You don't have to live in the tropics to be inspired by Fernando Wong's landscape designs. This new book, The Young Man and the Tree, (Vendome Press, 2024) is written by Wong's partner, Tim Johnson, and it features more than 20 contemporary gardens located in tropical areas, including Miami, Palm Beach, and Lyford Cay in the Bahamas.
The team is renowned for saving large trees, and all designers should be cognizant of that when fashioning plans and hiring contractors. As Martha Stewart notes in the introduction to the book, "Fernando Wong is also extremely respectful of historic plantings around the older homes he has been entrusted with enhancing. Magnificent trees and lush hedges are retained, and beautiful antique and vintage walls and outbuildings are restored or rebuilt. The result? A cohesive and meaningful whole where once there was none or where what had been there had disappeared."
Wong, trained in architecture and interior design in his native Panama, came to the United States in 2001, met Johnson in Miami, and the two opened their firm in 2005. Their work has been featured in Elle Decor, The Wall Street Journal, Architectural Digest, The New York Times, and many other publications.
Each garden in the book includes a brief description of the project, a "plan" of the landscape, and gorgeous photos by Carmel Brantley. Designs range from the classical style to contemporary landscapes, and although the gardens in this book feature many tropical plants, the hardscapes that include pools, outdoor kitchens, fountains and sculpture gardens could be found almost anywhere. You will not fail to be inspired by all of these designs, and I'm sure you'll look forward to the firm's next book that we hope will feature gardens across the United States and elsewhere around the globe.
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