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Gardens take many forms, and have a variety of functions. They can serve as spaces of peace and tranquilty, a way to cultivate wildlife, or as places to develop agricultural resources. Globally, gardens have inspired, comforted, and sustained people from all walks of life, and since the Garden of Eden many iconic gardens have inspired great artists, poets, musicians, and writers.
In this short history, Gordon Campbell embraces gardens in all their splendour, from parks, and fruit and vegetable gardens to ornamental gardens, and takes the reader on a globe-trotting historical journey through iconic and cultural signposts of gardens from different regions and traditions. Ranging from the gardens of ancient Persia to modern day allotments, he concludes by looking to the future of the garden in the age of global warming, and the adaptive spirit of human innovation.
Introduction
1: The Ancient and Medieval Garden
2: The Islamic Garden
3: The East Asian Garden
4: Italy
5: France
6: Spain and Portugal
7: Northern Europe
8: Britain
9: America, Africa, and Australia
Postscript: The Future History of the Garden
Glossary
Further Reading
Index
Gordon Campbell is Professor of Renaissance Studies at the University of Leicester, and is a Fellow of the British Academy. In January 2012 he was presented with the Longman History Today Trustees Award (for lifetime contribution to history). He has authored and edited many books for OUP including The Oxford Dictionary of the Renaissance (2003); Renaissance Art and Architecture (2004); John Milton: Life, Work and Thought (2008; co-author); Bible: the Story of the King James Version, 1611-2011 (2010); and The Hermit in the Garden: from Imperial Rome to Ornamental Gnome (2013).
"A useful overview."
– Mary Davies, The Irish Garden
"A joy to read"
– Suffolk and Norfolk Life
"The text is lucid, scholarly and, above all, highly readable. Linking together the famous names in horticulture past and present and offering up a coherent story, this is a book to browse and learn from and I suspect it will become well-thumbed. A short history it may be, but it is thorough and good."
– Buckinghamshire Life Magazine
"a globe-trotting magical history tour"
– Leon Burakowski, Express & Star
"Condensed guide to garden history"
– Garden (Royal Horticultural Society)
"One of the nicest little books I've had in my hands for ages [...] it is the overall sweep of the book that impresses"
– Gillian Mawrey, Historic Gardens Review
"As informative as it is accessible, this compact and expertly researched historical chronicle surprises and delights."
– Georgina Chahed, Garden Design Journal
