Product Description

Dame Sylvia Crowe (1901-1997), was a pioneer in the field of landscape design, writing a book that encompasses both a fascinating history of design in gardens and a stimulating study of the need for these principles to be applied to the contemporary landscape. This book is Garden Design . Crowe takes the reader through the recurring manifestations of the principles of design in such famous gardens as the Alhambra in Spain, the Villa Lante in Italy, Vaux-le-Vicomte in France and Stowe in England and on to the works of Roberto Burle Marx, Lawrence Halprin and Sven Hermelin. While this book is essential reading for all landscape architects and planners, Dame Sylvia's grasp of and relish for her subject make it compulsive reading for anyone newly awakened to the excitement and pleasure of garden design. ' I use and learn from this book constantly; it still sits beside my desk ... There are chapters on garden history, sculpture, plot management, private gardens, allotments, landscaping. I found it ope

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1567272 in Books
• Published on: 2003-08-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 296 pages

Review
"I use and learn from this book constantly; it still sits beside my desk... There are chapters on garden history, sculpture, plot management, private gardens, allotments, landscaping. I found it opened my eyes when I couldn't see beyond the end of my own nose"

About the Author
Dame Sylvia Crowe was one of Britain's most distinguished landscape architects.

Customer Reviews

THIS ONE IS FOR THE HARD-CORE GARDENER.
This volume was first published in England in 1958 with the American Edition published in 1959. This book is unlike the contemporary garden design books by the same author. First, the book consists primarily of text, well written text, I grant you, but text never-the-less. The pictures are in black and white so if you are looking for a "coffee table book," you need to search further. The author dose give us a wonderful history of European gardens, their concept, design, and present format. The black and white photos are quite good and are supplemented by wonderful line drawings and design patterns by Carol Moller, who is, by the way, quite good. For those interested in old, classical gardens from around the world you will find this a must have book for your collection. The text is clear and concise and quite readable. The book is broken down into parts. Part One is History. Part Two are Principles of Design. Part Three are Materials of Design. Part Four addresses Specialised Gardens. Then we have short chapters on wild gardents, rock gardens, factory gardens and school gardens. This is a very scholarly book and is quite useful for those who are interested in the history of gardening. I highly recommend this one.