A World of Gardens. 2012. 130 figs. 70 col. pls. 368 p. gr8vo. Hardcover.

A Japanese garden is immediately distinct to the eye from the traditional gardens of an English manor house, just as the manicured topiaries of Versailles contrast with the sharp cacti of the American Southwest. Though gardening is beloved the world over, the style of gardens themselves varies from region to region, determined as much by culture as climate. In this series of illustrated essays, John Dixon Hunt takes us on a world tour of different periods in the making of gardens. The author shows here how cultural assumptions and local geography have shaped gardens and their meaning. He explores our continuing responses to land and reworkings of the natural world, encompassing a broad range of gardens, from ancient Roman times to early Islamic and Mughal gardens, fromChinese and Japanese gardens to the invention of the publicpark and modern landscape architecture. A World of Gardenslooks at key chapters in garden history, reviewing their significance past and present and tracing the recurrence of different themes and motifs in the design and reception of gardens throughout the world. - Contents (chapter headings):Sacred Landscapes from Delphi to Yosemite / Hunting Parks to Amusement Parks / Ancient Roman Gardens and their Types Islamic and Mughal Gardens / Western Medieval Gardens: From Cloister to Suburban Backyard / The Renaissance Recovery of Antique Garden Forms and Usages / The Paragone of Art and Nature in the Renaissance and Later / The Botanical Garden, the Arboretum and the Cabinet of Curiosities / Garden as Theatre /The Garden of 'Betweenity': Between André Le Nôtre and William Kent / Leaping the Ha-ha; or, How the Larger Landscape Invaded the Garden / The Role of the 'Natural' Garden from'Capability' Brown to Dan Kiley / The Chinese Garden and the Collaboration of the Arts / Follies, Fabriques and Picturesque Play/ The Invention of the Public Park / National Parks and International Exhibition Gardens / Japanese Gardens and their Legacy to the West / Arts and Crafts Gardens: The Artist Back in the Garden/ The Prose and Poetry of Modern Landscape Architecture / The Once and Future Garden / References / Index