BOOK REVIEWS

The English Garden

Ursula Buchan
Photos by Andrew Lawson
Published by Frances Lincoln
$NZ79.95

The title is bold in its scope, but this book more than does the subject justice. Ursula Buchan is well known in Britain for her witty, perceptive garden writing. Here she joins forces with a photographer, who is acknowledged as a master in his field, to produce a truly sumptuous work.

The focus is mainly on gardens open to the public. The author examines the historical trends and work of English garden-makers, past and present, who have shaped today's gardens.

Using more than 300 photographs she describes a range of garden styles, such as the formal garden, the landscape tradition, the arts and crafts style, the cottage garden, modernism and the new naturalism.

Reproduced with permission from the former Weekend Gardener magazine. The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the RNZIH