Garden Ornament: Five Hundred Years of History and Practice (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

This book is a useful and visually instructive history of architecture and ornament in gardens that are the horticultural equivalent of the tower of Babel. -- The New York Times Book Review, Verlyn Klinkenborg

Product Description

The tremendous upsurge of interest in garden history and design in recent years has prompted a renewed fascination with the art and artifacts of garden ornament. Those decorative objects--buildings, statues, urns, balustrades, trellises, fountains, ironwork, seats--lend character and definition to garden layout and play an important part in contemporary horticultural design. One of the most significant additions to the literature of horticulture in recent times, this volume surveys ornament in garden design of the past and analyzes the use of different types of ornament in gardens old and new. George Plumptre traces the use of ornamental features throughout the history of the Western garden from the great formal gardens of Italy and France to the more intimate creations of contemporary design. Taking the principal categories of ornament in turn, he shows how, over the last five hundred years, garden designers have used stone, wood, and metal to enhance and modify the natural features of the landscape. He then analyzes the role of ornament in modern garden design, showing how long-held and tested principles of design can be applied imaginatively in the typical modern garden. Finally, there is an illustrated survey of the great variety of ornaments that can still be found, and that are well within the reach of the modern gardener. The photographs of contemporary gardens are the work of Hugh Palmer. His pictures, rich in atmosphere and acutely sensitive to detail, make Garden Ornament doubly indispensable for garden historians as well as for gardeners in search of detailed information and inspiration.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson (October 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500280797
• ISBN-13: 978-0500280799
• Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 9.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,600,041 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just what I've been looking for!, January 5, 2004

By	Patricia Buzo (Saint Paul, MN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is amazing! The photos are so beautiful...it's like being in Europe, experiencing the scenery for yourself. 90% of the photographs are full page spreads. All the ornamentation and statuary that was used is so breathtaking.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The cover gives you a good indication of what this book is, May 14, 2000

By	www.delalonde.com (Chateau-Bois-Briand, Nantes,Loire-Valley,France) - See all my reviews

A well designed, documented, illustrated catalog of ideas and masterpieces. The good thing here is that you can apply all these beautiful ideas. You can buy statues, chairs, fountains and plant the right vegetation around it (or the other way around). You will love this book. You might even keep it for yourself if you planned to offer it to your parents. Buy two of them. You won't regret it.