a scene and sensations in one word. It is no leap of the imagination that Fanny's creator Jane Austen gave her such sentiments, for Jane dearly loved nature herself and included references to it and gardening in her novels and letters.

Author Kim Wilson must be a Fanny Price too, sensitive and observant to natures beauty as her new book In the Garden With Jane Austen is a verdurous delight, introducing us to Austen's affinity to nature through the gardens she would have experienced in her own homes, family members and public gardens of Georgian and Regency England. This beautiful little volume is packed full of quotes from her novels and letters referencing her characters experiences in the garden and her own love of garden cultivation. It has always appeared to me that some of the best plot development in her novels happened while her characters were walking and I am reminded that her heroine's Elizabeth Bennet, Catherine Morland, and Emma Woodhouse were all proposed to in a garden or on a woodland path. Hmm? Should we take a clue from this ladies and get your men outside?

Ms. Wilson has certainly done her research collecting many quotes and antecedents from Austen's novels, letters and family lore effectively placing them in historical context and illustrated with beautiful photographs of the actual locations mentioned. I felt like I was on a personal garden tour of Austen's life as I traveled from the cottage gardens of her home in Steventon and Chawton, to the manor house gardens of her family such as brother Edward at Godersham Park, Goodnestone Park, and Chawton House, and the estate of Stoneleigh Abbey owned by her cousins the Leigh's. We are also treated to views of other famous estates that might have inspired settings in her novels such as Chatsworth House reputed to be the inspiration for Pemberley in Pride and Prejudice and Cottesbrook Hall for Mansfield Park.

Even though this is a lovely pictorial edition, the text is what really shines with so many facts and observations on how nature and gardens influenced Jane Austen's life and writings. I will admit to a more than slight disappointment in the book's small size and paperback format though in comparison to other comparably priced larger sized hardcover editions on the market.

I must confess a large prejudice in favor of this book even before it was published since it combined two of my passions, Jane Austen and gardening. When I finally had the book in hand, I was happy to discover that the last chapter is devoted to re-creating a Jane Austen inspired garden yourself reminiscent of a Regency or Georgian era. What a fanciful thought that plants that Austen admired can be obtained and grown either in a classic presentation, a few simple pots of garden herbs or her favorite flowering shrub the syringa placed by your front door to remind you everyday that looking upon verdure in the perfect refreshment.

Editorial Review:

Jane Austen's natural world--real and fictional--comes to life in this colorful, illustrated stroll through the gardens, parks and great estates of Regency England. With lush photos, social history, excerpts from Austen's novels, biographical information, drawings and diagrams, this book brings the great outdoors to readers eager to understand more details of Austen's environment. Also featured are instructions on how to create your own English garden and on where to see sites mentioned in the book. Gardens from movie adaptations of her novels are included.

Designing the New Kitchen Garden: An American Potager Handbook

Jennifer Bartley

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Great Gift for Garden Loving Friend! 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I bought this book as a gift for my friend Ellen, who loves gardening. She was thrilled!!

Something I've wanted for a while... 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

As a horticulture student, I bought this on a field trip at Pennsylvania's Longwood Gardens. And though I had to truck it with me across 5 states and 2 countries, it's defiantly worth the buy. Not only does Bartley discuss the history of the potager, but she offers insight into both traditional and American gardens as well as helpful hints for the beginning designer. A must have for any kitchen gardener.

Editorial Review:

Most gardeners know how rewarding it is to harvest ripe, sun-warmed tomatoes or pungent herbs straight from the garden. But those pleasures can be multiplied a hundredfold by creating a garden that is not only productive, but also a beautiful, well-integrated part of the home landscape. In this handsome volume, Jennifer Bartley shows how the traditional features of the classic kitchen garden, or potager, can be adapted to contemporary American needs and conditions. The book is informed by her conviction that the nurturing, preparing, and eating of fresh, home-grown vegetables contributes enormously both to our ties with the natural world and our ties to each other. Copiously illustrated with photographs and with the author’s delightful watercolors, "Designing the New Kitchen Garden" offers the perfect blend of inspiration and practical guidance.

The Education Of A Gardener (New York Review Books Classics)

Russell Page

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Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Russell Page, one of the legendary gardeners and landscapers of the twentieth century, designed gardens great and small for clients throughout the world. His memoirs, born of a lifetime of sketching, designing, and working on site, are a mixture of engaging personal reminiscence, keen critical intelligence, and practical know-how. They are not only essential reading for today’s gardeners, but a master’s compelling reflection on the deep sources and informing principles of his art. 

The Education of a Gardener offers charming, sometimes pointed anecdotes about patrons, colleagues, and, of course, gardens, together with lucid advice for the gardener. Page discusses how to plan a garden that draws on the energies of the surrounding landscape, determine which plants will do best in which setting, plant for the seasons, handle color, and combine trees, shrubs, and water features to rich and enduring effect. To read The Education of a Gardener is to wander happily through a variety of gardens in the company of a wise, witty, and knowledgeable friend. It will provide pleasure and insight not only to the dedicated gardener, but to anyone with an interest in abiding questions of design and aesthetics, or who simply enjoys an unusually well-written and thoughtful book.

The Elements of Organic Gardening

HRH The Prince of Wales, Stephanie Donaldson

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Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Gardening & Horticulture -> Techniques -> Organic

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Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

From the Prince of Wales, an intimate guide to his Royal gardens and pioneering organic approach to creating world-class beauty.

For twenty-six years, the Prince of Wales has passionately honed the organic practices used at Highgrove, Their Royal Highnesses' family home in Gloucestershire, as well as in his other gardens at Birkhall in the Scottish Highlands and Clarence House in central London. Now, alongside Andrew Lawson's elegant photographs and with Country Living gardening editor Stephanie Donaldson, the Prince's vivid elucidation of his techniques for maintaining healthy soil, planting varieties, and sustaining an ecosystem "in harmony with the natural laws and rhythms of the universe of which we are an integral part" offers a wealth of wisdom to delight and inspire any gardener. His practices, based on a deep respect for nature, can be adapted to almost any garden, large or small. The Prince is hands-on in his gardens, and it is this passion that reveals itself intimately to be at the heart of The Elements of Organic Gardening. 200 full-color photographs.

Gardens of the National Trust

Stephen Lacey

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The only comprehensive guide to the National Trust’s unparalleled collection of gardens, featuring 200 glorious color images of the finest gardens in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Britain’s National Trust has the finest collection of gardens ever assembled under one ownership—the greatest in number, diversity, historic importance, and quality. Together, they form the world’s most important collection of cultivated plants, distinguished by their beauty, rarity, historical interest, and scientific value. This new edition of Gardens of the National Trust has been substantially revised to showcase superb new photography and to introduce newly acquired properties. Historically and horticulturally, Stephen Lacey paints a vivid picture of the gardens, with all the major periods represented. Both a practical guide and a rich source of inspiration, the book includes horticultural details, a complete plant list, and a section on the many other Trust gardens to visit. Throughout, splendid color images by the country’s leading photographers bring to life the beauty of each garden.

New Gardens in Provence: 30 Contemporary Creations

Louisa Jones

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Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Provence today is a paradise for garden makers, a natural haven where designers from all over the world mingle with homegrown family gardeners and local horticulturists. Few places have seen as many contemporary garden creations, in as wide a variety: from picturesque to minimalist, private to public, suburban plot to rural field, miniature landscape to vast environment. New Gardens in ProvenceV features 30 of the most extraordinary recent gardens in this remarkable region. Written by Louisa Jones, a specialist in Provencal food and culture and author of the now-classic Gardens in Provence, this breathtaking book visits new gardens along the Côte d’Azur, in Marseilles, Saint-Rémy, and Aix, and throughout the gorgeous countryside of southeastern France. Almost 300 stunning photographs take us behind the garden gate to experience the beauty of meadow and woodland tableaux, magnificent stone terracing, formal topiary arrangements, lush flowerbeds, and even a mountainside project by artist Andy Goldsworthy.

While these man-made landscapes may reflect international trends in garden design, they never lose their harmony with the countryside. As this beautiful book demonstrates, today’s gardens are not only a reflection of the region’s “sense of place,” but also an integral part of the Provencal art de vivre.