Gardens for the New Country Place

Paul Bennett's book of Edmund Hollander Landscape design has been an important resource to us as we plan the renovation of our property. The diversity of designs presented from a variety of perspectives have given us a wealth of ideas. Most unusual is the quality of photographs which sadly, in most of the other landscape books we have looked at, don't seem to do their subject justice. The photographs alone make this book well worth the price.

This is a visually appealing and instructive book. Like the gardens themselves, the photography of Betsy Pinover Schiff is strong, luxuriant, and imaginative. Whether a sweeping panorama or a featured detailed, she reveals the abundance of architectural elements and vistas in beautiful light. A "must have" book for anyone contemplating gardens on a grand scale, or for anyone who simply desires the pleasure of viewing country landscaping photographed at its best.

This is a beautifully photographed and well laid out book. It is somewhat repeative. However, the subject is focused and it is interesting to see how different sites were designed - or how the nuances varied to suit different sites. A good, but short, element specific reference guide follows the details of 11 sites. Most helpful is that the sites are in the general geographic and zone area in which I work. I am sure I will use it as a design reference.