The Prairie Spirit in Landscape Gardening (American Society of Landscape Architects Centennial Reprints series) (Hardcover)

by Wilhelm Miller (Author) "THE Middle West is just beginning to evolve a new style of architecture, interior decoration, and landscape gardening, in an effort to create the perfect..." (more)
Key Phrases: Middle West, Country Life, Humboldt Park (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
In 1915, Wilhelm Miller (1869-1938), an influential author and editor, published "The Prairie Spirit of Landscape Gardening," a profusely illustrated book that championed the "prairie style" of landscape gardening. It was the first book to address the question of a truly American style of landscape design and remains one of the most significant early treatises on that topic. This handsome volume features several projects by Jens Jensen, a Danish immigrant whose ecologically based, conservation-oriented approach to park and residential design had a strong impact in Chicago and formed the foundation of the stylistic school Miller was promoting. The book also features photographs of O. C. Simonds's designs for Chicago's Graceland Cemetery and midwestern landscapes by Walter Burley Griffin, Frank Lloyd Wright, Warren H. Manning, among others. Before and after images vividly demonstrate Miller's taste for abundant use of hardy native plants in landscape design. His emphatic captions--"Away with Gaudy Foreigners and Artificial Varieties!" "Restore the Native Vegetation!"--leave little doubt about his aesthetic position. Christopher Vernon's new introduction links the prairie style to Wright and other architects of the Progressive Era, arguing that Wright's use of prairie landscape elements actually preceded that by Jensen, Simonds, and their peers. Vernon shows how prairie imagery provided design ideas for some and also provided a label--prairie style--that helped promote naturalistic work generally. Architects, landscape architects, and garden enthusiasts will be intrigued by Vernon's insights and inspired by Miller's impassioned call to celebrate, replicate, and conserve the midwestern landscape.

From the Publisher
Introduction by Christopher Vernon. The first study to explore a distinctly American style of landscape design. Published in association with the Library of American Landscape History.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 56 pages
• Publisher: University of Massachusetts Press; Reprint edition (August 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558493298
• ISBN-13: 978-1558493292
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 8.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,081,254 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An informative text that has stood the test of time, September 6, 2002

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

The Prairie Spirit In Landscape Gardening is a reprint of a classic treatise first published in 1915, about a uniquely American style of landscape design - the "prairie style." Black-and-white photographs of designs for Chicago's Graceland Cemetery and Midwestern landscapes by Walter Burley Griffin and Warren H. Manning complement an informative text that has stood the test of time as a hallmark of American landscape gardening cultural trends. An extensive introduction to the new edition rounds out this remarkable and enduring work, The Prairie Spirit In Landscape Gardening is a welcome and strongly recommended addition to personal, professional, academic, and community library landscaping and gardening supplemental reading lists and reference collections.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Prairie School Insights, August 23, 2007

By	William H. Tishler (Madison, WI) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A great re-print of one of the best documents about the landscape design aspect of the Prairie School. Vernon's introduction contains well-researched information about this important aspect of a significant American regional design expression.