Botanic Gardens: A Living History - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1904772722 ISBN 13: 9781904772729

Publisher: Black Dog Press, 2007

Synopsis

This visually stunning hardback book unearths the fascinating history of the botanic garden, from the first modern gardens founded in Northern Italy, to the technological achievements of contemporary gardens.

For the last 400 years, botanic gardens have played a multitude of roles in society. They function as public plant collections and displays, as centres for learning and scientific research, and increasingly as institutions of environmental conservation. Botanic Gardens: A Living History draws on a range of iconographic and textual treasures including photography, architectural plans, drawings, scientific journals and personal accounts to examine these mesmerising institutions. Global in scope, the book explores gardens including: Bologna, Brussels, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Heidelberg, Kew, Leiden, Leipzig, Melbourne, Montreal, Padua, Santa Barbara, Sydney, Uppsala and Paris.

The key personalities involved in the establishment of the gardens are profiled — an extraordinary catalogue of explorers, scientists, architects, noblemen, botanists, visionaries and dreamers. The architecture of the gardens is explored in depth, from the colonial opulence of eighteenth and nineteenth century gardens, to innovative modern developments, including The Eden Project designed by Jonathan Ball and Sir Nicholas Grimshaw.

Four rigorous essays investigate the history and future of botanic gardens as institutions of conservation and recreation. A wide range of expert voices chart the development of the botanic garden, including Rosie Atkins (founder of Gardens Illustrated magazine), Mike Maunder (Director of the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden), John Parker (Director of Cambridge University Botanic Garden), Holly Shimizu (Director of the United States Botanic Garden), Gregory Long (President of the New York Botanical Garden) and Margaret Stevens (Founder and President of the Society of Botanical Artists).

The only truly comprehensive and up-to-date survey of these increasingly valuable organisations, Botanic Gardens: A Living History is a vibrant, beautiful book.

About this title

About the Author:

Botanic Gardens: A Living History is a comprehensive and practical guide to the world's foremost botanical gardens. This visually stunning book unearths the fascinating history of the botanical garden. Global in scope Botanic Gardens explores gardens including: The US Botanic Garden in Washington, The Royal Botanic Gardens in London as well as gardens in New York, Chicago, Denver, Sydney and Montreal. Botanic Gardens draws on a range of iconographic and textual treasures including photography, architectural plans, drawings, scientific journals and personal accounts. The key personalities involved in the establishment of the gardens are profiled -- an extraordinary catalog of explorers, scientists, noblemen, botanists, visionaries and dreamers. The architecture of the gardens is explored and the gardens' relationship with the wider world is also dealt with in depth. Featuring text by a range of writers including historians, scientists, horticulturalists and architects, this book is the only trully comprehensive and up to date survey of these institutions. Culturally important, Botanic Gardens is a vibrant beautiful book.

Review:

"A comprehensive look at these fascinating institutions." The Evening Standard "The feeling of wonderment that botanic gardens can bring is captured in this book perfectly." BBC Homes and Antiques "Enjoyable reading... Anyone interested in the scope of botanic gardens, including relatively unknown and recently founded institutions, will find this book a useful reference." BBC Gardens Illustrated

About this edition

• Publisher: Black Dog Press
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1904772722
• ISBN 13: 9781904772729
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 295
• Editor: Monem Nadine