The Looking-Glass Garden: Plants and Gardens of the Southern Hemisphere - Hardcover

Thompson, Peter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0881924997 ISBN 13: 9780881924992

Publisher: Timber Pr, 2001

Synopsis

Just as Alice's looking glass revealed a world where nothing was as expected, Peter Thompson's "looking-glass garden" offers readers a glimpse of a world of new plants and possibilities by crossing the equator. The floras of countries as diverse as South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Chile offer adventurous gardeners palettes, forms, textures, and effects that have no parallel in the garden offerings of the north. As well as offering useful suggestions on interesting plants that can be incorporated in a variety of gardens in our latitudes, Thompson's book is also a travelogue of the wild landscapes of faraway lands and a tour of some of the great gardens to be found below the equator.

About this title

Review

The Looking Glass Garden is an ambitious book; author Peter Thompson hopes to change the way westerners imagine a well-designed landscape. According to Thompson, for too long the English style has dominated in America and western Europe, resulting in a uniformity that edges out possibility and strangeness. The prevalence of gardening with "native plants" has also limited creativity: Thompson argues that as long as plants are well situated and well cared for, they can come from anywhere in the world. The book's title refers to the moment when Alice moved through the looking glass into Wonderland. In this context Wonderland flourishes in the gardens of New Zealand, Australia, Chile, and South Africa. Chapters concentrate on specific southern hemisphere design elements and distinctive plants--"Oases with Trees," "Tropical Drama"--and are accompanied by enticing photographs. Thompson writes like a man on a mission: "This book tells of the challenge from south of the equator to these entrenched and long-accepted ideas," he explains. Once the challenge is accepted, "we will look back and recognize ... the start of another revolution." --Emily White

Book Description

Seeking to dispel the myth that these exotic, often dramatically beautiful plants are unreasonably difficult to grow, an English botanist and nurseryman discusses the role Southern Hemisphere plants can play in gardens, with examples from the sometimes frosty Pacific Northwestern US to the sunny Mediterranean, as well as an amazing group of Southern Hemisphere gardens. Includes maps, detailed hardiness lists, and an excellent bibliography. Genuinely inspiring, if sometimes small and fuzzy, color photographs. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

About this edition

• Publisher: Timber Pr
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0881924997
• ISBN 13: 9780881924992
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 428