The terraced hillsides, rocky capes, and secluded coves of the French Riviera provide some of the world's most spectacular garden settings, and its delightful climate has drawn legendary figures in the arts, literature, and international society since the eighteenth century. In this beautifully designed volume, Louisa Jones turns her gardening and literary talents to the magnificent gardens of the French Riviera, some beloved by visitors for over a century, but most private and hitherto unphotographed. The author's love of plants and gardening really shines through in the text that weaves history, charming anecdotes, and a detailed description of the gardens and plants featured, from the Rothschild villa to the rustic vigor of a well-tended olive grove. Abundantly illustrated with stunning photographs by Vincent Motte, and complete with a list of gardens to visit as well as a buyer's guide to the best nurseries and plant suppliers in the region, Gardens of the French Riviera is a marvelous gift for any garden lover planning to visit the South of France.
For Garden Week in Provence information, see www.susanwornertours.com. For updates on Louisa Jones' books and activities, see the blog at http://louisajones.wordpress.com/
Canadian born Louisa Jones has been gardening in southern France since 1975 when she and her husband bought the old farmhouse they still inhabit. She has written some thirty books about contemporary French gardens, recently specializing in Mediterranean regions. For her first illustrated book, Gardens in Provence (1992) Louisa visited more than two hundred gardens of all styles and sizes. She found that, in the Mediterranean, there is no separation between ornamental and useful or productive gardening. Traditional Mediterranean gardening is "multiple": many pleasures, many uses for all seasons. Like Mediterranean cuisine, it is locally based and economical, but capable of great refinement; pleasure-giving, healthy and accessible to all. It has proven its capacity to maintain a durable partnership with the land. Most recently, Louisa Jones has been exploring vernacular Mediterranean landscapes, worked and fashioned by humankind for millenia, that are today biodiversity hotspots and an inspiration to gifted artists. Louisa has also published two books with leading French ecologist, Gilles Clément. She writes in both English and French, and gardens every day. She also organizes visits to private designer gardens around Avignon in April and October.
