I love the way this book is organized: a theme tour of important and iconic gardens throughout the world. In The History of Landscape Design in 100 Gardens
As the author notes in the preface, these 100 gardens may not be the greatest in the world, but rather they reflect particular styles that became dominant at certain times in history, and they focus on "developments from around the world that have been most influential in North America and the United Kingdom." The landscapes include public and private gardens, several World Heritage Sites, and all of them are open to the public.
Seventeen chapters outline significant developments in the field of landscape design. "Designing for Democracy" includes profiles of New York's Central Park, Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, MA, and the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. Chapter 3, "The Brink of Infinity," profiles gardens created in the Age of Reason: Isola Bella in Lake Maggiore, Italy; Vaux-le-Vicomte and Versailles in France, Het Loo Palace in the Netherlands. "A World of Wonders" explores exotic plants and botanical gardens. "Bringing Home Abroad" explains that wealth and travel in the Gilded Age inspired garden designs from Italy, England, France, Japan and Mexico.
I wish I'd had this book when I was first studying landscape design 20 years or so ago. It's a magnificent contribution to landscape design history, to gardens' cultural and aesthetic values, and to humanity's relationship with nature. Every designer should have this book.
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