Product Description

'If I have learned only one thing from my travels around the world it is that no garden is an island. Context is everything.' Monty Don visits each continent in this landmark series on gardens of the world. We are introduced to the unique floating gardens of the Amazon and the colourful alpine flower meadows of Norway, modest domestic gardens in Havana and Bali, Monet's world-famous Giverny and the Dutch tour-de-force Het Loo, the formal magnificence of Renaissance Italian water gardens, the tropical planting traditions of Thailand, and the intriguing fusion of indigenous and colonial garden cultures in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Each garden is placed in context, horticultural preconceptions are abandoned and Monty is constantly surprised by the unexpected locations where gardens thrive. A vivid account of travel, adventure, beauty and the pursuit of knowledge.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12092 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-25
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

Tim Richardson, GARDENS ILLUSTRATED
'His style is light, smooth and accessible, yet also sensitive, detailed and generally historically reliable... this is a good read with plenty of novelty.'

Review
'His style is light, smooth and accessible, yet also sensitive, detailed and generally historically reliable... this is a good read with plenty of novelty.' (Tim Richardson GARDENS ILLUSTRATED )

'intelligently written and he puts each garden in context in a way that is both accessible, yet thought provoking.' (GARDENS MONTHLY )

'It's an absorbing journey made far more appealing than your average garden guide thanks largely to the author's readiness to question and explore.' (GARDEN NEWS )

'Who better to guide us on this journey than the nation's most thoughtful horticulturalist...?' (Stephanie Donaldson COUNTRY LIVING )

'Don is a curious and engaging guide, as thrilled by the ad hoc floating vegetable plots of the Amazon as by formal Zen gardens...' (THE INDEPENDENT )

'a personal and fascinating insight into gardens around the world.' (GARDEN ANSWERS )

'This colourful account by the travelling garden connoisseur covers the most emotive and awe-inspiring gardens worldwide.' (GRAND DESIGNS )

GARDEN NEWS
'It's an absorbing journey made far more appealing than your average garden guide thanks largely to the author's readiness to question and explore.'

Customer Reviews

Doesn't live up to the standards of the TV programme it is based on
I'm an admirer of Monty Don and I enjoyed the TV series this book is based on. But the book is far too sketchy to be satisfying; there's simply not enough material here, not enough photographs, too few insights.
If this is an Around the World trip, it's one of those lightning coach tours full of camera snapping tourists ("If it's Tuesday it must be Paris").
Worth a read, but not worth the asking price. As someone has commented before, just borrow it from the library; the publishers have let Monty down with this one.

Disappointing
I bought this book after being captivated by the images in the first programme in the TV series. But I was deeply disappointed to find that there are very few photographs of the stunning gardens, and most of these contain Monty! I'm a big fan of Monty but would have preferred to see the gardens without him. The writing is good, but as I bought it (unseen) for the photos I wish I had borrowed it from the library first.

Read it but don't buy it
I bought this a couple of months ago. It is very literate and clear, but contains so many spelling mistakes that I wonder if it was properly proof-read. The illustrations are very amateurish. Worth reading - not worth buying! In other words, GTTL (Go To The Library).