Garden Lust is right! This is one seriously gorgeous book. It is both inspiring and meditative. There are fifty different gardens in North America, Central America, South America, the Caribbean, all across Europe, Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Asia, Australia ,and New Zealand. Oh to have the time to re-trace his trip.

Lately, my grown-up version of a child's toy catalog has been books on gardens. I'm not sure how I got obsessed with plants, but it happened, and happened in a big way. So when I found Gardenlust and had an initial flip-through, I was pretty stoked to sit down and dog-ear all the pages with particularly inspiring photos.

And don't get me wrong here, because the photos are truly inspiring. But it's the write-ups that make Gardenlust shine.

The book's set up in regions, focusing only on contemporary garden spaces (20 years old or younger, so truly contemporary). These range from commercial spaces (like one in Las Vegas) to public spaces (the vast majority of the ones featured) to private gardens of less than an acre or two where regular gardeners have created extraordinary greenspaces with their own particular ethnobotanical vision.

The photography is stunning, but like I mentioned before, it's the descriptions that make this book great. Every garden is described in such detail, positioned like you're actually walking though the garden itself, with enough history and plant info thrown in that you're not just experiencing it second hand, you're also learning, despite yourself. (And probably adding to both your "Travel Here" list and your "Plants I May Want To Own One Day" list...though that may just be me.)

I'm completely overwhelmed after finishing this, and wishing my thumb for outdoor gardening was a little less black. It's certainly inspired me to try again, and to visit more of the public garden spaces in my own region, too.

Mr. Woods would perhaps be better served with a TV series than a book. He is attempting to convey his emotional responses to aesthetic choices in garden design, and to me it evoke the more-or-less rapturous style of nature reporting. I have visited some of the gardens mentioned here and find the reality much better than the text in the same way that a visit to a museum is better than a description of a painting. The best art writing goes far more into technique and antecedents for painting, sculpture and architecture than this book does with garden design.

Whether you just appreciate beauty, are a passionate gardener or a horticultural professioanal, this book is for you. Tour the bst gardens of the world and get your Gardenlust on.

Opening Gardenlust by Christopher Woods, I was uncertain the purpose of the book but I love looking at pretty gardens (inspiration!) so I was game! The book gave so much more than pretty though, it is intellectually challenging and mindset-shifting. Gardening and landscaping has the power to shape the human world and experience and this exploration of these 55 gardens highlights just that!

I thoroughly enjoyed the range of gardens from extreme modernism, with glass sculptures forming part of the garden, to the traditional wilds of China and everything in between. I learnt about plants, structure and form but mostly, the importance of having a clear purpose for the garden. This line summarises the book best:“What makes modern landscape design different from most other forms of contemporary art is our growing understanding of the effects of deforestation and climate change, the lessons to be learned by studying ethnobotany, the importance of an urban forest, and the impulse to use what we hope are ecologically appropriate or native plants.”

My favourite gardens include:

Sunnylands Center and Gardens – amazing use of yellows, greens and blues!
Chihuly Garden and Glass – glass is integrated into the design, like plants, amazing!
Mordecai Children’s Garden – designed to get children to spend more time outdoors
Parque Explorador Quilapilún – an environmental remediation project in Chile
The Tree Museum – a collection of rescued trees

The end of the book left me feeling I needed to visit each of these gardens, highly enjoyable (five out of five) and recommended!

In GARDENLUST, plant guru Christopher Woods takes us on a world tour of 50 gorgeous gardens ... from Singapore to Marrakech, from Switzerland to the Arabian Peninsula. Private and public gardens are featured, each offering modern creative twists. The author also shares stories about the people and plants that make these spaces so lust-worthy. One drawback: The cover of Gardenlust made me drool. I wish the inside photos were as equally lush. With the exception of shots of the Chihuly Gardens in Seattle, they are beautiful, indeed, but not as wondrous. 4/5

Thanks to Timber Press and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are fully mine.

#Gardenlust #NetGalley

★★★★ ☐ The publisher has provided a copy for review.
From the wild glass shapes of the Chihuly gardens near Seattle to the formal calmness of the Tree Museum in Rapperswil, Switzerland, you'll turn the pages with appreciation. You'll travel the continents to see innovative and sculptural gardens.

If you view gardening as art, love the shapes and colors of nature, or just need ideas for taking your own yard or property to the next level, you'll enjoy this book of beautiful trends.

One of the cardinal rules of educating the eye in design is to look at the best, the most precious, and the most innovative that top designer have to offer. Then your own ideas will be richer, more beautiful, and better thought out because you have a sense of what can be done.

This is most certainly full of gardens every plant lover would lust after. It could be awarded 5 stars just for the photography alone but that isn’t all of its content. This great book is divided into 8 parts of the world and the beautiful gardens in them. Christopher Woods has chosen them well.

This book seems to be a table top book so I don’t think it is something you’d want to curl up with to read. However, it is not only full of beautiful pictures. It’s filled with history. The history of some of the plants, the gardens, even the science of how some of the plants grow in certain climates.

It’s such a beautiful book and so educational at the same time that I was really delighted to be able to read it.

***This book was provided to me free of charge in exchange for an honest review.

Kathy Allen
Bookaholic
http://www.ourtownbookreviews.com/

Readers of this volume encounter a wonderful armchair tour of some of the world's more recent but wonderful gardens. Each entry includes a little about the garden and its creator in narrative form as well as photos. Some gardens received more extensive treatment than others. On the list:

North America: Sunnylands Center and Gardens, Rancho Mirage, California; The Garden of Flowing Fragrance, Huntington Botanical Garden, San Marino, California; The Park, Las Vegas, Nevada; Chihuly Gardens and Glass, Seattle, Washington; Mordecai Children's Garden, Denver Botanical Garden, Denver, Colorado; Federal Twist, Stockton, New Jersey; Junto Farm, Hudson Valley, New York; Naples Botanical Garden, Naples, Florida; Vallarta Botanical Garden, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Central America and the Caribbean: Los Elementos, Dominical, Costa Rica; Golden Rock Inn, Nevis, West Indies.

South America: Jardin de Salvias, Mar del Plata, Argentina; Juan Grimm Gardens, Chile, Uruguay, and Argentina; Parque Explorador Quilapilun, Colina, Chile.

Europe: Iuri Chagas Gardens, The Algarve, Portugal; Quinta da Granja, Miranda do Corvo, Portugal; Jardins de la Rambla de Sants, Barcelona, Spain; Parc Clichy-Batignolles/Martin Luther King, Paris, France; Camel Quarry House, Cornwall, United Kingdom; Crossrail Station Roof Garden, London, United Kingdom; Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, United Kingdom; Orpheus, at Boughton House, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom; The Alnwick Garden, Northumberland, United Kingdom; Carrie Preston's Gardens, The Netherlands; The Tree Museum, Rapperswil, Switzerland; Landschaftspark, Duisburg-Nord, Germany; Peter Korn's Garden, Eskilsby, Sweden.

Africa and the Arabian Peninsula: A Garden of Shape and Light, Marrakech, Morocco; The Aloe Farm, Hartbeespoort, South Africa; The Miracle Garden, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Al Barari, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Oman Botanic Garden, Al Khoud, Oman.

India and Southeast Asia: The Garden of Five Senses, Said-ul-Azaib, Delhi, India; 137 Pillars House, Chiang Mai, Thailand; Gardens by the Bay and Parkroyal Hotel, Singapore; Pha Tad Ke Botanical Garden, Luang Prabang, Laos; Made Wijaya's Gardens, Bali, Indonesia.

Asia: Xi'an Expo Park, Xi'an, China; Chenshan Botanical Garden, Shanghai, China; Ichigaya Forest, Tokyo, Japan; Tokachi Millennium Forest, Hokkaido, Japan.

Australia and New Zealand: Geelong Botanic Gardens, Geelong, Victoria, Australia; The Australian Garden, Royal Botanic Gardens, Cranbourne, Victoria, Australia; One Central Park, Sydney, Australia; Barangaroo Headland Park, Sydney, Australia; Rose Bay, Sydney, Australia; Gibbs Farm, Makarau, North Island, New Zealand; Paripuma, Blenheim, South Island, New Zealand; Fishermans Bay Garden, Long Bay, South Island, New Zealand.

I visited Chihuly Gardens when I visited Seattle a couple of summers ago. I realistically might make it to no more than a handful of the remaining ones in my lifetime. I really loved both gardens on South Island in New Zealand as they sported gorgeous ocean views. One of the South American gardens did also. While I thought a few of the gardens were not that pretty, the majority were captivating. Woods' choices omitted far too many countries. For example, why was no garden from Canada included? Italy? Russia? I'm not up on the latest and greatest in world gardens, but I'm sure each of these countries had something to offer.

I enjoyed my armchair tour and look forward to possible future visits to a few of these. I received an advance review electronic copy of the book from NetGalley with the expectation of an honest review.

I assumed from the title of this book that it would be about traditional gardens and provide photos to inspire me in my own garden. This was my mistake, as this is instead a tour of 21st century modern gardens around the world. Most of them are public parks, though a few are private individuals' gardens.

The book is divided into sections, according to what part of the world the gardens are in. Each park/garden has a detailed write-up about it and several pages of photos (full page and smaller).

There were a few gardens that I did enjoy, particularly the Chihuly glass sculpture garden and the ones that featured plants growing on the sides of tall buildings, but I was not really "lustful" about any of them. The photographs could have been much better. The plants that were featured weren't really spectacular and I found myself liking the sculptural elements in most of the photos more than the plants.

This seems like it would be a great coffee table book, especially for those who like to travel or dream of traveling. I would have liked to see more interesting information about the gardens, more striking photos and ideas that would inspire me in my own gardens.

** I received a temporary digital ARC of this book for review purposes from Net Galley.

Gardenlust, indeed! This is a beautiful book that warrants hours of dreaming about the lush gardens included. I look forward to buying a printed copy in order to look at it and read it more.

A wonderful global tour of mainly public gardens, their history and design philosophy. This book also features in individual plants and spectacular photographs.

It is like a travel around the world most beautiful garden. The books is divided by areas which permits the reader to see the different species and decoration. Also, it can be used for inspiration in this gardening season.

This is something I hate to say in reviews, but I think I was expecting something different from the book. I usually try to go into a book with no expectations, but I love Botanical Gardens.

I really liked to travel from continent to continent and discover the new gardens around the world. My favourite part was probably the writing, I really liked the humans presented in the book and how the author talked about their relationship with the plants. But in spite of the beautiful words, I was left wanting more plants, more about the atmosphere the garden creates (and not only names of the plants) and the feelings those gardens evoke.

The things that I wished for could've been easily achieved through photography, unfortunately this is where the book loses the most in my opinion. The pictures are at best mediocre, they are dull and they don't bring anything to the gardens presented. When it's a book about gardens, one would expect breathtaking pictures, right?

Overall, I enjoyed the book but I just cannot get over the photography and poor compositions.

Beautiful collection of information and images of gardens across the world. A perfect read for garden lovers!

I am reading this outside under the Spring sunshine which seems a fitting location as Gardenlust is to take me on a tour of the world's best new gardens which have been unearthed or discovered if you prefer, in the more recent of years. Chris Woods evidently has a passion for gardens having his career beginning at the Kew gardens and thriving to go on creating with gardens and produce books leading up to this one now.



Set to a backdrop of gorgeously captured, crisp photographs of various forms of outdoor nature at it's best, from flowers to trees, details in seating arrangements, various statues and beyond, this book is a small sanctuary to those of us whom wish to be out in all weather's in a garden of some form.



The gardens we are introduced to are picturesque with complementing colours displayed and in all areas of countries these little gardens or not so little gardens in many cases can be found to explore. They are all different and have many similar but never the exact same features, from bridges to statues to the rare weird yet wonderful plants on offer in their displays.



I myself may be English, but I have always been drawn to and appreciate Japanese and Chinese gardens after our town centre's park has mini ones of those designs mixed in, the UK also boasts many botanical gardens alike we read about in this book many a time and if this book sends out any kind of message to those of us living in cities or villages, it's to escape into a new bliss, of a garden we have yet to explore and make it a top priority to take time to relax, distress and unwind there.



Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

I am very mixed about this book, the cover was spectacular, the narrative was interesting and good, but unfortunately, for me, the photography did not have that wow factor that one expects from a gardening book.. The fact is that I still hanker for the old fashion gardens or planting that scream colour (and work) - this book is full of modern interpretations and depicts gardens from around the world by todays standards. Many are quite lovely and beautifully designs, as the narrative explains. So yes, if that is your type of garden you will love it, it is very current and easy on the eye, otherwise you may not enjoy it.

I want to thank Netgalley & the Publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book. Receiving a copy to review has not influenced my thoughts and opinions.

I love gardening/flowers/plants and everything in between. I saw this and the cover alone made me want to read it. It's gorgeous! I was lucky enough to get an eARC (Advanced Readers Copy).

I really loved all the photos inside but I was hoping for a little more. I was expecting page after page, just filled with gardens and beautiful views. Don't get me wrong, there are some but there's a lot of text and structures. While I enjoyed the information, there was a lot of it. All the pant names and what they are known for/can do. I just wish there was more color but a lot of it, is structures in a garden. 

I did find myself relaxing, while reading through this book. Some of the photos are just absolutely beautiful. I kind of want to buy this for my coffee table!

I love coffee table books with images of great gardens, and that is exactly what this book is. So if you are like me, this is the book for you or to give as a present.

Mi piacciono i libri da mostrare sul tavolino di fronte alla tv con bellissime immagini di giardini, quindi se mi somigliate in tal senso, questo é il libro perfetto per voi o da regalare.

THANKS NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW!

A whirlwind tour of gardens from every corner of the globe, all created in the 21st century (interesting to see magnificent modern gardens, since many other books focus on historic or well-established gardens). I loved seeing all of the unique, spectacular plants from faraway lands, and the photos were beautiful - but I wanted MORE of them. With each of the 55 gardens getting only a few pages, I was hoping for more photos and a bit less text. Also, I read an ARC so the "back sections" were missing (index, resources, etc.) so maybe this will be added, but some details about climate and hardiness, drought tolerance, or where we could find more info about some of the more exotic plants would've been great. Regardless, a very inspiring book.