Product Description

The gardens of Portugal are among the most cosmopolitan in the world. The product of Portugal's long seafaring history, they bring together ideas from East and West in a style that is, in both design and planting, confident, flamboyant, exotic, and distinctly Portuguese. In the golden age of Portuguese exploration the glazed tiles and distinctive water tanks of the Moorish style were combined with the open loggias and box parterres of the Italian Renaissance, and gardens were decorated with statues and reliefs of dolphins, sea horses, anchors and other maritime motifs. From China, Japan, Africa, Australia and the Americas, Portugal's seafarers brought new seeds and plants such as camellias and rhododendrons that flourished in the mild climate. This book describes some twenty-eight gardens, stunningly photographed by John Ferro Sims.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #40853 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 192 pages

Review
If you want a modern account of the gardens of Portugal this is not the book for you, but lovers of magical realism will be riveted. --House & Garden

This is an excellent book: it will be the standard English work on Portuguese gardens for many years to come. --BBC Gardens Illustrated

Among colour books I admire the research in Helena Atlee's finely produced 'Gardens of Portugal' a revelation to me at £30 and an incitement to several new holidays. --Financial Times

About the Author
Helena Attlee has spent long periods in Italy and is steeped in that country's art and literature. She lectures widely on Italian gardens, conducts garden tours in Italy and took part in the National Geographic television series The Great Gardens of Italy. She contributes regularly to newspapers and magazines including the Daily Telegraph, Country Life, World of Interiors, Gardens Illustrated and House and Garden. She is the author of a number of books.

John Ferro Sims is a photographer and writer. His books include The Renaissance of Italian Gardens and The Renaissance of Italian Cooking both with Lorenza de'Medici, and Landscape in Italy with Lisa St Aubin de Teran.