From Library Journal
Meek and Turner, both professors at Louisiana State University, have collaborated to describe the unique character of Louisiana gardens. They profile 21 gardens, public as well as private, urban as well as estate, throughout the state. Louisiana gardens often combine formal simplicity?a legacy from the state's foundation as a French colony under Louis XIV and the influence of Le Notre?with lush vegetation, an almost unavoidable byproduct of the benign climate. Turner's introductory essay provides a concise historical background, documenting gardens from the founding of New Orleans in 1731 into the 20th century. Her clear prose is accentuated by excerpts from contemporary archival material, including relevant correspondence, journals, plans, paintings, and photographs. She places each garden in the context of its time, place, and creator, while Meek's lavish color photographs bear witness to his admiration for Eugene Atget and convey the verdant growth within a restrained design that makes these gardens unique. Recommended for specialized gardening collections.?Daniel Starr, Museum of Modern Art, New York
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Here is a visual and historical celebration of many of Louisiana's old and stately gardens. Turner's absorbing text complements A. J. Meek's 167 stunning color photographs. Meek calls his work a homage to Eugene Atget, the French photographer who died in 1927; he aims his camera at fountains, sculptures, tree trunks and roots, gates, bridges, stairways, sundials, ponds, slave cabins, a peacock, a knotted curtain hanging from a kitchen window, and, of course, a vast variety of flowers. There are also 23 halftones showing drawings of homes and of garden plans from as far back as the nineteenth century. Meek and Turner have combined their talents to give readers a delightful journey through time. George Cohen
