The Landscape Diaries: Garden of Obsession [Illustrated] [Paperback]

Gayatri Carole Rocherolle (Author), Richard Felber (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2007

Daughter of famed businessman Lester Avnet, Carole Rocherolle writes a quirky, humorous, and inspiring story of her marriage, her search for a career, and ultimately the satisfaction of completing, after almost 20 years of dedication, along with her husband, the spectacular Steinhardt Gardens in Bedford, NY. The book is also an educated look at Japanese maple cultivars, and a guide on how to make and keep a successful garden, large or small.

Editorial Reviews

Review

For a divergence into a world of limousines and French chateaus, there's The Landscape Diaries: Garden of Obsession. Aptly named, this engaging tale reads somewhat like a private diary in which Carole Rocherolle, daughter of the late business magnate Lester Avnet, describes how she literally ran away from her privileged youth to marry a member of French nobility. However, after she and her new husband, Jerome, fall into the nursery and landscape business, they are no strangers to hard work and the rewards it brings. The book follows the 30-year trajectory of their horticultural development, including establishing Shanti Bithi Nursery in Connecticut, traveling the world in search of unusual plants, and the creation of their most important legacy, the private Steinhardt gardens in New York, complete with stunning color photographs. -- The American Gardener magazine, July/August 2007

Gayatri Carole Rocherolle's book is a feast -- for the eyes, for the mind, and for the heart. It's a marvelously entertaining romp, written by an iconoclast who, simply stated, farms beauty. In The Landscape Diaries she's brought in a bumper crop. -- Richard Cohen, columnist at The Washington Post

This memoir is a surprising tapestry of an unusually rich life and an extraordinary garden, yet the small stuff with which day-to-day events are built is universally familiar. Stories of loving and losing parents, of family celebrations and the importance of 'we' in a marriage, and of personal growth through spirituality and exercise are interwoven with the process Rocherolle and husband Jerome followed in creating their garden and landscaping business, the Shanti Bithi Nursery, and establishing the incredible Steinhardt gardens in Bedford, NY.

Born into wealth, she an heiress to the Avnet fortune and his family residing in a French chateau, they began their garden career together in the early '70's selling plants in a deli parking lot. The ensuing years, filled with hard work, world travel and their vision of artful landscaping and attention to small detail were filled with success and yes, obsession. Bonsai, a Japanese Maple collection, rock structures, unique metal-work pieces and gorgeous landscapes are presented in color photos throughout. References to find sources to create your own are included.

This is not an ordinary gardening book, but instead a testament to the creative visions and kinds of gardens that will grow when people follow their passions and walk to the beat of their own hearts. -- The Lexington Herald-Leader

While I find inspiration in myriad things, two of the most likely sources are great friends and great books. My close friends Michael and Judy Steinhardt own an exquisite 54-acre garden featured in this book. Along with more than 400 cultivars of maple, the property includes woodland plants and flowering shrubs moss-covered bridges and ponds, and a collection of exotic animals and waterfowl. The photographs capture this garden's beauty throughout the seasons. As I'm developing my maple woodlands in Bedford, I hope to one day have my own bevy of birds. -- July/August 2007 issue of The Martha Stewart Newsletter a Supplement to Martha Stewart Living

From the Publisher

Part stirring memoir, part visual experience (with more than 100 beautiful color photographs of the gardens) and part buyer's source guide and reference list, "The Landscape Diaries: Garden of Obsession," provides readers of all interests with something to enjoy.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 172 pages
• Publisher: Ruder-Finn Press (April 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932646388
• ISBN-13: 978-1932646382
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 9.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,375,936 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The Landscpe Diaries:Garden of Obsession, October 18, 2009

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Ingrid O. Mccauley (Newtown,CT USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Landscape Diaries: Garden of Obsession (Paperback)

Got so engrossed that I read it in one sitting while in my own garden.

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful, October 11, 2009

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Wynne (Norridgewock, ME USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Landscape Diaries: Garden of Obsession (Paperback)

This book goes fast. It is breezy and full of beautiful pictures of gardens that the author has created. There is enough anecdote about the author's life to make it fun, and it provides a fascinating glimpse of life in the world of estate gardens. Wish there had been more about bonsai.

5.0 out of 5 stars couldn't put it down, November 25, 2007

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Edythe M. Heus - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Landscape Diaries: Garden of Obsession (Paperback)

I read this book in one sitting and have spent many hours on the photo's. Gayatri's story is romantic and inspiring and the photos are beautiful. I have had to replace the copy in my office because it was badly worn by frequent use, so I know many others are enjoying it as well. I am giving it as Christmas gifts this year.