Review
"Autumn Gardens" is among the few to focus closely on the lingering pleasures of fall, and it may surprise you with the rich palette of plant material she has identified that give the season special pleasures. Her book, splendidly illustrated with photos by Jonathan Buckley, makes it plain that there's a wealth of foliage, grasses, berries, and flowers at their peak September through November, a luscious range of color and form to brighten the autumn landscape. Page through Clarke's book and you'll see any number of gorgeous combinations to tempt you, garden designs to steal and plants to lust after. Check out the planting of blue wood asters and white Japanese anemones under a canopy of vivid, golden tree leaves...A little voice in your ear will whisper, "I want, I want." Clarke's seductively beautiful volume is an eye-opener. Try some of her ideas in your own garden and you may never think of autumn in quite the same way again. --
Newark Star Ledger, September 29, 1999Has all the oomph gone out of you plantings in this afterthought season? For next year, plan a garden that will go full-steam until frost with the help of Ethne Clarke's new book "Autumn Gardens." [She] gives plenty of good advice on how to combine shape, form, leaf color, bark, grasses and berries with a surprising variety of autumn bloom. --
Chicago Tribune, October 3, 1999I know I am not alone in feeling a little gypped every autumn. So much of the country gets a real shot of the season, with wildly coloful fall foliage...If you need a fix, you can always visit Colorado or New Hampshire. But "Autumn Gardens" is a less expensive alternative. Lavishly illustrated by Jonathan Buckley, it includes some lovely gardens at their wistful autumn best. There's some spectacular fall foliage shown in Eastern gardens, but Westerners are not left to simply dream about nippy mornings--plants that grow here are included too. Since it's still warm outside, just curl up on the sofa before an imaginary fire with this very pretty book, and you'll get not only a good dose of fall, but maybe a few ideas for the garden that will make it look more seasonal. --
Los Angeles Times, October 7, 1999
About the Author
Ethne Clarke is an internationally recognized lecturer on garden history and design, and author of 9 previous books. She currently lives in Texas, where she is designing a xeriscape garden using native drought-tolerant plants.
