The Oxford Companion to the Garden

Devoted to gardens of every kind and the people involved in their making, The Oxford Companion to the Garden provides comprehensive coverage in 1,750 alphabetical entries detailing all aspects of the garden--from the ancient to the avant garde. It combines a survey of the world's gardens, biographies of garden designers, nurserymen, and others, and entries on the worlds of horticulture and plantsmanship, with articles on a range of topics from garden visiting to garden elements and styles, and from scientific issues to the social history of gardens.

Sumptuous color photographs by some of the world's best garden photographers, and elegant engravings of historical subjects give a vivid impression of what it is like to be in these inspirational gardens. Every type of garden is covered, from palace gardens such as Versailles to private gardens of outstanding design or plant interest, public gardens, botanic gardens and arboreta, late 20th-century land art, and contemporary gardens everywhere. Central to the book are the garden cultures of Italy, Britain, France, China, Japan, and the USA--unquestionably the most significant in the world--but the geographical coverage is worldwide, including such far-flung regions as Turkey, Peru, and Bali.