United States
£ GBP
An extraordinary history, not of gardens in the conventional sense, but of the development of the garden as an idea and as a physical reality over 40 centuries.
From the publisher's announcement:
'The scope of this book is vast - 2000 BC to 2000AD -- a full 40 centuries... a remarkable achievement.'- Tim Richardson, Daily Telegraph, 21st May 2005
'The illustrations and the 1000 or so plans of individual gardens, which are such a distinctive and often rewarding feature of the work, are invariably printed close to any reference to them, so there is never any need to go hunting elsewhere in the book...These plans can, at their best, be an absolute revelation.' - Timothy Mowl, Bristol University, in the Times Higher Education Supplement
Tom Turner, well-known teacher and writer in landscape architecture, garden design and garden history here explores more than 150 gardens over four millennia of Western garden design. He considers the why, the what, the how and the where of garden design by tracing the development of gardens through history and across social, political and philosophical boundaries. Fully illustrated throughout, each chapter critically examines a particular type of garden both as part of a wider socio-political context and as an aesthetic entity, asking how the design of each garden reflects the philosophical approach of its creator. Inspirational, reflective and informative, this book brings together knowledge and understanding from a diverse range of related interests to add depth and breadth to a fascinating subject.
Contents:
1. Design Philosophy 2. Ancient Gardens 2000BC-1000BC 3. Classical Gardens 1400BC-600AD 4. West Asian and Islamic Gardens 500BC-1700AD 5. Medieval Gardens 600AD-1500AD 6. Renaissance Gardens 1350-1650 7. Baroque Gardens 1600-1750 8. Neoclassical and Romantic Gardens 1700-1810 9. Eclectic Gardens 1800-1900 10. Abstract and Post-Abstract Gardens 1900-2000
Author Biography:
Tom Turner has won awards from the UK Landscape Institute (for , Spon Press, 1996) and from the American Society of Landscape Architects (for the ). He teaches on the undergraduate and masters programmes in garden history and landscape architecture at the University of Greenwich in London.
