Gentlemen & Players: Gardeners of the English Landscape

Gentlemen and Gardeners of the English Landscape traces the development of garden style through the owners who projected them and the gardeners who worked in them. There was an interchange of ideas, technologies and discoveries as theories were absorbed, popularised and then discarded in a fascinating sequence of action and reaction.
Two special features of the book are the garden ‘tours’, one for each designer or group of designers, and key texts by the gardeners themselves. These offer recreations of the grounds in their prime and allow us a close insight into the moods of their conception. Richly illustrated in colour and black and white, with contemporary reproductions, plans and modern photographs, and with a comprehensive bibliography, this book is essential reading for students of the history of art and architecture, garden and cultural history. It will also prove a stimulating and enjoyable companion for visitors to historic gardens, and interested gardeners everywhere.