Product Description

Beyond the magnificent old walls and gates of Charleston's historic homes lie lush private gardens of extraordinary beauty and distinction. This book presents twenty-five of the city's most superb private gardens in color photographs and essays, from the meticulous restoration of a classic, early-nineteenth-century landscape to the lush attraction of a typical Charleston garden, to a rare collection of exotic tropical plants.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #562188 in Books
• Published on: 2006-05-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 112 pages

From the Inside Flap
The Private Gardens of Charleston Beyond the magnificent old walls and gates of Charleston's distinguished historic homes lie lush, private gardens. The Private Gardens of Charleston presents a detailed view of twenty-five of these gardens in color photographs and essays which explore the diversity of gradening interests and styles, ranging from the elegant distinction of a "typical" Charleston garden--narrow, shady and verdant, and accented with the glorious color of azaleas and camellias--to an exotic garden containing a rare collection of tropical palms. Louisa Cameron presents the story of each graden with perception and intelligence, describing its background and unique artistry. The author provides useful information on a variety of plants, trees and gardening techniques that are successful in this area. The owners tell of their achievements and mistakes, offer problem-solving solutions to design and growth and recall the personal and social joys a garden can inspire. Complementing the text are Mrs. Cameron's vibrant color photographs that capture texture, design and ornamentation in detailed perspectives of gardens, as well as inviting views from porches and walkways. The Private Gardens of Charleston offers an intimate tour of gardens which are rarely seen by the public. It is a book for those who love gardening, landscape design and the beauty of nature. Back Flap Copy Louisa Pringle Cameron is a native of Charleston, where she currently lives with her husbandm Dr. Price Cameron, a plastic surgeon. She received her B.A. degree in English from Hollins College in Virginia, and is a gradute of Clemson University's Master Gardener's Program in Charleston. A watercolor artist and garden photographer, she has exhibited her paintings throughtout the Charleston area. Mrs. Carmeron is also a menber of the American Horticultural Society. Jacket photographs by Louisa Pringle Cameron Jacket design by Sandra Strother Hudson

About the Author
Louisa Pringle Cameron grew up amidst historic gardens in her native city of Charleston, South Carolina. Author of the best-selling book The Private Gardens of Charleston, Louisa is an accomplished gardener, watercolorist, lecturer, and author. She lives with her physician husband and son in an eighteenth-century house in Charleston's old historic district.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
In the spring of 1989, my husband and I opened our garden to the public for the first time, during the Historic Charleston Foundation's Annual Festival of Houses and Gardens. An enthusiastic visitor from Texas asked what books she could take home on Charleston's private gardens. I answered that the only one I was familiar with was Charleston Gardens, by Loutrel Briggs (1893-1977), but that it had been published in the early 1950s and was out of print. She shrugged, gave me a piercing look, and asked, "Why don't you write a new one?" And so the seed was sown and from it grew The Private Gardens of Charleston.
This book does not attempt to educate the reader about the history of Charleston gardens, for many of them are quite well-documented, especially the famous trio near the city: Middleton, Magnolia, and Cypress Gardens. Plats of some seventeenth-and eighteenth-century city gardens can be found on early tax maps. Mrs. Emma Richardson published charming pamphlets for the Charleston Museum on early plats and on the garden at the Heyward-Washington House on Church Street, describing typical flowers of the period. On the same subject, Miss Elise Pinckney wrote a fascinating account of Thomas and Elizabeth Lamboll, two early Charleston gardeners, also published for the Museum. Thomas Lamboll's correspondence with the famous eighteenth-century botanist, John Bartram, gives an idea of the tradition of enthusiasm for research, collecting, and growing plant material that started with the earliest explorations of the Lowcountry.

Customer Reviews

The next best thing to being there
If you haven't had the opportunity to see the beautiful gardens of Charleston in person, then this book should suffice until you can get there. Twenty-five private gardens are presented here with color photos and an essay for each. All of the elements that make these gardens so special - brick walls and pathways, neat boxwood hedges, colorful flowers like azaleas and camellias, fountains, wrought-iron gates and cobblestoned courtyards - are on delicious display. Various garden styles are represented here - classical, contemporary, an atrium garden and the garden of a palm collector are just a few examples. The author's own garden, featuring neat brick-edged beds filled with roses and perennials is included.

Disappointing
I must say I was very disappointed with this book. Although there are plenty of photos of the various gardens, the photography is in my opinion very poor. The pictures lack "life". They are dark, some seem to be out of focus, and I would describe most of the pictures as being " lackluster, or lifelss." They are just not of the quality one would expect from this type of book.
For someone who loves to pour over beautiful pictures of mature gardens to drink in all the inspiration one can, you will be disappointed as I was.