The book to accompany the TV series has all the charm of the gardener and presenter himself. A lovely book looking at gardens from all over the world, with their varying species and styles. The only criticism we can give is that perhaps there aren't as many photographs as you might like but this is still a lovely book.
'If I have learned only one thing from my travels around the world it is that no garden is an island. Context is everything.'
From the floating gardens of the Amazon to the alpine flower meadows of Norway, from modest domestic gardens right in the heart of Havana to Monet's world-famous Giverny, Monty Don visits every continent and looks at some of the most beautiful, intriguing or unusual gardens in the world.
Whether looking at minimalist gardens in Mexico which, to some, may feel more architecture than garden, or the romantic beauty of a traditional English garden, each one is placed in context. Horticultural preconceptions are abandoned and Monty is constantly surprised by the unexpected locations where gardens thrive.
As Monty Don travels around the world, he approaches each garden with the questions: Why do people garden? Is the definition of a garden universal? And what makes each garden special?
'His style is light, smooth and accessible, yet also sensitive, detailed and generally historically reliable... this is a good read with plenty of novelty.' Tiim Richardson, GARDENS ILLUSTRATED
'intelligently written and he puts each garden in context in a way that is both accessible, yet thought provoking.' GARDENS MONTHLY
'It's an absorbing journey made far more appealing than your average garden guide thanks largely to the author's readiness to question and explore.' GARDEN NEWS
'Don is a curious and engaging guide, as thrilled by the ad hoc floating vegetable plots of the Amazon as by formal Zen gardens...' THE INDEPENDENT
'This colourful account by the travelling garden connoisseur covers the most emotive and awe-inspiring gardens worldwide.' GRAND DESIGNS
'Each garden is described in intimate, vivid detail, with diary-style immediacy... the gardens come alive through Don's very personal responses to them.' ORGANIC GARDENING
Author
About Monty Don
Monty Don is the main presenter of BBC-TV's Gardener's World. He is one of the UK's most respected gardeners and gardening writers. He has been gardening correspondent for the Observer since 1994 and is at the forefront of the environmental and organic gardening debate.
