Laird, Mark / Palmer, Hugh (photographer).

The Formal Garden: Traditions of Art and Nature.

London, Thames and Hudson, 1992. 24 cm x 31 cm. 240 pages. Original hardcover with original dustjacket in protective Mylar. Excellent condition with only very minor signs of external wear.

Includes the following essays: Introduction: Nature and Formality / Gardens of the Renaissance: The Union of Architecture and Horticulture / Baroque Gardens: The Age of the Parterre and Bosquet / Eighteenth-century Themes: The Marriage of the Straight and the Serpentine / Revivals and Eclecticism: From Broderie and Bedding to Mixing and Massing / The Past in the Present: Knot and Parterre Reinvented / Gazeteer of Major Formal Gardens / Glossary of Planting Terms.

″We all have an immediate image of the formal garden as a triumph of man’s architectural designs over unruly Nature, but this is not as precise a distinction as one would think. The restored formal garden reflects original planning of the past and modifications resulting from later interpretations. Drawing upon a wide array of archival material, horticultural historian Laird explores gardens both as they were and as they are. The wide diversity of formal gardens, from country to country and era to era, becomes immediately apparent in the excellent illustrations and descriptions; the interplay of nature and art, of freedom and formality, echo the role that gardens play in society. This book is a fine example of scholarly research that is both a source for further study and an inspiration to gardeners. Recommended for large libraries or for those serving a gardening community.″
- Paula Frosch, Metropolitan Museum of Art Lib., New York

• Keywords: Garden Architecture · Garden Collection – Ann Geneva · Garden Design · Garden Design – Collection · Garden Design – Rare · Gardening · Library & Collection Building
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9780500015421
• Inventory Number: 72356AB