Not about historic gardens, but two books I came across recently: Residential Landscape Architecture by James E. Hiss and Norman K. Booth. A Landscape Design course I'm taking uses excerpts from this book to illustrate basic design principles. It describes the problems most commonly found in residential properties, and how to deal with site conditions such as wind, sun, drainage, and how to measure, analyze, and design or re-design a residential landscape, including how to interview clients before doing a design. No pretty pictures, only line-drawings, but a good basic book on design, and a lot of info I hadn't seen in other design books I have. The other is Garden Design: How to Be Your Own Landscape Architect by Robin Williams. It covers a lot of the basics, materials, and design elements, including some nice examples of actual site layouts without getting bogged down with plant selection. It had nice examples of pergola, fence, wall, and paving styles. The examples of symmetrical and asymmetrical formal gardens were especially interesting to me, as I love formal-style gardens and was frequently at a loss when trying to design around existing structures or plants, or a less than symmetrical lot. I particularly enjoyed this one. Jo

Funny you should mention Beatrix Farrand. I just got back from a few days in Bar Harbor ME. I visited Farrand's last house and garden, Garland Farm, which has just been bought by a group which wants to restore both. They are quite small so the project is very doable. The group is led by the wonderful landscape architect, Patrick Chasse, and is well worth any dollar or two you might spare. After years of reading about Beatrix Farrand, I do not believe she dismantled her family's place, Reef Point, garden, house and all, because she couldn't leave an endowment. It's too long a story for here but I think she felt a lot of anger about some important life experiences and that is the source of some of the curious things she did. We were told at Garland Farm that her will stated that, if her caretaking couple predeceased her, Garland Farm was to be dismantled. Fortunately, they outlived her. I am still mulling over my own answer to the question posed by this thread. Initially, I must say that I think I could never live within the bounds of someone else's vision. Much as I would be tempted, I don't think I could buy a garden which demanded restoration. Stay tuned for what someone else actually did when presented with this dilemma.

Thanks Tony and Ginger for starting this thread off. I hope that many will join us in proposing books and later in discussing them. Please recruit members from other GW Forums that might be interested. Also this does not have to be a "love-fest" you can propose books that you dont like and you may of course discuss equally what you donÂt like about any book as well as what you do like. This Book Club is intended to foster active dialogue. I will be adding to this also as we go along. After two weeks I will post a list of everything proposed and we can vote on which books to start with. Please include the authors name with any book proposed and a short commentary on the book. A WomanÂs Hardy Garden, by Helena Rutherford Ely This early 20th century American gardening book is posted online, both text and photography. John_D gave the web address on another thread. This is one historical gardening book that everyone would have access to. Strangers in the Garden: The Secret Lives of our Favorite Flowers, by Andrew Smith This is a new book (2004) that is mainly a social gardening history of ten familiar and popular garden plants including the Dahlia, Clematis, Crocus, Peony and Lilac. My Garden Book, by Jamaica Kincaid Novelist, Jamaica Kincaid is both an avid reader and gardener. Both activities intertwine in her life. When as a beginner gardener she also read a history of the conquest of Mexico the way she viewed the garden changed and the garden changed her perception of the conquest. For her the garden is "an exercise in memory, a way of remembering my own immediate past, a way of getting to a past that is my own---and the past as it is indirectly related to me." [p.8] I believe that Garden Restoration is also an exercise in memory and whether we write about it, actively restore gardens, or plant anything at all that takes our fancy, we are engaged in this exercise. In Search of Lost Roses, by Christopher Thomas The story of how old garden roses that were no longer available commercially were brought back to contemporary gardens. Gertrude Jekyll: A Vision of Garden and Wood, by Judith B. Tankard, Published in conjunction with a major exhibition of Gertrude Jekyll's photographs. This publication gives us a chance to see Jekyll's gardening through her own eyes. Jekyll was an accomplished writer, gardener and photographer. She took her photographs to illustrate her garden articles and document her own garden. Gertrude Jekyll's Lost Garden, by Rosamund Wallinger This is the true story of how an ordinary private individual went about restoring an Edwardian garden. Demonstrates how patience, time and a willingness to learn are more valuable commodities than money in Garden Restoration The Gardens of Gertrude Jekyll, by Richard Bisgrove This is a really good overview of JekyllÂs design sensibilities. Includes reproductions of her actual design drawing and planting plans accompanied by colour photographs of contemporary replantings of the gardens. There is also an overview of the plants important to Jekyll, how she used them, and how they relate to what is presently available. Dumbarton Oaks: Garden into Art, by Susan Tamulevich Documentation of five decades of the development and evolution of a major American garden. Designed by renowned landscape architect Beatrix Farrand, Dumbarton Oaks is a living work of art. As well as stunning photographs this book includes historical photographs, garden plans, telegrams and correspondence. A Clearing in the Distance: Frederick Law Olmsted and North America In The Nineteenth ÂCentury, by Witold Rybczynsky Known mainly for his design of Central Park and the Vanderbilt estate Biltmore, Frederick Law Olmsted had a varied career. W.R. follows OlmstedÂs career from New York to California and his travels through Europe. Includes nineteenth-century photographs and design plans of several Olmsted designed parks. Plenty of documentation and analysis of his relationships with family, patrons, friends, and employees.

One of Washington's best-kept garden secrets is the National Arboretum in N.E. Washington. There's an entrance on R Street just off Bladensburg Road (I think: better check). Metro has just introduced weekend buses from Union Station (popular Red Line subway and train station) to the Arboretum. It's 400+ acres of all kinds of trees, flowers and shrubs. In spring, they're most famous for their exceptional azalea collection. They also have a fabulous bonsai collection and an herb garden that has all kinds of themed herb collections (colonial, pharmaceutical, etc.) Lots of ongoing exhibits and special shows from time to time, and a very nice gift shop on the premises. Check it out anytime of year.