The Garden Lover's Guide to France (Garden Lover's Guides to) (Paperback)

by Patrick Taylor (Author) "Along the coasts of Brittany and Normandy the climate is a vital factor in garden-making..." (more)
Key Phrases: Public Holidays, World War, Parc Floral (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Packed with information on over 100 public and private gardens, the slim Garden Lover's Guide to France offers the perfect tour for anyone who's passionate about plants and wants to explore the tailored greenery of France. Author Patrick Taylor is an experienced garden historian who includes a balanced mixture of information, photographs, and diagrams to describe what he calls the two distinctive types of cultivated areas in France: the 17th-century Baroque gardens and public gardens. Covering mostly grand and formal gardens, the book is divided into five major regions and includes helpful tour maps and directions. In each garden's profile, readers will find detailed descriptions of the garden, its history, color photographs, plant species and varieties, special landscape or architectural features, facilities information, and nearby sites of interest. Some of the larger and more renowned gardens such as Versailles and Chateau de Courances have three-dimensional garden plans, which are helpful when exploring the grounds. From the Jardin des Plantes in Paris to Monet's garden at Giverny to the desert specimens of Jardin Exotique in Monaco, visitors are sure to find la plus belle of this picturesque country. --Karen Karleski

Review
"A new series of richly illustrated garden tour books can be your ticket to seeing the best of Europe's horticultural legacy. Each of The Garden Lovers Guides explores more than 100 of that country's most beautiful gardens, all open to the public. Written by top international gardening experts like Penelope Hobhouse and Patrick Taylor, these guidebooks stress history and national identity as the keys to understanding the very different characteristics of each country's gardens. Vestiges of Roman times can still be seen in Italian gardens, and in Germany, many splendid gardens in the east have just been opened to a wider audience in the last few years. The maps make garden touring easy to organize." -- Hemisphere

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Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press; First Printing edition (March 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568981287
• ISBN-13: 978-1568981284
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #719,916 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars useful information, especially about the North of France, November 21, 2001

By	Greg Munger (chesterton, in USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have been looking at a number of books about gardens in France, and this is the only one that I could use to plan a trip. The coverage is very good, though the vast majority are in the Paris region (Ile de France).
Unlike, say, "the Secret Gardens of France", the gardens listed here are open to the public.

The notes on each garden are concise. You will need another book if you want to learn about the history of landscape architecture. But the author does provide an assessment of the gardens described: state of repair, relation to original design, beauty, etc. The photo illustrations are very good.

My only criticism is that I wish the book was twice as big.