2004-03-16 A coffee table book

I enjoyed the writer?s relaxed style, especially in his introduction - he sounds like a thoroughly likeable, decent bloke who has lucked into a really great gig. I enjoyed his assessment of many modernist garden designers. He writes, ?...many designers have usurped the movement?s title and poorly mimicked its smooth, sleek lines to produce gardens that are starkly architectural, ordered, precise, and to my mind soulless.? Amen to that. I also liked his obvious joy in gardening and his attempts, wherever possible, to save and protect as much as possible of existing gardens.

But I?ll admit to being a philistine. I garden because I love the earth and growing plants. Sticking a bunch of architectural objects, bumps, lumps, spheres, eggs et al - all over a garden leaves me cold. For the rest of you, who appreciate the opportunity to look over the designers shoulder and watch him take an idea from imagination through inspiration through planning and detailing the final garden, this should be a treat.