From the cooling fountains of the Alhambra to the imposing palace grounds of Chinese emperors and the clean lines of the formal French parterre, this inspiring history charts the fascinating evolution of gardening over thousands of years, bringing to life the world's most beautiful and magnificent gardens.
The sensitive use of colour and foliage lies at the heart of gardening. Penelope Hobhouse explains the principles of colour, visual effects in changing light conditions, the interplay between colour and texture and the essential design factors that help the gardener to exploit these successfully.
In this book, the authors reveal how they exploit colour to full effect in garden planting. Moving right through the spectrum, they show how each colour can be used to evoke a specific mood or association, from the drama of red to the cool restfulness of blue, from the Eastern spice market of an orange border to the bleached Mediterranean effect of a pastel and silver scheme. Using the borders at Hadspen as case studies, they show how to design with colour, emphasizing the importance of combining shapes and textures of plants to give a scheme structure and rhythm. Seasonal comparisons are made using photographs of the borders taken from the same spot at different times of the year. Notes on cultivating key plants are included at the back of the book.
This is one of the all-time classic gardening bestsellers with over 350 varieties of herb to grow and over 200 delicious and inventive recipes. It is a spread-by-spread reference work bringing together all aspects of an individual herb-history and folklore, species to grow and cosmetic, medicinal and culinary uses. Chapters on propagation, harvesting and making herb oils are complemented with ideas for ten different designs for herb gardens and a unique yearly calendar. Accurate colour photography means that identification for the reader is simple as well as making the book a glorious companion-the only book on the subject the reader will ever need.
Investigating the evolution of the Persian paradise garden from its ancient beginnings to today's modern design, Gardens of Persia explores how buildings, water and plants combine to give the gardens of Persia a beauty and spiritual quality, which have inspired garden design throughout time, and in diverse cultures. World-renowned author Penelope Hobhouse begins with the oldest existing garden, Pasargadae, created by Cyrus the Great more than 2,500 years ago. With the coming of Islam, gardens became places for sacred contemplation and spiritual nourishment, and developed in later centuries as settings for romance and, in Mughal India, as symbols of the afterlife. Penelope Hobhouse links the development of these gardens to Persia's great heritage and breathtaking historical architecture. Meticulously researched in Iran and drawn from a profound understanding of gardens throughout the world, this wide-ranging account offers a stimulating new appreciation of gardening. The volume is beautifully illustrated with Jerry Harpur's specially commissioned photographs of gardens in Iran, India, Europe and the United States.
Examines over 120 climbing and wall plants, discussing the soil and sun requirements and describing their leaves and flowers
Considers the function of borders in garden design, and outlines methods for incorporating them into different types of plantings
