Throughout her gardening life, Marylyn Abbott has created, designed, and re-designed. With a painterly eye, she has re-imagined everything from herbaceous borders to classic potagers, filling beds with a single rich jewel-like color or sprinkling a vegetable garden with rainbow-hued tulips. Although her creations have often been likened to theater, their designs are firmly rooted in historic precedent and classical symmetry. Now, Abbott shares her thoughts on garden design, complementing practical advice with breathtaking photographs of her own gardens and those of others. Without forgetting the constraints of space, sunlight, soil, and climate, Abbott encourages gardeners to fulfill their horticultural fantasies. Whether as a treasure trove of some of the world's great gardens, a history of design, or a source of inspiration, no lover of gardens should be without this essential work. Marylyn Abbott's previous books include Gardening with Light and Color.
Renowned garden designer Abbott follows up Gardening with Light with this inspiring, knowledgeable tome on garden design, based on her career's highs and lows. Abbott's principal testing ground for her "enthusiasms-for water, geometry and minimal simplicity" are her gardens in Hampshire, England, and New South Wales, Australia. Large parcels of land in these very different climates have given her room to work out her eclectic gardening ideals. To Abbott, a garden is "a stage set" built first from hard landscaping (fountains, pools, etc.), then with the addition of trees, shrubbery and, finally, plants and flowers. Water-colored illustrations show the plan for some of her gardens; others are illustrated with photos. Abbott also shares ideas from various gardens she's encountered on her travels-though not all are pictured-and points out mistakes she's made so readers can avoid them. A final section on color, with garden color schemes of steel, citrus and purple, to name a few, is a stand-out in inspiration. Although many of the gardens are stunning, they require more money, time and devotion than a hobbyist would be able to give. There's also the frustration of reading about beautiful flowers, such as a "grey pearl rose," but not seeing them pictured. Abbott's text is rich with years of acquired gardening knowledge, generously shared and beautifully illustrated. Photos.
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